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![O-Zones for Clean Energy]()
O-Zones for Clean Energy
With over 30 years of experience supporting teams, advising projects, and writing reports on urban sustainability; Julia Parzen is a thought leader in the field. Julia wrote for Groundswell about various Opportunity Zone initiatives that are bringing affordable solar energy to economically diverse communities across the country. We’re excited to share Julia’s comprehensive research on a few of the numerous economic incentives available to help inform the urban sustainability field nationally, and connect solar project developers looking to offer similar programs with the resources to do so.
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![Groundswell Strategic Planning Retreat]()
Groundswell Strategic Planning Retreat
As people around the world celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 11, the team at Groundswell gathered to develop a strategic plan for our very own moonshot, the achievement of community power for all. Groundswell’s annual strategic planning meeting is a chance for our leadership and board members to take a step back from our daily work to consider how far Groundswell has come from our founding a decade ago, reaffirm our vision and goals, and plan for the future.
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![LIFT Solar Research Collaborative Update: June/July]()
LIFT Solar Research Collaborative Update: June/July
The DOE awarded Groundswell and its partners Elevate Energy, Southface, and Clean Energy Works funds for a research collaboration. The project, called Accelerating Low-Income Financing and Transactions for Solar Access Everywhere or “LIFT Solar Everywhere” will determine the optimal financing and program elements (customer experience factors) that community solar projects need to best serve every member of our communities, and especially our energy burdened neighbors. LIFT will use data from energy efficiency, solar and community solar programs nationwide to analyze how best to serve low-income families.
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![Fostering a Culture of Belonging]()
Fostering a Culture of Belonging
While I wear many hats as Manager of Business Operations and HR for Groundswell, one role that I am particularly passionate about is centered around Groundswell’s commitment to creating, and maintaining, a culture for our staff that is both inclusive and fosters a sense of belonging.
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![Community Solar Kick Off: St. Luke Baptist Church, D.C.]()
Community Solar Kick Off: St. Luke Baptist Church, D.C.
Celebrations were in order as Groundswell kicked off its second community solar project in D.C. at the 100-year-old St. Luke Baptist church in Ward 4’s historic 16th Street Heights neighborhood. The 55 kW roof installation will deliver 100% of the electricity it generates to 15 low-income families in the community at no cost as a part of the District of Columbia’s Solar for All program, cutting each family’s utility bill in half.
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![Solar in Bloom at LaGrange Housing Authority]()
Solar in Bloom at LaGrange Housing Authority
Groundswell recently collaborated with the Solutions Project, a nonprofit that funds renewable energy projects that build public will and interest, to install a solar Smartflower at the LaGrange Housing Authority (LHA). A first of its kind in area, the Smartflower will produce energy that will help reduce the monthly utility bill of LHA’s administrative office. Those savings will then be earmarked to fund future, youth afterschool programming and education.
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![Groundswell named the winner of the Bronze Stevie® Award]()
Groundswell named the winner of the Bronze Stevie® Award
Groundswell was recently named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Energy Industry Innovation of the Year category in The 17th Annual American Business Awards®. The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.'s premier business awards program.
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![Community Solar Kick Off: Dupont Seventh Day Adventist Church, D.C.]()
Community Solar Kick Off: Dupont Seventh Day Adventist Church, D.C.
Thanks in part to Solar For All DC, a program of the Department of Energy and Environment, Groundswell broke ground on two landmark solar projects totaling 168kW of capacity at the 100-year-old DuPont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church located in DC’s historic Ward 7 neighborhood.
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![Black Green History: Growing Opportunities from Within]()
Black Green History: Growing Opportunities from Within
Brad Boston, Suncatch Solar Construction owner and 4th generation electrical contractor, shares about his experience in electric and solar construction. With SunCatch, Brad makes Black Green History by advocating and facilitating opportunities for workforce development within the local community.
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![Black Green History: Making History with Mohawk]()
Black Green History: Making History with Mohawk
A building in and of itself is not anything but a building. The value of a sustainable building is that it educates the people in the building who then go and begin to pollinate that message of responsibility in their own communities and homes.
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![Black Green History: Increasing Diversity in the Solar Market]()
Black Green History: Increasing Diversity in the Solar Market
We caught up with Terrell Richmond, president and CEO of NYMBUS, to review the compelling findings in his new report and ideas on how to increase the opportunities for diverse participation in the Baltimore and D.C. solar industry.
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![Report: Solar Empowers...Some]()
Report: Solar Empowers...Some
The State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Solar Sector In Washington, DC And Baltimore, MD
A new report by NYMBUS Holdings highlights immediate and measurable steps to close the diversity gap in Washington DC’s solar marketplace to address the underrepresentation of minority and women-owned businesses at every level of the solar supply chain.
