Making Renewable Energy Technology Accessible to Underserved Communities: GRID Alternatives in Conversation

Erica Mackie:

There is nothing more powerful than owning that clean transition in your own hand. So it's like green in your pocket. Yes, you're earning money, but you're also really owning this change.

Michael Torrance:

Welcome to Sustainability Leaders. I'm Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO. In Light of Earth Month throughout April, our show will celebrate our planet, as we seek to raise environmental awareness at the intersection of the economy and innovation. April 17th marks our fourth annual Trees from Trades program, where BMO Capital Markets will donate a portion of global markets revenue from trades to fund the planting of trees for Earth Month. To date, we have raised enough to plant over 375,000 trees. Happy Earth Month.

Speaker 3:

The views expressed here are those of the participants and not those of Bank of Montreal, its affiliates or subsidiaries.

Melissa Byfield:

Hello, I'm Melissa Byfield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute. And I'm so pleased to be joined today by Erica Mackie, Co-Founder and CEO of Grid Alternatives. Welcome to the show, Erika.

Erica Mackie:

Thanks for having me.

Melissa Byfield:

Let's start by giving our audience an introduction to Grid. What is Grid Alternatives? How does it work? And why is it important for the Energy transition?

Erica Mackie:

Grid Alternatives is a non-profit, and we really view ourselves as a social justice organization that uses renewable energy as our primary tool for social justice. And when you think about the climate change ecosystem, we really are builders and innovators in the space. So we build renewable energy projects, that could be installing chargers, installing batteries, installing solar, all for economic and environmental justice communities. We also innovate in a way and build the policies of the future that are going to enable equitable renewable energy. So not only do we roll trucks and install all of these projects, we're also working at the state and federal level to make sure that when our government is saying, we have to make a clean transition, and we're going to build a clean energy industry, and we're going to offset the impacts of climate change, that all of our communities are at the table.

And they're not a secondary thought, particularly because the communities that Grid are serving, our communities are on the forefront of experiencing climate change, and often have knowledge of the most important ways in which we can combat climate change. So they pay with their health, and they often pay a higher part of their take-home pay in energy bills, and yet are really the leaders of our climate transition, are sitting on knowledge of, oh, well, if we just did this, or this kind of jobs could really transform the future. And so it's both about providing economic savings, environmental impacts and jobs, but also by really making sure that communities on the forefront of climate injustice are part of and leading the transition.

Melissa Byfield:

I'd love to dig into that a little bit more and focus on who Grid is serving, and why you're focused on those particular communities.

Erica Mackie:

So, in terms of geographic presence at Grid, we have a bunch of regional offices, many in California, so we can serve families from the Oregon border to the Mexico border. We have an office in Washington DC, we have an office in Denver, and then we have a traveling team that serves tribal nations contained within the borders of the United States. And every community and family that's participating in Grids programs qualifies based on their income.

So it's really folks that by HUD standards would qualify as low-income, and really live in what I would consider communities sort of on the front edge of climate injustice, who are benefiting, and running, and participating in the work that Grid is doing. And like I said before, it's not just about the projects, it's also everything we do has a workforce development component. So when we're installing a solar electric system for Mr. Rodriguez, we're also training people as part of that installation to get those hands-on skills, the job readiness skills to be able to get a job in the growing renewable energy industry. And those folks that we're training are the same people who live in the community that Mr. Rodriguez is getting solar on his home.

Melissa Byfield:

How are people selected for the programs? What are the specific requirements, and how do you find those populations to serve?

Erica Mackie:

It really is about income, and about where you live. So Grid, we are serving communities all over the country, but we have to be able to make it work financially. And so some places we have more funding to serve families than in other areas, and that funding comes with certain qualifications. So for instance, in California, which is a huge part of our footprint, we're leveraging state dollars that are specific to help affordable housing developers, or low-income families get solar and storage on their homes or in their apartment complexes. And that funding comes with a rule that you have to live within a particular map area, or the building has to be within a map area. And California did that because it's basically an overlay of economic need and bad air quality. So the map is sort of an interface of bad air and where there's economic need.

So, if you live in a particular town in California, you have to live within the area of this map, and then your income has to qualify. And we actually have on our website ability for you to put in your address and your zip code and figure out if you qualify. And we're even working on a larger program to be able to provide that for many different energy programs, because across the country there's all kinds of programs like this, and they all have slightly different qualifications. So we're working on trying to make it easy for you as a homeowner, or as an apartment, like an affordable housing developer, to figure out, "Oh, okay, my building is located in this place. Well, we can qualify for EV chargers, and we can qualify for storage, but we can't qualify for X," for instance.

Melissa Byfield:

So you've talked a lot about different types of installations. What about people who don't own their homes? How do you enable non-homeowners to have access in the same way?

Erica Mackie:

We're mostly working with affordable housing providers, so if you don't own your home, and that's many, many Americans, don't own their home, they rent. The majority of our communities actually do rent. And you can live in a wide variety of rental properties. You might live in an apartment complex that's built by an affordable housing developer, and that affordable housing developer manages that property and you qualify for a discounted rent based on your income, or you might live in just an affordable property that you found on your own.

And at Grid, we are mostly serving those properties that have been built by and are managed by affordable housing developers. So, if a renter lives in one of those buildings, we're running quite a few programs. The biggest one is in California called the SOMA Program, and it actually prioritizes tenant benefit. So not only are we installing systems that would support some of the common area, electricity loads, we're also providing economic benefit to tenants through this particular program. And that's a state program.

Melissa Byfield:

That's pretty incredible, and I'm sure it helps you to get to scale when you're talking to those developers, as opposed to individual homeowners one by one.

Erica Mackie:

Yeah. I think something I'm really excited about also is the ways in which batteries and chargers can change the dynamic of who can benefit from something. If you think about, "Okay, well I want to buy an electric vehicle, but where am I going to charge it? My rental property doesn't have any chargers." So making sure that we're thinking about chargers in the rental context and in affordable housing, so that it isn't that conundrum of, "Oh, should I get a car? I don't know where I'm going to charge it," and you can charge at home, even if you rent. And similarly, I think batteries in the rental context, if you have a battery that powers a particular area, a community room, or a community building, then you have a resilience center where you could go and charge your cell phone in the event that the power is out, or in a particular climate event. So kind of thinking about holistically, not just solar, but batteries and chargers, feels really exciting.

Melissa Byfield:

I think that's so interesting also that you have such a holistic model. I think that's one of my favorite things about the Grid Alternatives model, is that you're thinking of not only how best to scale residential solar, with homeowners, non-homeowners, but you're also building job skills and doing the job training. So, if we could pivot maybe for a minute and talk about career skills training in the solar industry. Obviously, it's a unique part of your service offering. Can you share with our audience a little bit more about your training programs, how or why they were developed in that way? And what you think the impact will be from the Inflation Reduction Act?

Erica Mackie:

Sure. Maybe we start with the impact and the growth of the industry first, because I think these are really great growing jobs. That's why we're training folks to get into those jobs. So the solar industry in particular, and more and more, it's not just the solar industry, it's what I would call a solar plus, solar plus storage, plus chargers, plus energy efficiency, plus plus electrify the building. The solar industry alone employs twice as many people as coal in the US, and it's a very fast-growing industry. The Inflation Reduction Act, as you referred to, is going to pump billions of dollars into growing the clean economy across the country. Right now, it's really been state by state, whether or not states were investing in clean energy, but now we really have investment from the federal level into growing the clean economy. That means these are tremendous jobs that are available.

Often, some of the jobs are high paying jobs for folks without a college degree. So the barrier to entry is very minimal. And it's a growing industry, so there's a lot of upward mobility. Particularly, we're going to need tons and tons of electricians, not just to install, say, a battery, but also to upgrade the main service panel, or do some interior wiring that's going to be necessary for electrifying the building. So that means there's an electrician job that could have many different available employment opportunities, not just in this one particular sector. So these are great jobs, and we really feel like we want to match great jobs with great folks who need those great jobs.

And so our workforce development efforts start at, the most entry level, is that you could come out and experience an install. Up from that, is our installer basic training program. Our primary program for installer basic training is 200 hours. So there's lab and classroom work, there's job readiness work, and then there's a set of skills that you learn actually on the job and in the lab that you get checked off. So when you graduate from our installer basic training program, you have the skills that you need to get that job in the industry.

And up from that in terms of sort of time and intensiveness, we have what we call a Solar Core Program. It's a one-year fellowship where folks work at our organization in a wide variety of jobs. So we have construction solar core that are learning construction, but we also have people in marketing, or in outreach, which is sort of applicable to sales; or in project management. And so we're really giving kind of a one-year master's degree, and a opportunity to work in a real employment opportunity to these folks.

And then those folks can get jobs in a wide variety of jobs in the clean energy industry, not just installation, but sales, marketing, other parts of the industry. So those are kind of our primary job training mechanisms. And something that we're also really rolling out recently is a Train The Trainer Model where, because our footprint is only in particular regions, there's also really important job training that needs to be done in, say, Illinois. So we've been working with other installers, other nonprofits, government agencies to do some Train The Trainer work through our Installer Basic Training Program to help those companies and organizations do job training themselves, and get folks into these high career growth jobs.

Melissa Byfield:

That's really incredible. I love the Train The Trainer Model. In 2023, BMO was so pleased to donate $3 million to grid alternatives in support of our purpose to boldly grow the good in business and in life. That investment, which as you've touched on, supports low to no cost solar energy systems, and storage, clean mobility and job training programs in California, Colorado, and tribal communities across the western United States, is the latest in a long-term partnership between our organizations. Can you share with our audience this sense of why partnerships are so important for your work?

Erica Mackie:

Yeah. Well, let me not waste an opportunity to say how grateful we are. We really appreciate the partnership. And I do think, I mean, this is a big, hairy thing we're all trying to do here: make a clean transition and one that benefits all of our communities. Doesn't just benefit wealthy folks that are already environmentally minded, but really make sure that all of our communities and especially those most impacted by climate change are at the forefront of this transition. And that takes all of us. It takes government, it takes nonprofit, it takes individuals, it takes activists, it takes resisters, and it also takes companies, and I think the private sector is really well-versed at being able to create really innovative partnerships. And so we're super excited about the work that we're going to be doing together, because it takes that nonprofit, private partnership, and really does tangible work.

For instance, we are hoping that over the next three years in partnership with you all, that we're going to be installing systems for 1200 families in the west, and providing 250 battery powered systems, and providing 1400 charging stations. That's massive. And it really allows big transformative experiences for the beneficiaries of those systems, but also the communities that we're all living and being part of, right? I live here too, you live here. Our companies, our employees and our communities are entangled and intertwined in this sort of climate crisis. And so it's really critical that we're partnering together to make change.

Melissa Byfield:

Absolutely. And I've had the pleasure of seeing firsthand some of that work and climbing up on a rooftop and bolting some of those systems on.

Erica Mackie:

There's nothing like it, right? It's so fun.

Melissa Byfield:

Absolutely. And there's nothing, I mean, you really get an appreciation for this skill, the technical skill, but also just the experiential skill that a lot of the installers that you've trained have in knowing how to be good partners to the homeowner, or to the community that they're installing a system in, but also doing really important work, like you said, to help enable that clean energy transition.

Erica Mackie:

One of the things I love about doing a tangible project is that we're doing a tangible project. That at the end of the day you can see a meter spin backwards; or you know that if the power goes out tomorrow and you have a battery, your power's not going to go out. And I think that, on the job front, there is nothing more powerful than owning that clean transition in your own hand. So it's like green in your pocket, yes, you're earning money, but you're also really owning this change, and you're part of change. And so having that on your roof, on your apartment, in your garage, out in the parking lot, and doing that with your job and your livelihood, it really gives all of us an opportunity to not pull the covers over our head and say, "Gosh, sorry, kids, sorry, grandkids, this is what we messed up," but really owning that transition. And I think that is powerful to all of us, and it's particularly powerful in the communities that Grid is serving.

Melissa Byfield:

Absolutely. I'm curious, what makes you most hopeful for the future?

Erica Mackie:

I like doing stuff with other people. And I think some of the issues that we're facing on a global scale are so overwhelming. And it feels incredibly hopeful to me to do work in partnership with other individuals who care deeply. And to do that at the intersection of so many issues. That this isn't really only about environment, it's about the intersection of environment and race, and economics, and so many other things, immigration. And so for me, what gets me up every day is being able to enable tangible projects, but to do that with incredibly passionate, amazing people in communities that know so much about, "Well, gosh, we've had highways crisscrossing our neighborhood, and we've been breathing pollution. Of course, we got to clean our transportation system." So I feel most hopeful when I'm doing work in partnership with other people. And it does feel, now having done this for 20 years, we're really building a movement, and we're building a large community, and a large connectedness of so many communities, and so many people who care about the same thing. And that helps me not just stay in bed.

Melissa Byfield:

I love that. I love that. Is there anything else you'd like to add for our audience?

Erica Mackie:

No, I think this has been really fun. We feel so grateful for the partnership. And come see our work in action! We would love to have folks. You can find us online at gridalternatives.org, and we're excited to tackle the next problem of tomorrow.

Melissa Byfield:

Fantastic, Erica, thanks so much for joining us. We are so excited about this partnership. And I'm a huge fan of the work that you and your entire team are doing. I think it's so important, and like you said, it's tangible. You can see the impact, you can feel the impact. So thanks for all that you and your teams are doing.

Erica Mackie:

Thank you.

Michael Torrance:

Thanks for listening to Sustainability Leaders. This podcast is presented by BMO. We want to hear from you. Do you have an episode idea on a sustainability topic that you'd like us to develop? We welcome our listeners to submit questions or topics that will inform our research for future episodes. You can do so by visiting fanlist.com/bmo. That's F-A-N-L-I-S-T, dot com, slash B-M-O. We value your input and hope to keep the show as interactive as possible. So please leave a rating on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Or visit us at bmo.com/sustainabilityleaders. Our show and resources are produced with support from BMO's Marketing team and Puddle Creative. Until next time. Thanks for listening. And have a great week.

Speaker 5:

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