astronomy

GRID Alternatives

GRID Alternatives is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GRID Alternatives rather than just read about it. In short: GRID Alternatives (GRID) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. Founded by Erica Mackie and Tim Sears in 2004, it installs solar power systems and provides job training for underserved communities and operates in the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Nepal.

Key takeaways

GRID Alternatives belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GRID Alternatives to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GRID Alternatives from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

GRID Alternatives (GRID) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. Founded by Erica Mackie and Tim Sears in 2004, it installs solar power systems and provides job training for underserved communities and operates in the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Nepal.

History Grid, styled "GRID," was founded during the 2001 California energy crisis by Erica Mackie, P.E., and Tim Sears, P.E., two engineering professionals. According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program profile, it "piloted its flagship Solar Affordable Housing Program in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004, and subsequently expanded to other parts of the state." In 2008, the company was selected by the California Public Utilities Commission to serve as the statewide program manager for its Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) incentive program, prompting an expansion across the state. In 2013, Grid expanded its work outside of California for the first time in Colorado. GRID Mid-Atlantic, serving Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, was launched in September 2014. In 2017, GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic was selected to administer Solar Works DC, a program of the Washington, D.C. Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) and Department of Employment Services (DOES).

Regional affiliates Grid has nine regional affiliates; seven serving California and offices in Denver, Colorado and Washington, D.C. It also partners with Indigenous tribes throughout the country through its National Tribal Solar Program, of which Tim Willink, from Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico, of the Navajo Nation, is director. Grid has installed over 900 residential solar systems with tribes and brought solar PV to the vast majority of homes on the Bishop Paiute Reservation in California.

In September 2017, regional affiliate GRID Alternatives Tri-State, serving New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, closed due to a recent Federal trade case decision that created uncertainty around future solar panel prices. In their press release, however, the company stated, GRID Tri-State will continue to operate as a board-driven organization that will focus on advocating for strong low-income solar policies that would allow us to staff back up in the future. We will also continue to offer no-cost solar technical assistance to multifamily affordable housing owners throughout the region, and help owners who want to move forward with projects bid them out to other local solar contractors.

Awards and recognition 2018 – Solar Power World Innovators and Influencers (Erika Symmonds) 2018 – GreenBiz Clean Energy Equity Showcase Honoree 2017 – International Renewable Energy Council National 3iAward recipient - Energy Hero (Mackie) 2015 – Green for All Climate Champion (Stan Greschner) 2014 – White House Champions of Change for Solar Deployment (Sears) 2013 – Clean Energy and Empowerment Award (Mackie), C3E, the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment program, a partnership between U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GRID Alternatives

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GRID Alternatives claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GRID Alternatives before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GRID Alternatives ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GRID Alternatives

In research: GRID Alternatives appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GRID Alternatives in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GRID Alternatives is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2004 establishments in California, American organizations established in 2004, Environmental organizations established in 2004, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GRID Alternatives outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study GRID Alternatives in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GRID Alternatives means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GRID Alternatives out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GRID Alternatives in simple terms?

Why does GRID Alternatives matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GRID Alternatives?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GRID Alternatives.