Gregory Willis, a Marine Corps Veteran, retired in the same Compton neighborhood he grew up in and he\u2019s seen a lot of change: What used to be farmland is now housing as far as the eye can see, and the high school down the road was a horse stable where he rode with his dad back in the 1950\u2019s. And now, with brand new solar panels on his roof, he\u2019s leading a change of his own.<\/p>\n
On May 20, a team of employee volunteers from Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS) in Torrance, California arrived at his home to help install a 3.6 kW solar electric system. The project is one of 10 GRID Alternatives installations the Alcoa Foundation is supporting in California and New York this year, helping people like Mr. Willis be a part of the clean energy transition that is taking hold nationwide.<\/p>\n
Mr. Willis first heard about GRID through a volunteer and remembers thinking, \u201cMan I would love solar. It was right in line with my thinking of trying to give back and do right by the atmosphere. I am really excited about this.\u201d He is also excited about the money his system will save him, estimated at around $1,000 a year over 30 years. He and his wife Shirley, high school sweethearts who found each other again at their 25th high school reunion, are now in their 60\u2019s and are both in need of surgeries. \u201cIt will free up money to put to the side for when we are down,\u201d said Mr. Willis.<\/p>\n
GRID Alternatives was excited to host an Alcoa employee volunteer team for the first time in Los Angeles, and a hardworking team they were. Half of the panels were up by lunch time, and powered by a home-cooked lunch, they had the meter running backwards by the end of the day. \u201cIt\u2019s all about helping the community, taking care of the environment and having fun,\u201d said AFS President Vitaliy Rusakov, who was one of the last ones off the roof.<\/p>\n
As the day came to a close and curious neighbors started to make their way back home, every member of the AFS team shook Mr. Willis\u2019 hand and thanked him for the opportunity to install solar on his roof. \u201cWhat I really appreciate is not only the energy savings, but also to see this collaboration with a corporation and the volunteers,\u201d said Mr. Willis. \u201cIt warms my heart to see this cross section coming together, and I think this country needs a lot more of that. So I really appreciate the efforts of GRID Alternatives and Alcoa.\u201d Next, he says, he is going to install turf to reduce his water consumption.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gregory Willis, a Marine Corps Veteran, retired in the same Compton neighborhood he grew up in and he\u2019s seen a lot of change: What used to be farmland is now housing as far as the eye can see, and the high school down the road was a horse stable where he rode with his dad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2687,"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":[29,72,26],"region":[],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-2686","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-sponsors"],"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