We recently shared a project that we’ve been involved in to add rooftop solar to a revitalized building in Kansas City’s historic Northeast neighborhood. This project has been an exciting challenge as we partnered with multiple local organizations to achieve a breakthrough - solar energy for low-income tenants. Not only will the finished building provide affordable housing for tenants, but their energy needs will also be completely fulfilled through a rooftop solar installation.

The team at Solar Design Studio has been honored to work in partnership with the Westside Housing Organization through KCP&L Solar on the restoration of an historic property in Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood. Too often, solar implementation is out of reach for those with low or moderate incomes, but partnerships like this one are bringing solar power to diverse communities that can benefit greatly as a result.

In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico and caused the longest blackout in U.S. history. The island’s long and difficult recovery has raised questions about the best ways to provide better infrastructure security in the parts of the world that are at the greatest risk due to climate change. Would Puerto Rico rebuild an outdated system based on coal and diesel fuel, or embrace the future by creating a utility grid that relies on renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power?

As I write this, the U.S. Senate is teeing up for a vote later this month on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ ambitious non-binding resolution to work towards a Green New Deal, which would confront climate change and social inequality through a coordinated effort to make alternative energy sources a pillar of our economy.

The Green New Deal, a nonbinding resolution introduced by Senators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey, has sparked a lot of discussion over the last several weeks. It is an ambitious plan to confront man-made climate change while also building an American economy that prioritizes renewable energy, innovation, and job creation. As such, it would have a tremendous impact on the solar energy industry (as well as other alternatives to fossil fuels) and the business community as a whole.

In our exploration of the “Green New Deal” and its impacts on the alternative energy industry, we examined how the environmental and economic components of the ambitious plan, proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, would greatly enhance efforts to slow climate change and create new green jobs.