Esmeralda Ramirez’s life changed over a cup of coffee - and volunteering with GRID. An army veteran, she had recently returned from the Middle East, where she spent twelve years working in fuel security in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, receiving and testing fuel shipped in for convoys and other military transport vehicles, and wanted a change.

Interfaith Power and Light (IPL), a national interfaith organization dedicated to the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy, is partnering with GRID Alternatives to help us bring the benefits of solar to more families.

Congratulations to our partners from the Bishop Paiute Tribe, Chippewa Cree Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribal Utility Commission, and the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians! The Department of Energy announced last week that these tribes have been awarded funding to work with GRID to bring solar to even more tribal members.

Top energy policymakers, federal legislators and state and local energy experts came out in New York and Washington D.C. this week to help us celebrate the release of our new Low-Income Solar Policy Guide! Developed in partnership with Vote Solar and the Center for Social Inclusion, the guide gives a comprehensive overview of proven policies and program models for expanding access to solar power and solar jobs around the country.

It was during a college class that Ms. Gonzales heard her fellow students talking about an all women crew volunteering with GRID Alternatives San Diego. “All I heard was ‘job’, ‘crew’ and ‘tools’, and I thought, I could do that!”

As part of AmeriCorps Week (March 2-12) some of our amazing SolarCorps members took over the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) Instagram and Snapchat accounts! Fellows from all over GRID Alternatives had the chance to share their work -and passion- with CNCS fans.

10 schools, 100 students and 1000s of dollars saved for low income families -- Solar Spring Break is officially on!

Austin, Texas-based SunPower employees give back to their community with four GRID Alternatives solar installations in Austin's Blackland neighborhood.

We're excited to break ground on 5 new community solar projects in Colorado! Thanks to a grant from the Colorado Energy Office, we'll be working with 5 local utility companies to install 579 kW of solar designed to demonstrate the viability of community solar models that serve low-income households.

At the Solar Power International (SPI) tradeshow in September, we convened a panel of diversity experts to talk about the benefits of a diverse workforce, and what their companies have been doing to support diversity in their own workplaces. We learned a ton, and wanted to share the top takeaways!