On Saturday July 31st, the Residential Solar 101 team joined about 150 other volunteers for Grid Alternatives’ Solarthon 2010.  In the eight hours we were there, the teams worked to install solar panels on nine different houses in West Oakland. On average, each system was 2 kW in size. A total of 18 Kilowatts (kW) of solar generating capacity was installed on the nine houses. As a result of the installations, these nine households will collectively save an estimated $180,000 over the next 20 years!  If that’s not a great way to have an impact on a community, I don’t know what is.

Grid Alternatives is a non-profit organization that was started four years ago with a mission to install solar panels on low-income housing.  In their first year, Grid Alternatives completed just two installations. Since then they have expanded significantly, and four years down the road they just reached 500 installations.  A typical Grid Alternatives installation is 2kW, which means that as of July 2010 they have installed 1 Megawatt of solar power. Most importantly, this solar power is distributed throughout low-income housing developments across California. That’s a whole lot of solar energy!

Instead of just giving money to low-income families, Grid Alternatives installs solar power systems, which really are the gift that keeps on giving.  Day in and day out these solar panels will produce clean, renewable energy, which not only reduces the homeowners monthly electric bill (for the next 20-30 years), but also reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to helping the homeowners, Grid Alternatives provides an easy way for volunteers to gain experience installing solar. In some cases, volunteers have gone on to pursue careers as solar installers.

This was my third Grid Alternatives solar installation and I was more impressed than ever.  (My first was the Grid Alternatives Solarthon 2009).  The day started with a detailed safety talk before breaking up into our respective teams and heading off to start installing.  Each team had a team supervisor who worked for Grid Alternatives and two leaders (one for the roof and one for the ground) who either worked in the industry or had done a number of installations and had been through a leader training.  This year Residential Solar 101 joined the CleanTechies.com team – a great group of people interested in all things clean-tech.

The Clean Techies team installed a 2.7 kilowatt system consisting of twelve 230 watt ET Solar panels and a 2500 watt PV Powered grid-tied inverter.  Normally a system of this size would cost around $20,000 before solar rebates & incentives and about $12,000 after.  This family will get the system for free thanks to government incentives and the generosity of Grid Alternatives and their volunteers.  In return, the family will be required to take steps improve their home’s energy efficiency.

Volunteering for Grid Alternatives is a hands-on experience.  Normally, volunteers on a Grid Alternatives installation will be responsible for installing every part of the home solar power system, except any wiring in the circuit panel box (Only the Grid Alternatives employees (professional installers) do that for safety reasons). This work will take a team two days to complete. However, because the Solarthon is a one day event, some of the preparation had been done in the weeks prior. This included routing the conduit for the wires, and installing the rails (frame) on the roof.

Here’s a list of the tasks we completed:

• Mounted, hanged, and hooked up the inverter
• Prepped the frame on the roof
  
• Mounted & connected the solar panels on the roof
  
• Ran the wires from the roof to the inverter
• The the professionals finished up the final hook-up from the inverter to the circuit panel box.
  

Would I do it again?  Absolutely.  As I said, this is my third Grid Alternatives installation and I’ll definitely be back for more.  As the saying goes, give a man a fish and he’ll have dinner for one night.  Teach him to fish and he’ll have dinner for the rest of his life.  I think the same thing goes with energy.  Giving these families money to pay their energy bill is a one time fix.  Installing solar panels to supply them with free, clean energy for the next 30+ years is a smart long-term solution.

Related posts:

• Solarthon 2009 — Want to Learn How to Install Solar?
• Solarthon_2009
• Getting Dirty with Solar Installations – Solarthon | 2010
• Support Solar Energy, And Boost Your Company’s Awareness — Learn How
• Ever Installed Solar Panels? Bent Conduit? Mounted Inverters? It’s Fun!

It is that time of year again, the sun is shining and solar panels are soaking it up. And Grid Alternatives’ Solarthon on July 31st in the Bay Area is proving to be bigger and better than ever. Solarthon is a solar block party and fundraiser where GRID Alternatives Bay Area will be leading individual and corporate work crews to install solar panels for several low-income families in one neighborhood in one day.

CleanTechies will be organizing a team of around 15 volunteers to raise solar money to install solar panels. As part of the team you will set up a fundraising page (just click “join this team” to join now), and have friends and family help you achieve your goal of raising funds to help us reach $5,000 as a team. All proceeds will go to GRID Alternatives, a fabulous non-profit organization dedicated to bringing solar energy to low-income families.

What’s in for you? As part of the CleanTechies team, you will meet other solar professionals and fans, learn how to install solar panels, attend an orientation session, do good by installing a solar system on a low-income family’s house the day of Solarthon, and have a lot of fun . If you would like to join our team, please email me, and we will get you added to our team.

If you can’t make it on July 31, you can still get involved: Raise $250 to attend the orientation session – which is basically a one day all you need to know mandatory solar class –, then participate with the installation of solar panels on Habitat for Humanity homes. And, of course, you can simply donate now through our fundraising page – again, all proceeds go to GRID Alternatives.

Here are some pictures from last year’s event. You can see the CleanTechies Solarthon team, both on the roof installing the panels and on the ground checking out the inverter.

Related posts:

• Support Solar Energy, And Boost Your Company’s Awareness — Learn How
• Solarthon_2009
• Solarthon 2009 — Want to Learn How to Install Solar?
• Ever Installed Solar Panels? Bent Conduit? Mounted Inverters? It’s Fun!
• Grid Alternatives Solarthon 2010 – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

During the past weekend a team of CleanTechies made up of our staff members, friends and blog readers like yourself put our “Think Globally, Act Locally” philosophy into practice during Solarthon 2009. Our team of 15 people spent a partially rain-soaked Saturday to install a solar electric system on a low-income home in a Habitat for Humanity neighborhood located in Oakland, California. The team was organized by CleanTechies over the last month and its members were given the goal of raising almost $5,000 for the privilege of taking part in the event. All this effort was to support the ongoing efforts of a company we’ve raved about many times; GRID Alternatives.

GRID Alternatives is a non-profit organization making solar electric systems a reality for low-income homeowners who otherwise could not afford the systems. GRID does this through an innovative business model where they train volunteers to do everything from designing a system on a sheet of paper to mounting the final panel on a roof. With drastically reduced labor costs, a team of 10-15 volunteers can work slowly and steadily under the guidance of a GRID employee to deliver a complete system at almost half the cost of a typical solar system.

Solarthon 2009 was GRID Alternatives largest fundraiser of the year and their biggest event ever! Over the course of one day, three hundred volunteers, each of whom raised at least $250, got their hands dirty by installing solar electric systems on 16 homes in a Habitat for Humanity community which, when completed, will have 56 units. In total more than $100,000 was raised and we are proud to say that a founding member of CleanTechies, Ian Thomson, had the second largest amount of donations.

Our team sponsored one of the homes and worked alongside two volunteer solar professionals who gave us direction and made sure the work was done to professional standards. The future homeowner joined us also and worked on everything from mounting the inverter to bending conduit to running the wiring and clamping down the panels. She couldn’t have been more thrilled with the fanfare and excitement generated by the event and no doubt she was equally happy to know that her electric bills will be drastically reduced for the next several generations.

The system we installed was made up of an array of 9 solar panels. Each panel is rated at 230 watts meaning that the complete system (9 panels X 230 watts each) will generate 2.07Kilowatts (kw). This should support most or all of the energy needs of the homeowner since the home will also be outfitted with energy efficient appliances. Between solar, efficient appliances and proper energy efficiency measures, this home should have no problem receiving its LEED certification.

This event was a success for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it shows that even during tough economic times, there are many still willing to help one another and support the use of clean technologies to lower our carbon footprint. In fact, the systems installed during Solarthon 2009 will generate over $270,000 worth of clean, renewable power for low-income families over their lifespans while eliminating over 800 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Reduced bills and less pollution? That is truly something to celebrate.

Some more pictures from the event:

Related posts:

• California to Get another 250 MW of Solar Power
• Grid Alternatives Solarthon 2010 – The Gift That Keeps On Giving
• Ontario Bets on Alternative Energy For Sustainability and Job Creation
• Solar Panels Cool Buildings
• Solar-Powered Window Shutters – As Seen at West Coast Green

In light of our desire to Think Globally and Act Locally, CleanTechies is raising $5,000 to support GRID Alternatives during Solarthon 2009.

As mentioned in my previous post, Solarthon 2009 will be GRID’s largest event of the year, with plans to install solar electric systems on 16 low-income houses in one community in one day.

CleanTechies is sponsoring one of the houses and is putting together a team of 15 volunteers to make it happen. Each volunteer will not only raise money, but also get trained on how solar works and actually take part in installing the solar electric system on the house during the big event on September 12, 2009.

To meet our team’s $5,000 target, we are offering a unique opportunity of marketing incentives on the CleanTechies website to companies wishing to help:

1) $100 donation: Your company name on the CleanTechies website

2) $250 donation: Your company name + logo + link back to your site

3) $500 donation: Your company name + logo + link back + description of your company

Simply make a tax-deductible donation at http://www.firstgiving.com/cleantechies_for_grid and we’ll mention your company on our website.

Finally, we have a few spaces left on the team for people who want to get their hands dirty and learn about solar. If you are interested in joining, please contact me at jared(at)cleantechies.com

Related posts:

• Panasonic Will Build Solar Cell Plant in Malaysia
• SolarMaid: One Unique Solar-Panel Cleaning Service
• Pre-installed Solar Panels Boost Solar Power Adoption
• Solar Technology Innovators Get Official Support
• Focus on Fuel Economy Would Boost Profits for U.S. Car Makers

In yesterday’s CleanTechies blog post on solar energy careers, I wrote about an innovative non-profit named GRID Alternatives which provides solar electric systems to low income families. CleanTechies is working with GRID Alternatives to support their largest 1 day install ever during Solarthon 2009 which will take place on September 12, 2009 in a community in Oakland, California.

GRID has the immense goal of installing solar electric systems on 16 houses in one day. Anyone can get involved, the only catch is you need to raise $250 in tax-deductable donations for GRID Alternatives.

Everyone involved will receive a 2.5 hour training on how solar works and what to expect on the day of the installation. You will be provided with unique web page to send to your friends/family/co-workers to request and track donations, and you will take part in the big event on September 12. In addition to helping a great cause, you will get hands-on experience with solar and work side by side with many others who are interested or already working in the world of clean tech.

If you would like to take part in this event and join the CleanTechies Solarthon Team, please contact me at jared (at) cleantechies.com. If you simply want to donate to GRID to help support their cause, please click here.

Related posts:

• Support Solar Energy, And Boost Your Company’s Awareness — Learn How
• Getting Dirty with Solar Installations – Solarthon | 2010
• Solarthon_2009
• Ever Installed Solar Panels? Bent Conduit? Mounted Inverters? It’s Fun!
• Grid Alternatives Solarthon 2010 – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

“We will have solar energy as soon as the utility companies solve one technical problem – how to run a sunbeam through a meter” — anonymous

There is a lot of buzz going on these days about the role solar will play in the current clean tech revolution occurring around the world. Many people find solar interesting but don’t know how it works, why it is gaining so much popularity and how they can get involved. Below are some of the resources I have used to make the world of solar easier to understand.

First question to answer: What is solar? For this you should read the wiki description of solar power.

Now that you understand some of the history of solar power, you may want to understand one of the most common ways that solar power is converted into electricity, for this you should read about photovoltaics or PV.

If you are like me and don’t have a science/engineering background, it may be easier to understand what all the wiki information means after the concepts are explained in an instructional video. Luckily PG&E, a giant utility company in California, has made a wonderful video available that explains PV, how to determine whether PV makes sense and a great financial breakdown for the cost of PV. The instructor also touches on thin-film and solar hot water heaters. I like the 1h47m version on PG&E’s website, but check out the video below if you only have 7 minutes.

To learn a bit more about solar hot water systems, the US Dept of Energy site provides a pretty clear explanation.

The knowledge you just received about solar and its associated costs/benefits can now be put to use as you peruse an innovative website, sf solarmap, that uses mapping technology to show the potential costs and savings for every roof in the city of San Francisco.

What are some of the other things happening in solar? A simple to follow talk on solar trends held by NPR provides some good information.

In the NPR talk, they cite solar thermal as having huge future potential. If you want to see a bit about how solar thermal works, check out one of my favorite sites; Ted.com. This is a talk by the founder of idealab on what his company has been working on.

Also, don’t forget to check out the CleanTechies Blog for articles on solar energy written by professionals working in this industry. For example, Levent Bas compares photovoltaics with solar thermal in his article, and Ceylan Oney analyzes differences between solar energy in Germany and California.

To learn more about typical roles in the solar industry and what kind of skills and experiences solar companies expect you to have, I suggest you read the Solar Job Guide by Frank Marquardt. You can get 20% off the original price when you order the book through CleanTechies.

Watching videos and reading about solar is great but how do you get hands on experience with solar? One fantastic way is as a volunteer. There is an exciting non-profit company out of Oakland, California named GRID Alternatives that trains volunteers on how solar works so that they may help install solar on the home of a low income family. GRID Alternatives works only with PV but that may change in the future. Below is a video showing some background on the company and how they do a PV installation. If you are outside the bay area consider getting in touch with your local utility or solar installation company to see how you can get involved.

Obviously the resources I’ve listed are by no means exhaustive so if you have some sites/resources you have found particularly useful in your solar research, please leave a comment so that we may all benefit from your knowledge.

Related posts:

• New PV Mounting System To Prevent Solar Panel Theft
• DC Solar on the Move
• Solarthon 2009 — Want to Learn How to Install Solar?
• Ahura Energy: A Breakthrough in Solar Thermal
• Want to blog for us?

The purpose of the New Leaders Council is to provide emerging progressive leaders with a rigorous 5-month leadership training program that focuses on entrepreneurship, communications and public speaking skills, fundraising, campaign work, new and traditional media, and personal values to shape them into what the NLC calls “political entrepreneurs”.

I had the pleasure of attending the New Leaders Council’s Energy Leadership Awards event at the Minna Gallery on June 15. As the night kicked off, people started trickling in, talking and mingling with the current and former fellows of the New Leaders Council, and soon, the Gallery was filled with conversation and laughter.

Suddenly, a burst of energy emerged from the front of the crowd – this burst of energy was named Kula Koenig, a 2009 New Leaders Council Fellow. She was warm, sweet and full of energy and welcomed all of us to the event. Kula, passionate about making a difference in the world, has found the tools she learned from the NLC to be extremely useful in her quest.

Kula then introduced Phil Angelides, Chairman of the Apollo Alliance and the evening’s host. Mr. Angelides has been an enormous voice and strong promoter of the clean tech industry. Mr. Angelides said, “You don’t need a title to make a difference. The possibilities to make change are limitless.”

The Public Sector Award went to Phil Ting, San Francisco Assesor-Recorder and Founder of the Solar Task Force, for launching GoSolarSF and pushing San Francisco’s businesses to install solar systems, doubling the number installed in a year and a half. If its one thing I took away from his speech, it was this: never take no for an answer.

The Business Sector Award went to Nancy Floyd, Founder and Managing Director of Nth Power, for her continuous dedication in investing and believing in the clean tech market with her venture capital firm, Nth Power. Ms. Floyd said that the NLC had the passion and vision to make a change in the world.

The Non-Profit Sector Award went to Tim Sears and Erica Mackie, the Co-Founders of GRID Alternatives, for their involvement in bringing solar panels for low income families. With the help of numerous volunteers and hours of job training, GRID Alternatives has installed about 200 systems in San Francisco.

As the award ceremony dwindled to an end, the room was filled with renewed passion, hope and determination, inspired by the all the winners that night. It was clear that one point resonated throughout the evening – Edward Everett Hale summed it up quite well when he said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

Related posts:

• Solarthon 2009 — Want to Learn How to Install Solar?
• Energy Leadership Awards with Phil Angelides & Fiona Ma
• Ever Installed Solar Panels? Bent Conduit? Mounted Inverters? It’s Fun!
• Clean Tech Event: Smart Grid Bilateral Trade and Investment Opportunities
• What A Party! $4,000 to GRID Alternatives… and I turn 30

If you haven’t heard about GRID Alternatives yet, you probably missed the fundraiser CleanTechies organized for this fabulous non-profit in March. The party was a lot of fun, and we raised over $4,000 for GRID Alternatives that evening. Now, there’s another fundraiser coming up that – and it promises to be another exciting party: There will be dozens of electric vehicles available for viewing and even test drives – including the Tesla Roadster, futuristic prototypes displayed by Stanford and PG&E, plug-in hybrid conversions, motorcycles, scooters, neighborhood electric vehicles and much more. Industry experts will be speaking about current trends in electric-powered transportation, such as:

Josh Becker, General Partner, New Cycle Capital
Sherry Boschert, Co-Founder and Board Member, Plug In America
Anup Jacob, Partner, Virgin Green Fund
John Suh, Staff Researcher, GM Advanced Technology Silicon Valley
Saul Zambrano, Director, PG&E Clean Air Transportation Program

The event is taking place at Google’s solar-powered carport at their campus in Mountain View, and there will be plenty of food and drinks. If you want to learn about plug-in vehicles while raising money to bring renewable energy to low-income families, I’d recommend you purchase your ticket now (at the bottom of this page). Tickets must be purchased in advance – space is limited and the organizers expect this event to sell out.

Sunday, May 31, 2009
GRID Alternatives presents: Plug In To Grid Party
When: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Where: Google’s Solar-Powered Carport, Mountain View, CA (exact address to be given upon rsvp)

This promises to be a great networking event where you can mingle with the who’s who of solar energy and clean cars. All proceeds benefit the non-profit GRID Alternatives and their work to bring solar energy to low income families. Since 2004, GRID Alternatives has been bringing solar electric systems to low-income families throughout Northern and Southern California. They have also trained over 2,030 community volunteers and job trainees on solar electric installation and provided them with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with real-world solar projects.

CleanTechies is proud to be among the Contributors, Supporters, Board and Host Committee of this event. We hope to see you there!

If you can’t make it to the event and would like to support GRID Alternatives, donate now.

Check out the CleanTechies Calendar for more events!

Related posts:

• Tesla Promises an Electric SUV Model After Their Sedan Hits Markets
• Officially Official: Tesla and Toyota Plug in at NUMMI
• Tesla’s new competitor – and they are bankrupt!
• Tesla Skyrockets in Debut
• Toyota Benefits From Relationship With Tesla

Thank you to the 200 CleanTechies and friends that came to usher me into my 30’s and raised over $4,000 for GRID Alternatives – an impressive sum for a great night of partying!

Here are a couple of pictures from the night. For many more, please go to photographer and dear friend Philipp Weitz’s website (click on “Galleries”, scroll down to our event, and use “cleantechies” as the password).  As you can see, he took some amazing shots of the party, and you can get them printed and sent to you. Bonus of bonuses: He’s donating the proceeds to GRID Alternatives!

Thanks to our donors, there were great cocktails, delicious food, great prizes and even better people together at Aventine- a fabulous bar in downtown San Francisco. Pete Doolittle painted some superb stuff, and auction and raffle winners went home with some great party gifts!

Regardless of how you feel about the new President of the United States, this was a page right out of his book.  House parties raised a considerable sum of money for Obama’s campaign, showing people that they could have a great time and do some networking while supporting a cause they believed in.  Similarly, this is the first of many CleanTechies parties that will have a purpose: to bring great people together and raise money for projects and organizations working on making renewables and cleantech more accessible to the public.

If you would like to throw a CleanTechies party, wherever you are in the world, let us know, and we’ll help you pack the house!

And if you want to be part of the CleanTechies Fundraiser for GRID Alternatives, you can donate right here.

Related posts:

• Here’s a Fun-draiser: CleanTechies Party for GRID Alternatives
• Plug in to GRID party at Google’s solar-powered carport: Check out Tesla Roadster, Stanford prototypes, and PG&E innovations
• Solarthon 2009 — Want to Learn How to Install Solar?
• Getting Dirty with Solar Installations – Solarthon | 2010
• Ever Installed Solar Panels? Bent Conduit? Mounted Inverters? It’s Fun!

CleanTechies has a strong social mission and is dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations in bringing clean technologies and green energy to more businesses, residences and communities. We are glad to announce that we are supporting GRID Alternatives, a San Francisco Bay Area not-for-profit providing renewable energy and energy efficiency services to communities in need. On March 7, CleanTechies is kicking off its philanthropic activities by hosting a fundraiser party in San Francisco. All proceeds of the event will go to GRID Alternatives. This will be the first in a series of events with a dual purpose, to bring together CleanTech community members in support of local causes and to provide networking opportunities.

“We expect around 200 guests to attend the fundraiser and hope to raise $5,000 dollars for GRID Alternatives that night,” says Ian Thomson, CEO and Co-founder of CleanTechies. “This event provides plenty of networking opportunities for cleantech and renewable energy professionals and allows them to collaborate for a local cause that provides logical renewable energy and efficiency services to communities in need.”

Silent Auction and Raffle with great prizes
CleanTechies will raise the money through the collection of individual donations and the sale of raffle tickets. Several local organizations and individuals have already provided in-kind-donations for the event, starting with Gian-Paolo Veronese of Aventine, a fabulous bar in downtown San Francisco. He is providing the venue and will be serving delicious appetizers during the event. There will be great drink specials compliments of local favorite Lotus Vodka.  The highlight of the evening will be a raffle and an auction with some great prizes, including private yoga sessions, acupuncture and spa treatments, Green Zebra’s 2009 Bay Area Green Guides, some eco-drycleaning, a Home Energy Audit from Sustainable Spaces, hotel vouchers, local wines, a romantic sunset sail cruise on the Bay and inspiring art by local artist Pete Doolittle (who will be there painting his masterpieces live!).

How can I attend?
If you want to attend the event, you can register by using our contact form, and we’ll get back to you letting you know if there is still space. The party starts at 7:30 pm, and if you come before 9:00 pm, a suggested $15 donation gets you an appropriately sustainable adult beverage and a (potentially!) winning raffle ticket. After 9:00 pm, there will be a $20 suggested cover, but you won’t want to miss the raffle that starts at 9:30 pm! Remember that proceeds from the night’s event go to Grid Alternatives.

Donate now!
If you can’t join the party but would like to donate, here’s what you can do: Together with GRID Alternatives, we have set up a page where you can easily donate online. All donations are fully tax-deductible. If you would like to contribute to the fundraiser by donating in-kind with a service or a raffle or auction prize, please let us know – we appreciate your support!

About GRID Alternatives
With energy costs continuing to rise, and the environmental costs of our current energy sources becoming clearer every day, the time is now for solar power in our community. GRID Alternatives is expanding rapidly – after piloting their Solar Affordable Housing Program with two installations in 2004, they have now completed over 200, and they have expanded to serve low-income homeowners throughout California. Their volunteers and staff rely upon the financial support of donors like you to continue this growth and bring the power of solar electricity into more low-income communities throughout the state.

Related posts:

• Getting Dirty with Solar Installations – Solarthon | 2010
• Solarthon 2009 — Want to Learn How to Install Solar?
• What A Party! $4,000 to GRID Alternatives… and I turn 30
• Plug in to GRID party at Google’s solar-powered carport: Check out Tesla Roadster, Stanford prototypes, and PG&E innovations
• Ever Installed Solar Panels? Bent Conduit? Mounted Inverters? It’s Fun!