\u201cI think it\u2019s going to help with the neighbors that don\u2019t have it yet,\u201d answered Eligio Hernandez, homeowner and father of three, when asked how he thinks his new solar installation will benefit his community. Hernandez already has several close neighbors that have taken advantage of GRID Alternatives\u2019 program. He believes that those that haven\u2019t, will become interested as they see more and more solar installed.<\/p>\n
Like many others, Eligio and Maria Hernandez thought there had to be a \u201ccatch\u201d. They began their research after receiving a letter in the mail explaining GRID services and speaking with a neighbor about his, now, incredible low electricity bill, courtesy of his solar panel system.<\/p>\n
The Hernandez family is just one of 21 families in the city of Orland that have received their solar systems from GRID Alternatives, totaling 94 beneficiaries. GRID Alternatives-North Valley takes great pride in assisting in the betterment of one of its closest neighboring cities. In whole, these Orland families are expected to save more than $600,000 over the lifetime of their systems. Nearly half of these families are extremely low income, less than 30% AMI. Savings like this can be expected to dramatically benefit the livelihood of families, as well as the rest of community. These savings mean that money will likely be reinvested into the local community; businesses and schools. Beyond the bottom line, helping families stay secure improves overall wellbeing.<\/p>\n
Aside from savings, Orland participants are making an extremely positive impact on the environment. The 66 kW of solar installed amongst the 21 homes is expected to eliminate 1,934 tons of greenhouse gasses over the system\u2019s lifetime. To conceptualize, this is equivalent to removing 344 cars from the road for 1 year or planting 45,480 trees.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like many others, Eligio and Maria Hernandez thought there had to be a \u201ccatch\u201d. They began their research after receiving a letter in the mail explaining GRID services and speaking with a neighbor about his, now, incredible low electricity bill, courtesy of his solar panel system.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,81],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[29,72,27],"region":[],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-2642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-community","category-organizational-stories","content-type-news","focus-area-clients","focus-area-solar-storage-installations","focus-area-volunteers"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\n