GRID Alternatives

At GRID Alternatives, we believe that a successful transition to clean, renewable energy needs to include everyone. We are working across the United States and in Nicaragua to make renewable energy technology and job training accessible to underserved communities. GRID Alternatives is a 501(c)(3) certified non-profit organization that brings together community partners, volunteers and job trainees to implement solar power and energy efficiency for low-income families, providing energy cost savings, valuable hands-on experience, and a source of clean, local energy that benefits us all. Take a look at our Project Map to see the impact of our work.We are based in Oakland, California and currently have ten regional offices and affiliates serving all of California, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. We also have staff on the ground in Nicaragua.GRID Alternatives' core program, providing no- to very-low-cost solar power for low-income families while providing hands-on installation experience for job seekers and community volunteers. We also administer California's two dedicated single-family low-income solar incentive programs, Single Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) (California Public Utilities Commission) and the Low-Income Weatherization Program - solar component (CA Dept. of Community Services and 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 job training programs and initiatives include: 

• Team Leader program, providing advanced skills training for experienced volunteers
• RISE - Realizing and Inclusive Solar Economy, a diversity initiative in partnership with SunEdison
• National Women in Solar Initiative 
• SolarCorps, one-year fellowships in partnership with AmeriCorps
• Solar Futures, a K-14 education program, in partnership with SunPower, offering classroom curriculum and hands-on training for youth

GRID Alternatives partners with tribal communities to help them achieve their clean energy goals while providing financial savings and job training opportunities to improve their members' quality of life.  Travel to Nicaragua with GRID Alternatives to light up rural communities for the first time! We offer multiple 'voluntourism' trips throughout the year, as well as opportunities for private sponsored trips for corporate and student teams.  GRID Alternatives’ vision is a successful transition to clean, renewable energy that includes everyone.Inappropriate comments or language will be deleted, and may result in the user being banned from the page.Our mission is to make renewable energy technology and job training accessible to underserved communities. We bring together community partners, volunteers and job trainees to implement solar power and energy efficiency for low-income families, providing energy cost savings, valuable hands-on experience, and a source of clean, local energy that benefits us all.

GRID Alternatives was founded during the 2001 California energy crisis by Erica Mackie, P.E., and Tim Sears, P.E., two engineering professionals who were implementing large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects for the private sector. The vision that drove them was simple: free, clean electricity from the sun should be available to everyone. Through GRID Alternatives, they developed a model to make solar PV technology practical and accessible for low-income communities that need the savings and jobs the most, yet have the least access. By taking a broader approach to solar as not just an environmental good but also a real-world solution to a real-world economic problem in these communities, GRID Alternatives is helping to set the stage for large-scale solar adoption nationwide. In 2008, GRID Alternatives was selected by the California Public Utilities Commission to serve as the statewide program manager for its $162 million Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) incentive program, the country's first dedicated solar rebate for low-income families. Thousands of California homeowners have gone solar through GRID Alternatives under this groundbreaking initiative in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, and we have integrated workforce development into every project.  In 2012, GRID Alternatives launched a national expansion with support from Wells Fargo. We began serving Colorado in 2012, the New York Tri-state area in 2013, and the Mid-Atlantic regional in 2014. GRID Alternatives started an international program in Nicaragua in 2014 through the acquisition of Power to the People, as well as a program to serve Tribal communities across the nation.