Community Solar

In an op-ed for NJ Spotlight GRID Alternatives' Policy & Regulartory Manager for Community Solar, Tom Figel, and Vote Solar's Mid-Atlantic Director, Pari Karostia, argue that New Jersey's community solar program must include financial incentives to support projects for low-income communities.

The floating panels are the first of its kind in Colorado and only the fifth in the U.S. Working together, the Town of Walden, Johnson Controls, Colorado Energy Office and GRID Alternatives Colorado were able to pull of the first-of-its-kind project.

The array will provide a renewable and supplemental energy source to treat drinking water in the town, school district and Jackson County offices.

Wells Fargo’s donation will be received by GRID Alternatives and will support the founding of GRID’s new Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund, which is an extension of GRID’s National Tribal Program and will look to advance PV technology and expand solar job opportunities for individuals on tribal lands

Making renewable energy technology and job training accessible to traditionally underserved communities is necessary for a successful transition to clean, renewable energy that includes everyone.

Native American tribes have been installing solar at least since 1987.  To advance this work, GRID Alternatives has launched a Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund with a $5 million commitment from Wells Fargo. 

Journalist Audrea Lim reports on GRID Alternatives for "Taking Heat," a series which "focuses on the intersection of climate change with other social and political issues, showcasing the ingenious and inventive ways in which people are already reworking our economy and society."

As Colorado works toward producing more renewable energy, GRID Alternatives Colorado is working to make the industry more diverse.

GRID Alternatives Colorado and the Denver Housing Authority, along with local energy businesses such as Namaste, have partnered to establish a Solar Training Academy to help meet the skilled employment demands of Colorado’s growing solar energy sector. Perhaps more importantly, they are recruiting talent from Denver’s underprivileged communities.