Clean Power Alliance (CPA) and Calpine Energy Solutions are excited to announce that a new round of Community Benefits Grant funding will be available to support local green initiatives and programs throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The application period opens Aug. 1 and runs through Sept. 15.
For the 2023-2024 grant cycle, approximately $275,000 in funds will be available to nonprofits advancing clean energy goals such as growing green jobs, promoting environmental education, and supporting energy equity and diversity initiatives in the 32 communities that CPA serves. Awards to recipients will range from $15,000 to $30,000, and it’s anticipated that 12 nonprofits will benefit.
The Community Benefits Grant program launched in 2021 with $75,000 in funding and has grown each year. The grant is an innovative partnership between CPA and Calpine Energy Solutions, CPA’s customer support and billing services provider, with 2% of the value of our contract with Calpine being reinvested back into our service area, to support community-focused programs.
In 2022-23, the 10 selected recipients were awarded grants ranging from $9,500 to $30,000 –a total of nearly $204,000 in funding provided to community organizations.
Recently, CPA CEO Ted Bardacke and other staff members joined Grid Alternatives, a 2022-23 grant recipient, at an onsite build to help launch a rooftop solar installation project in the City of Carson that provides access to solar power to families who otherwise would find it difficult to afford photovoltaic panels.
Grid Alternatives received $30,000 to provide homeowners in two of CPA’s service areas, Carson and Whittier, with re-roofing aid, service panel upgrades, and any other necessary professional services that would enable residents to access no-cost solar energy systems.
“CPA remains committed to investing in our local communities as one of our key organizational goals,” said Bardacke. “The community grant is essential to helping create long-lasting partnerships with organizations that support our clean energy mission and activates efforts to increase community resilience.”
Previous award recipients have utilized funds for several renewable energy focused initiatives including the purchase of electric vehicles to support local community events, sustainability workshops and education opportunities for students, and research on potential local energy projects. Funding helped support the Columbia Memorial Space Center’s annual City of STEM Festival Innovation Challenge on April 6.
CPA staff served on the 2023 City of STEM festival competition’s judging panel and recently welcomed the innovation challenge’s winning team– called the Solar Chargers – to an event at our office. The team consists of five students from Adams Middle School in Redondo Beach who worked on a project that aimed to reduce carbon emissions through solar-powered e-bike charging racks.
CPA engaged the students with interactive presentations about CPA’s clean energy mission and work in electrification.
The visit to CPA was one of the prizes that rewards the winning students with an all-expense paid trip for a Day of Innovation at Los Angeles County’s most groundbreaking companies, with our office serving as one of the locations students visited to learn more about how their STEM related focus can prepare them for a green future.
