People installing solar panel with houses and condos in the background

Servicios de instalación

Energía solar para uso comercial y multifamiliar

Do you own affordable housing or a commercial site?

GRID Alternatives is a fully licensed solar contractor in multiple states across the US. We provide cost-competitive, turnkey solar development and installation services for affordable multifamily housing properties and mission-driven nonprofits, with deep community engagement built into every project.

Learn more about GRID
Seen from the ground, one installer steadies a red extension ladder while another leans over the roof edge.

Why Solar?

Making Solar Work for Affordable Multifamily Housing

Installing solar with GRID can lower your organization’s operating costs and reduce electric bills for your tenants. We offer solar suitability assessment and financial analysis for your property, in-house engineering, procurement, project management and permitting, and help you secure incentives such as the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program, as well as other local, state and federal incentives.

A large crew in safety vests works across a flat commercial roof covered in panels.

Why Commercial Solar?

A Partner for Mission Aligned Organizations

GRID’s commercial program provides unique non-profit to non-profit services to support mission aligned nonprofits and community organizations, including health clinics, homeless shelters, and community service providers, many of whom traditional solar companies have historically overlooked. In addition to standard commercial development and installation services, GRID also provides industry leading workforce development programming including our SolarCorps Fellowship program and our accredited IBT-200 to increase the mission impacts of our work and support the career growth of members in your community.

GRID helps nonprofits navigate incentive programs, labor requirements, and utility coordination so their projects can move forward. The result: lower operating costs that free up more money for an organization’s core mission, and — when paired with battery storage — a facility that can stay open and serve its community during a grid outage.

GRID’s Services

Virtual Net Metering (VNEM) enables the credits from solar to be split across multiple separate accounts – a system which enables tenants to benefit directly from the savings from solar. With Virtual Net Metering, GRID installs one system tied to a single “host” meter, and the utility’s billing system allocates a percentage of those credits to individual tenant accounts and common area accounts. GRID has extensive experience with VNEM configurations in all participating utilities.

In California, VNEM is paired with a specific tenant protection: SOMAH projects are required to allocate at least 51% of solar credits directly to residents. HUD has determined that these credits don’t count as tenant income and don’t reduce a resident’s utility allowance. In other words, under SOMAH, residents get 100% of the savings and owners can at the same time receive significant electric bill savings to reduce the property’s operating expenses.

VNEM policies vary state by state. Contact us to learn what is available in your area.

Thinking about going solar? For nonprofits and affordable multifamily housing providers who want an independent, expert evaluation before committing to a solar system, GRID’s Technical Assistance program provides system sizing and preliminary design, cost estimating, and project management support so clients can make an informed decision with confidence. If you choose to move forward, GRID can manage the contractor bidding process on your behalf, and serve as your owner’s representative through installation and commissioning — so your team isn’t navigating complex procurement and construction coordination alone.

Energy resilience is becoming a growing need in communities across the country as concerns around grid reliability and power outages due to climate change are increasingly causing more disruptions to vital community services. GRID Alternatives Commercial team is skilled at assessing site specific needs and installing energy storage systems for non-profit organizations that provide critical community services such as food banks, shelter organizations and health clinics to minimize disruptions to their critical programs.

Battery storage is now an integral part of GRID’s commercial and multifamily projects as the need for resilience is increasing as well as to maximize utility savings. Storage lets a facility bank the solar energy it generates during the day and draw on it when the grid goes down or utility rates spike. Battery systems turn each facility into what our team calls a “community resilience center”: when a wildfire or heat event knocks out the grid, the doors can stay open, the refrigerators keep running, and medical equipment keeps working.

GRID can install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at your community facility or nonprofit – building out the essential EV charging infrastructure necessary for underserved communities to participate in the transition to clean vehicles. EV Charging Stations can be used by your facility’s vehicle fleet, tenants, employees, and visitors.

Contact us to learn what’s currently available in your area.

What Sets GRID Apart

See the full range of GRID’s solar installation capabilities →

  • Incentive Navigation

    We help you navigate solar incentive programs like SOMAH, Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP), and other state-funded incentive programs available nationwide.

  • Formación de la fuerza laboral

    Many GRID projects incorporate hands-on job training opportunities for local trainees by integrating our industry leading workforce development programming including our Installation Basics Training 200 hour certification. This means your tenants and community members can access paid training opportunities and the connections to employers that can lead to permanent jobs.

  • New Construction

    For new buildings, we help you meet state and local building energy codes, such as California's Title 24 energy code, and plan for solar from the start of construction, instead of adding it after the building is finished.

  • Rehab & Resyndication

    We provide planning support to integrate solar into your rehab scope during resyndication — the point when a multifamily building is refinanced and receives a new round of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for major renovations.

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