Non-profit group provides solar panels for low-income homeowners in Salinas

More than 700-thousand homes across the U.S. have gone solar and it’s not cheap. Something many low income families can’t afford but help is now available in Salinas.

The non-profit group, GRID Alternatives, installs rooftop solar systems on the homes of low-income families across California. On February 17th, they opened an office in Salinas to expand to the Central Coast.

“We’ll look at their electricity usage for the past year and we’ll design a system according to that. And as long as there’s enough space on the roof, we’ll install all the solar panels needed to cover their entire usage,” said Justin Hitchcock, Regional Director.

Known as the salad bowl of the world, Salinas is full of agriculture. And GRID Alternatives helps a lot of farm workers. Aside from helping low-income families, GRID Alternatives creates job opportunities by training up to 10 volunteers during installations.

“To get up on the roof and get some hands on experience installing solar. And then we connect them with other solar companies to start their career,” said Hitchcock.

The solar panels aren’t completely free. There’s a monthly fee of $8, but most home owners save up to 80% on their electric bill. According to Energy Informative, residential solar systems cost upwards of $30,000. But GRID Alternatives found a way to drive down costs so that low-income families can go solar, too.

“With every project we’re benefiting the community in three different ways: we’re reducing our carbon footprint, we’re providing families’ savings on their energy bills, and finding people jobs,” said Hitchcock.

For more information on how to become eligible for solar panel installations through GRID Alternatives, or to become a volunteer for job training, contact Clarita Cortes at 831-784-8677.