More than a Megawatt on the Ground

by Lily Donge

This week, Salesforce published “More than a Megawatt” with contributions from Groundswell, Ceres, Defenders of Wildlife, Green Electronics Council, The Nature Conservancy, the Renewable Energy Buyers’ Alliance (REBA), and WattTime. This paper is a collaborative first step to address how a unit of power, the megawatt, goes beyond electricity.

October 22, 2020

Road to Groundswell: Nicole Sonderegger

by Alicia Hill

Groundswell is excited to welcome Nicole Sonderegger to our team as our new Solar Program Operations Manager. Nicole brings with her a passion for empowering underserved communities and experience leveraging business acumen to build sustainable and scalable solutions for a more equitable and greener future. In this installment of our "Road to Groundswell" series, Nicole shares her story.

October 15, 2020

What is Community Solar?

by Groundswell

Groundswell is energized to welcome new community solar subscribers to share power every day. We are making clean energy more equitable and accessible to everyone throughout the communities we serve through community solar.

October 05, 2020

Service and Values

by Kristal Knowles

Groundswell stands on its core value of service. We were founded on a vision and mission of building community power through the lens of service. At Groundswell, we believe that service is a privilege, not a chore. It's one of the things we take pride in — putting people first and keeping them at the center of our community solar projects. 

September 09, 2020

Road to Groundswell: Elvis Moleka

by Groundswell

Groundswell is excited to welcome Dr. Elvis Moleka to our team as our new Data Science and Research Fellow. Dr. Moleka has more than 15 years of progressive experience in finance, risk management, data and quantitative analytics, performing complex model validation analyses, and creating executive summaries of findings, which he is already applying to his work at Groundswell.

September 02, 2020

LIFT Needs Your Data!

Calls for Shared Data to Benefit LMI Families

by Chris Nichols

LIFT is requesting solar and community solar data on projects that serve Low to Moderate Income (LMI) customers. Solar or community solar programs may be managed by utilities, municipalities, solar developers and/or non-profit organizations - LIFT needs it all!

August 27, 2020

Groundswell and The Solutions Project Join Forces to Connect Values-Aligned Corporations, Capital, and Regenerative Community Solutions through The Fighter Fund

by Lily Donge

Groundswell, a nonprofit that builds community power, and The Solutions Project, which supports climate changemakers at the grassroots, are joining forces to develop a new program to connect corporate climate offset investments with renewable and regenerative projects serving frontline communities.

August 25, 2020

Building a Path to Resilience in Baltimore

by Bartees Cox

In June, Groundswell was awarded a $300,000 grant by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to design up to 30 resiliency hubs throughout Baltimore’s most climate vulnerable communities. These funds will make it possible for Groundswell to find out where it is feasible to install Resiliency Hubs in the Baltimore community — in terms of both architectural opportunities and potential host site locations.

August 20, 2020

Surveying in the Age of COVID-19: How we Can Improve

by Eli Rabinowitz

As sections of the country begin to slowly reopen, allowing most to return to work, the Coronavirus moves from the limelight to back burner. It is indisputable that COVID-19 has changed home, work, and community life. Simple things like meeting friends for dinner are no longer simple. While this is happening, job insecurity and job loss is increasing across the country . Society is changing. And for organizations seeking to work with communities most affected by COVID-19, we can no longer operate business as usual. We must study and monitor this change to better serve our customers, to stay attuned to people’s needs as needs change in a shifting environment. As a result, surveying customers and determining what their needs are is paramount in maintaining quality service during and following this pandemic.

July 24, 2020

A signal of what’s to come

by Lily Donge

Yesterday, Microsoft announced a major investment in solar energy with an unprecedented step in its focus on “under-resourced communities, working with local leaders and prioritizing minority and women-owned business.” This is among the early signals of a new movement that is about to grow).

July 23, 2020

28 Empowered Subscriptions Are Available Now!

by Groundswell

COVID-19 is hitting the pocketbooks of DC residents hard and some of us are being forced to choose between food, utilities and rent. We want to help make that choice easier. We’re reaching out to inform DC renters and homeowners that if you receive benefits through SNAP, TANF, Section 8 or SSI you are automatically qualified to cut your utility bill in half through a Groundswell Community Solar Project. This means you could begin reducing your utility bill now, so you can use your money for immediate needs during this crisis. If you don’t use SNAP, TANF or SSI, that's ok - you can still qualify for this program based on household income and other qualifications.

July 16, 2020

Supporting Each Other

by Bartees Cox

Supporting each other is one of Groundswell’s founding principles. This — and our commitment to providing a model that truly empowers our subscribers and their communities — is why we’ve taken a small step back from our usual social media and marketing efforts to introduce a new concert series at Groundswell called Prepare for Power. Through art, fresh perspectives, and performances by up and coming performers from across the country, we hope that we can transport you beyond the news of the day and into a space where you feel supported, inspired, and hopeful. 

July 02, 2020