As GRID’s partnership with the Bishop Paiute Tribe under the Department of Energy grant continues to roll out, more tribal members are taking advantage of GRID’s workforce training program. Five of these members included local youth who became the newest addition to GRID’s Solar Futures program. Participants enjoyed a specialized orientation and a week packed full of installations. “It was fun and educational,” said Eric Eddy, one of three brothers who joined the program. “The classroom sessions had a lot of information and it felt good to install to help out our lower-income families.” Eric has worked as a maintenance technician for the Tribe, and after working side-by-side with GRID staff, is excited to learn more about green energy and pursue a career in solar.
Four systems were built over the course of five days, totaling nearly 15kW DC of power. The volunteers’ hard work and dedication is expected to offset over 280 tons of greenhouse gases (equivalent to planting over 6,500 trees) and save the tribal households over $137,000 in energy costs over the system’s lifetime. These are the latest families to join GRID’s Tribal Program, an organization-wide initiative to help provide opportunities for green technology and education to tribes across the nation.
Thanks to SunPower for its support of GRID's Solar Futures Program!