GRID Alternatives, University of California lab partner on research to improve off-grid electricity access in remote areas
GRID Alternatives has announced a partnership with the University of California, Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), to integrate research into GRID Alternatives projects providing solar power to communities around the world that lack access to electricity. RAEL researchers will work with GRID Alternatives staff and partners to study off-grid solar projects by GRID Alternatives in Nicaragua, Nepal, and tribal communities in the United States.
About the organizations
About GRID Alternatives
GRID Alternatives is an international, U.S.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that builds community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy. GRID works in the U.S., Mexico, Nepal, and Nicaragua and has installed solar photovoltaic systems on more than 29,500 homes and affordable housing developments in underserved communities while providing more than 33,200 individuals with workforce development training. GRID also provides clean mobility solutions and battery storage and is a leading voice in low-income solar policy development in the U.S. Installation Basics Training (IBT), a competency-based certificate program designed to develop the skills most relevant to entry-level solar installation jobs and related construction employment fields. Trainees learn solar installation skills, OSHA 10 safety standards, first aid and CPR, and soft skills, including interpersonal communication and dependability, to help job trainees obtain and sustain employment.
