Southern California $288K Clean Energy Grants Boost Sustainability

Twelve local nonprofits across Los Angeles and Ventura counties received more than $288,000 in combined grant funding to accelerate clean energy adoption, expand solar access for income-qualified homeowners, and build climate resilience across Southern California communities. The awards were announced on December 1, 2023 through the Community Benefits Grant Program, funded by Calpine Energy Solutions and administered through the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) and the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF).

The grants range from $20,000 to $30,000 and support a broad mix of projects, from direct solar installations on low-income homes to STEM education, environmental stewardship, and green workforce training.

Direct Solar Access for Homeowners

Among the headline awards, Grid Alternatives LA received $20,000 to provide homeowners in Carson and Whittier with reroofs, service panel upgrades, and related professional services required to access no-cost solar energy systems. The funding targets households that typically face the highest barriers to residential solar, including older homes that need electrical or structural upgrades before a rooftop system can be installed.

Education, Workforce, and Climate Resilience

Additional awards support a wide range of sustainability initiatives:

• Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas — $25,000
• Columbia Memorial Space Center — $20,000
• Friends of the Los Angeles River — $25,000
• LA Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC) — $20,000 for a Clean Energy Education Campaign across the greater Los Angeles region
• Merito Foundation — $30,000 to advance energy literacy and green workforce development for 1,200 Ventura Unified School District students in grades 7 through 12
• Oxnard Performing Arts Center — $23,900
• Pando Populus — $20,000
• Santa Monica Mountains Foundation — $25,000 to develop the Los Angeles region’s first native seed production farm, supporting wildfire resilience and habitat restoration
• Tree People — $25,000
• U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC) — $30,000
• Ventura County Community Foundation — $25,000

Program Structure

Calpine Energy Solutions provides the program funding, while Clean Power Alliance develops the grant guidelines and helps recruit local nonprofits to apply. “Providing funding to these community organizations helps advance their work in clean energy, sustainability and resiliency and enhances health and wellbeing,” said Gina Goodhill, Clean Power Alliance’s Senior Director of Government Affairs.

What It Means for Homeowners

For Southern California homeowners — particularly those in Carson and Whittier served by Grid Alternatives LA — the grants can remove the upfront cost of roof replacement and electrical panel upgrades that often block access to no-cost solar programs. The broader portfolio of grants also expands educational and workforce pipelines that feed into the region’s growing clean energy economy.