The GRID Mid-Atlantic office would like to give a warm welcome to James Brown and Aaron Lovett! Since May 2015, they have been contributing to GRID as DCSEU workforce development interns, but Aaron and James will now be working with the Mid-Atlantic team full time through our SolarCorps fellowship!

White House and other government officials gathered at GRID Alternatives solar installation in East Baltimore to announce a series of commitments around solar in low-income communities, including a major new investment in our SolarCorps Program through the Corporation for National and Community Service.

It has been a good week for 74-year-old Leonard Wills, an Army Vet who has lived in Baltimore just about his whole life. On Tuesday, he was recognized by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake as one of Batimore’s “Top Neighborhood Dads” an annual honor given to “strong and dedicated Baltimore men who play an active role in making their communities better, safer, and stronger.” And on Thursday he stood in front of cameras again as a solar pioneer, the first in East Baltimore’s C.A.R.E. community to go solar with GRID Alternatives thanks to a 10-home pilot, in partnership with the city, that also includes cool roof installations and a battery back-up system on the local community center.

Often referred to as “Charm City”, Baltimore is the site of GRID Alternatives’ next set of solar installations, where we hope to sprinkle a little of our charm. Through support from the Abell Foundation and partnering with the City of Baltimore Office of Sustainability and Civic Works, we will launch in Baltimore this June, bringing solar power to ten homes in the CARE Community.

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic's Board of Directors Treasurer, George Ashton, was awarded a top business leader in Washington Business Journal’s “Top 40 under 40” Awards. Ashton co-founded Sol Systems, a solar energy finance and investment firm, which helps finance solar energy projects.

Thanks to a new program offered by the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) and DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU), we can ramp up our work in DC at full speed! The new program called “Solar Advantage Plus”, will provide $1.4 million in solar rebates for single-family, low-income homeowners in the District.

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic landed on the map “not with a whisper, but with a bang, a big bang,” as District of Columbia Housing Authority Director Adrianne Todman put it. Around 300 people came out to help us install 19 kW of clean, renewable solar power for ten deserving families, and spread the word that solar can and should benefit everyone.

We're launching our Solar Affordable Housing Program in the Mid-Atlantic region! The EPA's Gina McCarthy, HUD’s Julian Castro, & White House officials came out to celebrate with us and shine a spotlight on access to solar power for low-income families.

Here in Shannon County, South Dakota, poverty is endemic, perpetuated by substandard housing and lack of economic infrastructure. In the Pine Ridge reservation and surrounding communities, a growing population of Native youth struggles with uncertain opportunity. Tribal and community leaders are facing these obstacles down by embarking on a path of sustainable community development that embraces cultural values and self-determination.