GRID Alternatives

Spread the renewable energy gospel!!!

Thank GOD there were no FAKE PLASTIC NETWORKING YUPPIES there to ruin the whole experience! There’s nothing creepier than a a couple of advertising or marketing whores exchanging business cards at a feed-​the-​homeless shelter event over Christmas. Nasty.
Grid Alternatives, however, is not a place you will feel comfortable metrosexualizing in. There are no expensive hotel lobby bars, no drinks, no homeless to pander to, nobody to impress. You’re there to WORK and LEARN.
And you will learn a lot. And the work is fun. You’re not going to overdo it so don’t worry about it. Think Habitat For Humanity LITE.
The best thing you’ll walk away learning is how EASY it is to throw up some solar panels, connect the wires to an inverter, slap on a new electrical box and collect cash while the meter literally spins BACKWARDS on sunny days!
Well, it’s not really THAT easy, but 2 days to do all that? Not bad. And with all the rebates available the payback beats the interest you would have earned letting your money sit in the bank or stocks.
If you wanna learn so you can install your own system, thats fine, you will. But you’ll have to go on quite a few installs to really do a good job on your own. But if you insist, check out
for awesome articles on DIY solar.
If you want to get a good installer to do it for you, check out Sun Light And Power in Berkeley. They have the best reputation of all the installers, have been around the longest, are the most holistic of the installers, pay a living wage, have the most staff volunteers that help with Grid Alternatives, etc.
Or you can check out all the installers in the area and nationwide on
If you want to volunteer in something related to Grid, check out
because they promote plug-​in hybrid cars! Yes! Bigger batteries and a plug mean you can go for the first 40 – 60 miles on just electricity and no gas at all. After that, the gas engine kicks in and you get 100+ miles per gallon and you can recharge at home, over night, with a simple wall outlet for the electiricity equivalent of $ 1 a gallon of gas!
With oil production peaking, we’re going to be ok if we do roof top and desert solar (and plug-​in hybrids, and non-​petroleum based crop fertilizers, pesticides, plastics, etc) Volunteering at Grid Alternatives (and CalCars) is the gateway to learning how.

Wow! What a great volunteer op! Grid Alternatives is probably one of the best kept secrets of SF’s environmental movement for climate change. Only now that I let the cat out of the bag I’m going to have trouble booking my volunteer time slot again (hence the 4 stars.)
You first have to sign up for the very informative orientation that lasts about 2 hours. When I went it was completely full of about 40 young professionals — it was so packed I had to sit on the floor.
Then you wait for the sign up email for the month. Act fast, because they book quickly. I had to wait a full month to get to volunteer. You can sign up for 2 days of installation time or just one day. I chose one day on Sunday since that’s when all the action happens — modules get put up versus the prepping time on Saturday, and you get to see the meter roll backwards! Oh Joy! How exciting is that? Another way of sticking it to the Man. Everyone was friendly and proactive and the team leaders and instructors made sure that no one was just standing around.
Ok — I’m reading this now, and I’ve officially reached geekdom. Sorry folks, but Solar Power couldn’t be cooler.

GRID Alternatives is what San Francisco is all about! You know… energy efficiency, sustainable development, community involvement…
They make solar power possible for low-​income homeowners in the area by doing free installations and helping them get rebates. Anybody can volunteer with them and get up on a rooftop and get their hands dirty. Highly recommended!