Company type | non-profit |
---|---|
Founded | 2009 |
Founders | Will Byrne, Max Harper, Marcus Ryan, John Lauer, Kristen Psaki, Tony Ficarotta |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
Key people | Michelle Moore (CEO) [1] |
Website | groundswell |
Groundswell is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that promotes clean energy programs. [2]
According to the organization's annual report, since its founding in 2009, Groundswell's work has resulted in the procurement of more than 180 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy for nearly 4,000 families and small businesses and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 27,500 cars off the road. [3]
Groundswell was founded in 2009 by a group of field organizers who had previously worked together on the 2008 Barack Obama Presidential Campaign. Groundswell co-founder Will Byrne was the organization's CEO through 2014. The organization operated under two previous names, The DC Project [4] and Weatherize DC, before becoming Groundswell. [5] Groundswell chose Washington, D.C. as its hub because it is one of a small but growing number of places where residents are able to choose their energy suppliers. [6]
Since then, Groundswell has grown to serve the Mid Atlantic region including Georgia, [7] Maryland, [8] North Carolina, [9] New York and Illinois. It is led by CEO Michelle Moore, [10] a social enterprise entrepreneur and former White House official who helped build the global sustainability movement. [11]
Groundswell develops community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment, enabling people and community-based businesses to work together to switch to solar energy. [12]
Groundswell works with other non-profit organizations to reach out to economically diverse local communities. [13]
Groundswell’s SharePower [14] subscription model was designed to help neighbors share power with neighbors.
Earthjustice is a nonprofit public interest organization based in the United States dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Headquartered in San Francisco, they have an international program, a communications team, and a policy and legislation team in Washington, D.C., along with 14 regional offices across the United States.
Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Georgia, United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary service.
The AES Corporation is an American utility and power generation company. It owns and operates power plants, which it uses to generate and sell electricity to end users and intermediaries like utilities and industrial facilities. AES is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and is one of the world's leading power companies, generating and distributing electric power in 15 countries and employing 10,500 people worldwide. AES Corporation is a global Fortune 500 power company. AES Ranks in the Top Ten of Fast Company's 2022 Best Workplaces for Innovators.
Good Energy Group PLC is a British energy company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire that provides services in the electrification of transport and decentralised renewable energy generation such as domestic solar panels. The company is also an energy retailer, and built a portfolio of wind and solar generation which was sold in 2022. Founded by Juliet Davenport, its CEO is Nigel Pocklington.
The Alliance to Save Energy is a bipartisan, nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental, and consumer groups based in Washington, D.C. The Alliance states that it advocates for "energy-efficiency policies that minimize costs to society and individual consumers, and that lessen greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate." The Alliance's chief activities include public relations, research, and lobbying to change U.S. energy policy.
Google.org, founded in October 2005, is the charitable arm of Google, a multinational technology company. The organization has committed roughly US$100 million in investments and grants to nonprofits annually.
The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated as The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., in 1993. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities. Additionally, the organization indicates that it represents the views of its members regarding economic and political policy issues; domestically and internationally. It is organized as a 501(c) corporation and has at least 190 chapters within the United States. The NBCC also has international chapters in the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana and Jamaica. As with all Chambers of Commerce, affiliate branches are committed to carrying out the goals of the main Chamber within their areas.
According to data from the US Energy Information Administration, renewable energy accounted for about 13.1% of total primary energy consumption and about 21.5% of total utility-scale electricity generation in the United States in 2022.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute(EESI) is an independent, bi-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to promote environmentally sustainable societies. Based out of Washington, DC, EESI seeks to be a catalyst moving society away from environmentally damaging fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future. The organization was established in 1984 by a bipartisan and bicameral group of members of the United States Congress who were concerned with global environmental and energy problems.
SolarCity Corporation was a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company was founded on July 4, 2006, by Peter and Lyndon Rive, the cousins of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Tesla acquired SolarCity in 2016, at a cost of approximately US$2.6 billion and reorganized its solar business into Tesla Energy.
A community solar project, farm or garden is a solar power installation that accepts capital from and provides output credit and tax benefits to multiple customers, including individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other investors. Participants typically invest in or subscribe to a certain kW capacity or kWh generation of remote electrical production. The project's power output is credited to investors or subscribers in proportion to their investment, with adjustments to reflect ongoing changes in capacity, technology, costs and electricity rates. Community solar provides direct access to the renewable energy to customers who cannot install it themselves. Companies, cooperatives, governments or non-profits operate the systems.
Hayes Barnard is an American entrepreneur. He is currently the founder, chairman, and CEO of GoodLeap, a technology-based finance company. Barnard is also the founder, chairman, and CEO of GivePower, a nonprofit that facilitates solar powered projects to provide clean water and energy systems to underserved communities.
Washington, D.C. has the potential to install 2,100 MW of rooftop photovoltaic solar power using technology available in 2012, which would generate 21% of the electricity used in 2010.
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is a national trade association representing the advanced energy industry. In 2021, AEE reported over 100 member companies.
Will Byrne is an activist and entrepreneur. Will was named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30, and his writing has appeared in Forbes and Fast Company.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is the largest 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit organization in the southeastern United States, with more than 100 attorneys and 200 staff members overall working at the local, state, and federal level. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, SELC has nine offices in six states: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The organization also has an office on Capitol Hill.
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.
Solar United Neighbors (SUN) is an American nonprofit organization that arranges solar co-ops for group purchase of home solar panel installations.
EnergySage is an American Boston-based company that operates an online comparison marketplace for clean energy products such as solar, energy storage, and heat pumps. The company's website provides information about clean energy options and shows online quotes from local solar, heat pump, and battery installers for consumer comparison shopping. The company also issues reports and survey results on the state of the clean energy industry regarding pricing, consumer preferences, and trends.