Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined nonprofit GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles (GRID GLA) to announce that GRID GLA is adopting Los Angeles’ Sustainable City pLAn with its “LA 500” pledge. The announcement took place at a low-income Los Angeles family’s home, where GRID GLA and students from three Los Angeles vocational schools were installing a no-cost rooftop solar system.
Through the LA 500 pledge, GRID GLA will provide no-cost rooftop solar to 500 low-income families in single- and multi-family dwellings and provide hands-on solar workforce training to 500 individuals in Los Angeles in the next two years. Adding solar power as envisioned in Los Angeles’ Sustainable City pLAn can reduce consumer bills and create green jobs in disadvantaged communities, ensuring all communities benefit from the city’s clean energy transition.
“Clean, affordable solar energy should be available to everyone – no matter where they live, or how much money they have,” said Mayor Garcetti. “By advancing clean power, reducing energy bills in underserved communities, and training a renewable energy workforce, GRID is helping realize the vision for Los Angeles laid out in my Sustainable City pLAn.”
LA 500 is expected to add up to 1.6 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity in the City of Los Angeles, and could save families up to $15 million on utility bills over the lifetime of their solar systems, preventing up to 30,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to taking 5,800 cars off the road for a year. GRID GLA has installed more than 1,100 solar systems across the region to-date, including over 100 in the City of Los Angeles. These installations have provided nearly 71,000 hours of workforce training to nearly 3,500 individuals, and GRID GLA has helped place more than 220 local workers in jobs with the solar industry.
“Solar power expands our economy while expanding environmental justice in our neediest communities,” said Michael Kadish, Executive Director of GRID GLA. “The LA 500 pledge will play a crucial role reducing utility bills, connecting good jobs with the people who need them most, and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.”
Today’s event took place at the South Los Angeles home of single mother Tina Neal, who moved to Los Angeles when Restore Neighborhood LA helped make her dream of homeownership possible. The solar system GRID installed on her home is projected to reduce the family’s electricity bill by 80 percent, saving her around $740 per year. “Because of the cost of electricity in my home with six kids, solar will make a great difference for my budget,” said Ms. Neal.
Ms. Neal’s system is funded by proceeds of California’s cap-and-trade program as part of California’s Climate Investments. GRID Alternatives receives these funds from the California Department of Community Services and Development to provide rooftop solar to more than 2,900 families in economically and environmentally disadvantaged communities through mid-2018. GRID Alternatives brings additional funding to the projects through philanthropic donations, equipment partnerships, and local rebates and investments.
America passed one million solar installations earlier this year, and Los Angeles leads all U.S. cities in total installed solar with 215MW of capacity. The U.S. solar industry is expected to employ approximately 240,000 workers by the end of 2016, growing 13 times faster than the overall economy. Solar jobs are growing 20 percent a year, providing good wages of $20-24 per hour, often without an advanced degree.
“Los Angeles Trade-Technical College offers innovative training in the areas of renewable energy, moving students onto career pathways for industries requiring skilled workers. Partnerships like the one we have with GRID Alternatives help provide our students with on-site training and a sense of community development,” said Larry Frank, President LATTC. “For five years, GRID Alternatives has given our students an opportunity to use knowledge gained in the classroom by placing them on solar projects bringing renewable energy to families in many different neighborhoods.”
News item from GRID Alternatives