Local leaders tout San Diego as "America's Solar City", but dig a little deeper and you won't find many solar rooftops in San Diego's low-income neighborhoods. GRID Alternatives San Diego is working to change that. From San Ysidro to Escondido, Barrio Logan to Julian, we are bringing the power of solar electricity to low-income families, rooftop by rooftop, at the rate of about two homes a week. And we do it all with the help of community volunteers and job trainees, who can use the experience to help them get jobs in the rapidly growing solar industry.
Learn more about our work by exploring the buttons below, or visit our partner page to find out ways to get involved.
Energy for All Program (formerly Solar Programs)
GRID’s unique, people-first model is putting money back into families’ pockets, increasing housing affordability and reducing the energy cost burden for affordable housing providers.
Workforce Development
Hands-on experience is central to our model, and we want to help turn that experience into meaningful employment opportunities for people in communities we serve. Our workforce development programs and initiatives include:
- Installation Training Programs, training programs offering participants hands-on installation training to develop their skills and increase employment opportunities.
- National Women in Solar Program, an effort to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive solar industry by providing pathways to technical careers for women, highlighting the voices of women of color in the industry, and providing national leadership on solar workforce diversity.
- SolarCorps Fellowships, one-year placements at GRID Alternatives that give participants the opportunity to get broad and deep experience in a variety of aspects of the industry.
- Solar Futures, a K-14 education program offering classroom curriculum and hands-on training for youth.
- Troops to Solar, an initiative supported by Wells Fargo to connect veterans to solar industry jobs by providing workforce training to U.S. military veterans and active service members across the country.