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That’s why we offer place-based programs in equitable community solar, energy efficiency, rooftop solar, and affordable wind power.
Mission: Groundswell organizes community power to bring economic equity to the energy sector. We believe that clean energy is a necessity, not a luxury good; we’re all in this together; and it’s not OK to leave our neighbors who are struggling behind. That’s why we offer place-based programs in equitable community solar, energy efficiency, rooftop solar, and affordable wind power.
Operating as usual
We are glad to serve our neighbors in DC through #communitysolar projects like this one at the Monastery of Our Lady Mt. Carmel.
To learn more about how this project is helping our neighbors who struggle with energy bills or to subscribe to solar, visit Groundswell.org/dc-friars/
We are energized to talk about developing community solar in Montgomery County on Thursday at 2:30 pm Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection and USGBC National Capital Region's Mongomery County Energy Summit! ⚡
There are some great speakers this year, and we are honored to take part!
https://www.mcenergysummit.org
We are #energized to work with Solar Tyme USA and The Solutions Project on a new behind-the-meter solar installation at Ark Refuge Ministries in LaGrange, Georgia!
Check out this awesome project at: https://groundswell.org/ark-refuge-ministries/
Community Power for Ark Refuge
Our Empowered subscribers save about $500 a year on energy through SharePower, but everyone can save with this easy tip:
Save #energy and money by trading out some of your most frequently used light bulbs with LED models. #EEtip
What is community solar, and why is it one of Drawdown Georgia’s 20 solutions? Groundswell CEO Michelle Moore took a few minutes to break down what community solar is and its potential in Georgia.
https://blog.drawdownga.org/building-community-power
What is community solar, how can you bring a solar array to your neighborhood, and what are the benefits for your family and for climate change?
#TBT to when we released a white paper detailing the critical relationship between energy and economic opportunity. #Equity is essential to all our work and research.
Check out this transformative research at: Groundswell.org/from-power-to-empowerment/
This Veterans Day, we would like to thank all of those who have served our country, especially our very own CPO Lenwood Coleman.
We couldn't resist sharing a few more pictures of this awesome project in Ward 7!
We had a great time planting trees — and helping a local church save money through storm water management — on Friday with Green Compass, Casey Trees, members of The Dupont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church board, and community members!
To learn more, visit http://Greencompass.app.box.com/s/ilepu78xb4gou37murvyesp1xo0pmsb0
What does social responsibility have to do with solar? Everything!
Check out this GreenBiz article to learn how industry is responding to the increasingly visible connection between environmental and social concerns:
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/linking-s-e-renewable-energy-sector
Response to the moment or a true shift?
Groundswell offers Empowered subscriptions — worth about $500 in annual utility savings — to residents who are eligible for SNAP, TANF, Section 8 or SSI. To sign up, visit https://bit.ly/2OWwiMt.
In the meantime, here is an #energyefficiencytip to take you into the weekend:
Groundswell is leading transformative research on ways to make #energy more equitable.
Check out the latest on how partnerships are driving equity at Groundswell.org/story/section/communitites-corporates/
We are #energized to be able to help plant trees this morning in Ward 7!
This morning, Green Compass, Casey Trees, Groundswell, Members of the Dupont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church board, and community members gathered to plant trees in Ward 7 near Dupont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church and St. Luke Baptist Church.
This project was made possible by a $20,000 USD TD Green Space Grant from TD Bank Group and the Arbor Day Foundation to Green Compass, in partnership with Casey Trees. To learn more about the project, visit Greencompass.app.box.com/s/ilepu78xb4gou37murvyesp1xo0pmsb0
Groundswell is proud to welcome Teara Harris to our team as our new Community Building Associate! Teara is already working with LaGrange residents to help them #SaveWithSOUL.
We are excited to help LaGrange residents Save On Utilities Long term through free energy assessments and energy upgrades that cost renters and homeowners no-money out of pocket!
Check out how SOUL is already helping people save money at: https://youtu.be/I6y0a0eq1-M
The City of LaGrange in partnership with Groundswell and EEtility is glad to bring SOUL to the community, and we’re optimistic about its potential to help mo...
We're #energized to create a toolkit that will enable greater access to #solar for low- and moderate-income households! We’ll use hard data to better understand performance, customer motivation & satisfaction. Learn more about our work: https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/project-profile-groundswell-fy2018-photovoltaics
Our team has voted. Have you? #Vote
We had a great time talking to residents in LaGrange, Georgia, about how they can #SaveWithSOUL during the Community Dream event earlier this week. To learn more about SOUL visit https://lagrangesoul.com
Nights starting to get cooler, so now is the perfect time to caulk and seal window seams, cracks, and openings. A few minutes and some caulk can save you money and energy. #eetip
This week, Salesforce published “More than a Megawatt” with contributions from Groundswell, Ceres, Defenders of Wildlife, Green Electronics Council, The Nature Conservancy, the Renewable Energy Buyers’ Alliance (REBA), and WattTime. This paper is a collaborative first step to address how a unit of power, the megawatt, goes beyond electricity.
Salesforce has become one of the largest tech companies in this country with one premise — focusing on the customer. In becoming the world’s largest customer relationship management platform, the company has brought hundreds of thinkers, innovators, and doers together. In its latest renewable energy journey, it has allowed us and others to think beyond the megawatt.
Salesforce’s white paper explores what it means to incorporate environmental and social aspects beyond carbon offsets in evaluating renewable energy projects. Groundswell is excited to lend its expertise to this critical work. The massive tech industry is like a sister sector to the renewable energy industry. This paper acknowledges that renewable energy can deliver solutions on a wide range of issues, such as community engagement. In the paper, Salesforce says: “For us, purchasing renewable energy is about much more than adding new megawatts of renewable energy to the grid. It’s about improving the state of the world.”
Certainly, seven NGOs and one company do not have all the answers. However, we believe that this pivot to a holistic evaluation of renewable energy projects is a critical step for the industry. The goal of the white paper is to begin asking questions about impacts beyond CO2 emissions, and the chapter on “Community Engagement” pushes us to ask, “If we could ask one or two things from a megawatt to help the community, what would we ask for?”
We don’t have all the answers, but when a company capable of groundbreaking change asked us what they should consider when evaluating community support and engagement, we knew it was time to take that first step.
“More than ever, buyers need to integrate the social impacts of the PPA to consider issues involving race, equity, and environmental justice,” said Lily Donge, Groundswell Program Director of Corporate Innovation for Communities.
When companies like Salesforce, Google, or Apple source from renewable energy, the impacts are not just local. They pave the way for Corporate America to follow. Now, we ask that you join us in seeking a clearer solution during a critical period of historic change for the community.
In the “Community Engagement” chapter of the white paper, we propose that projects be scored on a scale of one to five, evaluating community perception with a benefit-sharing model. The truth is that no one corporate renewable project has reached all measures of a “5.” But then again, most projects do not even question who is ultimately responsible for the community engagement — the developer or the buyer? Who answers these questions becomes just as important as who asks the question.
We could even imagine a “6” — community projects driven, built, owned, and operated by the community itself. There is no perfect measure of community engagement and no one way to measure how community members perceive a project. So, we must take a bold first step to frame the conversation.
Groundswell and REBA have partnered to take this discussion forward with corporate and community leaders. We will look for “Request for Proposal” language that the industry can use, create tools to prepare corporate decision-makers, and test the boundaries of what companies and communities can reasonably expect as we transition to a new renewable future.
Please let us know if you would like to join other leaders in this vital conversation by reaching out to [email protected].
https://bit.ly/35pxvU1
This week, Salesforce published “More than a Megawatt” with contributions from Groundswell, Ceres, Defenders of Wildlife, Green Electronics Council, The Nature Conservancy, the Renewable Energy Buyers’ Alliance (REBA), and WattTime. This paper is a collaborative first step to address how a uni...
Groundswell is excited to announce that Emily Robichaux has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer! Congratulations, Emily! Thank you for helping us build community power!
Groundswell is excited to welcome Nicole Sonderegger to our team as our new Solar Program Operations Manager. Nicole brings with her a passion for empowering underserved communities and experience leveraging business acumen to build sustainable and scalable solutions for a more equitable and greener future.
In this installment of our "Road to Groundswell" series, Nicole shares her story.
https://groundswell.org/road-to-groundswell-nicole-sonderegger/
Groundswell is excited to welcome Nicole Sonderegger to our team as our new Solar Program Operations Manager. Nicole brings with her a passion for empowering underserved communities and experience leveraging business acumen to build sustainable and scalable solutions for a more equitable and greener...
Groundswell is excited to announce that Lenwood Coleman has been promoted to Chief Program Officer! Congratulations, Lenwood! Thank you for helping us build community power!
Groundswell Senior Program Manager Chris Nichols is looking forward to sharing Innovations in Utility Partnerships for Renewables with everyone at #VERGE20 on 10/26 at 1:30 p.m.
Please join us for this discussion! Register here and save 15%: https://bit.ly/3jS8pTZ
The VERGE 20 online event is the leading platform for accelerating the clean economy.
Groundswell is proud to welcome Nicole Sonderegger to our team as our new Solar Program Operations Manager!
Groundswell CPO Lenwood Coleman looks forward to speaking at a lightning talk at #VERGE20 on 10/29 at noon. We invite you to get inspired, informed & empowered to advance systemic solutions to address the climate crisis at this conference. https://bit.ly/2Zzgyok
The VERGE 20 conference and expo is the platform for companies, cities and communities accelerating the clean economy. Join more than 3,000 leaders — from the private and public sectors, utilities, solution providers, NGOs and startups — to explore scalable, cross-cutting solutions and to advanc...
#FAQ: If I subscribe to community solar, will I still receive power from my local utility?
Yes. Your electric utility will continue to supply your power, but you will see credits on your bill reflecting the solar power generated on your behalf by local solar panels.
In LaGrange, residents are continuing to #SaveWithSOUL. SOUL improves home energy efficiency and uses the resulting energy savings to reduce resident utility bills and pay for the cost of installations.
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Learn more at https://lagrangesoul.com
We had a great time listening to our CFO Emily Robichaux speak at Be Social Change's Anti Racist Business Virtual Summit last week with IMPACCT Brooklyn Executive Director Bernell Grier, and reSET Social Enterprise Trust Executive Director Sarah Rose Bodley about building infrastructure for a just and equitable economy.
Watch this great discussion on Session 8 at https://www.besocialchange.com/anti-racist-business-summit-live/
Bard’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability cultivate leaders who break through existing systems, innovating solutions to critical social, environmental, and
Groundswell is energized to welcome new community solar subscribers to share power every day. We are making clean energy more equitable and accessible to everyone throughout the communities we serve through community solar.
For many, this is their first time hearing about community solar, much less subscribing to it, so we wanted to take a moment to answer some of the most common questions we hear from new community solar subscribers.
Check out the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions at Groundswell.org/what-is-community-solar/
Groundswell currently serves more than 3,000 income-qualified households with affordable clean energy, but everyone can save with this easy energy tip:
Fight the fall chill! Caulking under windows can protect against drafts and save you energy ⚡ and money.
#EETip
Groundswell community solar is available to everyone, regardless if you rent or own. With community solar projects in DC, Maryland and Illinois it is easy to get started with your community solar subscription by visiting https://groundswell.org/join/.
#TBT to April 2019, when we met with partners in Illinois to talk about aligning values with value through community solar.
We are energized to continue to help our neighbors in LaGrange #SaveWithSOUL. Many of our neighbors who may qualify for SOUL can expect to see a letter in their mailbox soon, but if you think you may qualify, don't wait! Sign up today at https://lagrangesoul.com or call (706) 413-1642.
The City of LaGrange continues to be ranked among the lowest cost utility providers in the state, but some residents still struggle to pay high utility bills due to energy usage. City leaders recently conducted a housing survey to understand the cause and identified energy inefficiency as a leading factor. The City of LaGrange in partnership with Groundswell and EEtility is glad to bring SOUL to the community, and we’re optimistic about its potential to help more people enjoy a more affordable and better quality of life.
If you are interested in participating in the SOUL pilot program or would like to learn more about the program, visit www.lagrangesoul.com or call (706) 413-1642. You can also email [email protected]
Groundswell and The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance are joining forces to accelerate an equitable clean energy future for all by leveraging corporate renewable energy purchases to deliver local community benefits alongside clean energy.
Read about how this partnership got started and what we hope to accomplish on Groundswell.org’s Stories page or at https://bit.ly/3i99XHC.
We are #energized to serve our neighbors and get stuff done as it begins to feel like fall outside. Here one of our customer support associates pauses to take a pic of her #desksetup. #behindthescenes
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We had a great time at #PrepareforPower with Ana Becker and Anika Pyle. Check out the full video here: https://youtu.be/Jfwxt3S_sqM
Dr. Mildred “Mama Bahati” McClain spoke at the kickoff of Groundswell's Prepare for Power concert series on Juneteenth. The concert series will continue on July 2 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. with performances by Lizzie No and Oceanator, two rising artists from New York City. Prepare for Power is free and open to the public. RSVP for the login at Groundswell.org/prepareforpower/.
Listen as Bartees Strange talks about how he prepares for power through storytelling. On Friday at 6 p.m., he will help us celebrate #JUNETEENTH2020. #PrepareforPower https://groundswell.org/prepareforpower/?source=facebook-002
We'll be the first to admit....community solar can be confusing. Here, Groundswell staff tackle your frequently asked community solar questions. Today's questions....what makes Groundswell unique? #communtysolar #SharePower
It’s a wonderful day for a community solar Kick Off! Come out and help us celebrate our latest Department of Energy & Environment Solar For All project Kick Off. Making community solar progress one project at a time!
@Grndswell made the news on WUSA9-CBS!! Celebrating #EarthDay & our first DC community solar project kick off. The Dupont Park SDA Church project will generate enough electricity to help 47 low-income families cut their utility bills in half thanks to #SolarForAll. Department of Energy & Environment PepcoConnect
Community Solar Kick-off at Dupont Park SDA church!! #SolaratDupontParkSDA #KickoffSolarwithGroundswell Department of Energy & Environment PepcoConnect
As we wrap up the week of participating in @Citi's "What Progress Looks Like" Campaign, we wanted to end with a message from our CEO, Michelle. #Progress for Groundswell is about the people, & we are proud of the communities & partnerships that we are a part of! #ProgressMakers
At Groundswell we continuously strive to build the best possible customer experience for Empowered households in our community. One way we do that is through human-centered design sessions. During HCD sessions, we go out into the local community and listen to our neighbors as they share their experiences signing up for subscriptions and income-based services. Based on their feedback, Groundswell is able to create products and procedures that respect our customers' time and resources. **Empowered households are low-to-moderate income households in our community that qualify for affordable solar energy to power their homes.** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PoUf3YeLI8
Groundswell organizes community power to bring economic equity to the energy sector. We believe that clean energy is a necessity, not a luxury good; we’re all in this together; and it’s not OK to leave our neighbors who are struggling behind. That’s why we offer place-based programs in equitable community solar, energy efficiency, and rooftop solar.
Kings Point Club of Washington DC
20026-4239Tri-County Guardian Ad Litem Program
Winston-Salem 27120African American Music Association
4212 E Capitol St NEFB Military and Veteran Community
Menlo Park 20017Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys
US Capitol
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
1425 K Street NW
Little Lights Urban Ministries
760 7th St SE
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Dea
3417 Volta Pl NW
National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN)
1200 G Street, NW Suite 800
Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
1707 New Hampshire Ave NW
