AB 217 ensures that the benefits of solar continue to reach low-income families and communities that need the energy cost savings and jobs the most.

Students in the green energy manufacturing academy at Ceres High School got out of the classroom and onto a rooftop to install solar power. This was the second installation that Ceres High school completed in conjunction with the Central Valley GRID Alternatives office.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of National Service was recognized across the U.S. as people rolled up their sleeves and took part in projects to better their community. For GRID Alternatives’ AmeriCorps members, this was a day to celebrate their year-long service to GRID Alternatives.

“This organization is a role model for how business can promote solar energy while equipping Californians with the skills they need to sustain this industry,” said EPA Pacific Southwest regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld in presenting the award.

Last week 23 GRID Alternatives SolarCorps members made their way to the Solar Living Institute for a week-long solar PV course. When I arrived on Sunday, I found that I would be staying in a small hut with 3 beds.

Courtney Dittmar was thrilled the day she took home her orange Team Leader shirt. For months she had been commuting by bus, train, bike and foot to get to installs in Richmond, Oakland and San Francisco from her home in Mountain View, and she finally had something to show for it.

Los Angeles is increasingly becoming a clean technology hub, but for South Los Angeles residents, who face severe economic and environmental challenges—high rates of foreclosure, unemployment, and pollution—the benefits of clean energy are typically out of reach. All that changed in one neighborhood on Saturday November 10th, when GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles installed solar electric systems for ten low-income families in the lovely Willowbrook area.

“"You’'re working with a homeowner that’s excited; this may never happen otherwise for them, the workers are excited. It’s a win/win for everyone,”" says volunteer Frank Walters about his volunteer experience with GRID Alternatives.

As a volunteer-based organization, we are surrounded by amazing, dedicated people who give and give and give – of their time, their energy, their expertise, and their financial support.

GRID’s Bay Area office honored Veteran’s Day 2012 with a very special solar installation: a team of students from Laney Green Jobs, including several veterans, worked all weekend to complete a solar system on the home of a fellow veteran in Richmond’s Iron Triangle. The system is expected to save Mr. Avila, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and now lives on a fixed income, over $22,500 in energy costs over the lifetime of the system.