UNITED STATES

Empowering partnerships

We value our partnerships and the positive impact these various organizations have on our communities and the solar industry.

Our partnerships

The benefits we’re able to bring to communities are enhanced through collaborative initiatives with our partners. At Lightsource bp, we’re excited to support and work with organizations that share our desire to create a more sustainable, resilient and equitable world for present and future generations. Below we have highlighted some of our key partners who are helping us achieve these goals.

GRID Alternatives

Helping make solar technology and job training accessible to underserved communities

Lightsource bp is a sponsor of GRID Alternatives, a nationwide non-profit organization that is making clean, affordable solar power and solar jobs accessible to low-income communities and communities of color.

Root & Rebound

Supporting low-income communities and communities of color harmed by mass incarceration

Lightsource bp is a sponsor of Root & Rebound, a national non-profit committed to restoring power and resources to the families and communities most harmed by mass incarceration through legal advocacy, public education, policy reform and litigation.

 

One of our team members, Tamaron Greene, serves on the board for Root & Rebound.

“It is a privilege to serve on the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization that believes in fostering second chances at civic engagement and social responsibility in a population of people who have often been systematically disenfranchised and for whom no other help or support is available.”

Tamaron Greene
Senior Counsel, USA

York County Reentry Coalition

Connecting community members with resources after incarceration

Lightsource bp is supporting the York County Reentry Coalition, which develops partnerships with governmental agencies, the business community, faith-based entities and service providers to help reentrants through education, treatment, and ongoing skill development in York County, Pennsylvania. 

Adopt-A-Grandparent, Point Coupee Parish

Spreading joy to senior citizens

Lightsource bp is supporting an Adopt-a-Grandparent program in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, home to our Oxbow Solar project. The program brings holiday gifts to every nursing home resident in the Parish, and has provided 2,000 gifts in the last five years. In 2022, Lightsource bp’s donation will support holiday gifts for 200 residents of the LaCour House, Pointe Coupee Parish Healthcare and Lakeview Manor. 

Care and Share

Fighting hunger and food insecurity in Southern Colorado

For the last two school years, Lightsource bp has partnered with Care and Share food bank to support the Minnequa Elementary school, which is located in Pueblo, Colorado close to our Bighorn and Sun Mountain Solar projects. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on the community, including an increase in children who are suffering from hunger.

  • For the 2021-22 school year, Lightsource bp is funding a food pantry – including fresh produce – as well as a snack program located at Minnequa Elementary in order to ensure the students and their families have every day access to food. The mission of the School Pantry Program is to help alleviate child hunger by providing food to neighbors in need at a convenient location- the school their children attend! The location of the pantry in the school provides a comfortable and familiar environment for students and their families to “shop” for the foods they like to eat and cook with.
  • For the 2020-21 school year, we sponsored a ‘Send Hunger Packing’ program at the school, where children were able to bring food home each week in pre-packaged backpacks.

Montgomery Area Food Bank

  • Fighting hunger and food insecurity in Alabama

The Montgomery Area Food Bank (MAFB) has a mission to source, acquire and distribute nutritious food to those experiencing hunger and food insecurity in their region so that families, seniors, and children can thrive. MAFB partners with over 200 agencies to serve 12 counties in the River Region of Alabama. Through these partnerships, they provided over 26 million pounds of food to people in need in 2021.

Lightsource bp is supporting the food bank to provide children who rely on school nutrition programs with food and holiday meals over winter break.

United Way of Pueblo County

Fighting hunger and food insecurity in Alabama

United Way of Pueblo County has always stood for coming together to support one another in times of need, advocating for equity, strengthening, and healing for all in their community. They work to ensure all partnerships and programming reflect this commitment to actively serving all populations, particularly the commonly disadvantaged and underserved. 

Lightsource bp’s donation is supporting their Middle School Mentoring Program 

Since 2012, United Way of Pueblo County’s Middle School Mentoring Program has been connecting positive and caring adults with middle schoolers in their community, working closely with Pueblo School District 60 and Pueblo County School District 70. Through weekly communication, mentors help mentees cultivate character and strength by fostering relationships centered on trust, hope, and growth. The effect of a student having a mentor in their lives is seen in multiple aspects—many may be quantitative, such as the reduction in absenteeism and increased academic success, while other impacts may be qualitative as is the case in higher confidence levels and self-esteem, improved attitudes toward attending school, and effective decision making. 

HandsOn Bay Area

Empowering our employees to give back to the community during COVID

This year, volunteers from Lightsource bp have partnered with HandsOn Bay Area for three virtual volunteering projects:

  1. Wellness check in calls to homebound seniors who are in the high-risk category for COVID-19. The project was in support of Meals on Wheels and the services they provide to keep vulnerable homebound seniors in their homes, healthy and happy for as long as safely possible.
  2. Personal “Pathway Point of View” presentations for Boys and Girls Club. Volunteers shared helpful insight they’ve gathered along their personal journey and provided guidance to students or individuals entering the workforce. The project was in support of the Boys and Girls Club mission to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
  3. Voter outreach to text hundreds of Americans about the election. Approximately 18,000 texts were sent during as part of this project, reminding Americans to go out and vote, and providing information about voting in their local areas.

American Solar Grazing Association

Combining solar and agriculture

Lightsource bp is a sponsor of the American Solar Grazing Association. ASGA promotes grazing sheep on solar sites to maintain the land and provide an additional source of income to local farmers. Properly managed grazing can also improve soil health and increase the cycling of nutrients, carbon, water and energy.

Arkansas Monarch Conservation Partnership

Conserving habitat for pollinator species

The Arkansas Monarch Conservation Partnership is working to create, enhance and conserve habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinator species across the state. Lightsource bp signed a memorandum of cooperation in February 2022, joining over two dozen other organizations who share in the partnership’s mission and vision. Lightsource bp’s Conway Solar Project, currently under construction, will be seeded with native vegetation to promote pollinator activity in White County, Arkansas.

Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute

Ensuring that renewable energy and wildlife can thrive in tandem

The U.S. renewable energy industry must accelerate the pace at which clean generation is built, but this development has to be guided by a commitment to long-term sustainability. We’re proud to be part of the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute, which is advancing the science needed to answer complex questions about how this expansion can occur in tandem with conserving the natural environment.

24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact

Joining the movement for sustainable energy 24/7

We have joined a global group of companies, policymakers, investors, and organizations on a mission to realize a 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy future for all. This means that every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption is met with carbon-free electricity sources. Through the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Compact, we will work together to develop and scale technologies, energy policies, procurement practices, and solutions to transform the broader energy system and enable rapid and cost-effective carbon-free energy — every hour, every day, everywhere.

Solar Energy Industries Association

Helping build a strong solar industry to power America

We believe it is important for the solar industry to work together to develop best practices and maximize solar’s environmental and economic benefits to communities At Lightsource bp, we are committed to responsibly providing clean energy to our communities.

Colorado Solar & Storage Association

Supporting the solar industry in Colorado

The mission of COSSA is to help advance solar and storage deployments, highlight emerging trends, and improve industry connections throughout the state of Colorado. Lightsource bp is developing a 300 megawatt solar farm in Pueblo, Colorado, known as Bighorn Solar. Thanks to COSSA, the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single customer in the country is providing vast benefits to the state of Colorado.

WRISE

Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) accelerates the transition to a sustainable and equitable energy future by igniting the collective power of community

Lightsource bp is a sponsor of WRISE, a national nonprofit organization that imagines a transformed energy ecosystem where all people and our planet thrive.

  • One of our team members, Raheleh Folkerts, serves on the board for WRISE. “It is an honor to serve as the Board President of a nonprofit organization that is committed to ensuring that there is diversity and equity within renewable energy companies and their workforce.” – Raheleh Folkerts, Senior Director, Marketing USA

Penn State University

Driving educational opportunities

Penn State and Lightsource bp have formed an innovative partnership designed to be a national model in sustainability. Beyond the carbon reduction benefits of their solar project, Penn State and Lightsource bp have a wider mission to provide a blueprint to maximize the sustainability impacts of solar farming in the US with a comprehensive approach that fosters biodiversity, improves soil health, provides pollinator habitats, and is a long-term living laboratory for students to learn and innovate for our sustainable future.

Minnequa Elementary

Providing student opportunities

At Minnequa Elementary in Pueblo, Colorado, Lightsource bp is sponsoring a student activity fund, which provides students with after-school community excursions as experiential enrichment learning and as an incentive for academic achievement. Through our partnership with Care and Share, we’re also sponsoring a food pantry at the school that includes fresh produce and snack program in order to ensure the students and their families have everyday access to food. Minnequa Elementary is located within a few miles of Lightsource bp’s Bighorn and Sun Mountain solar farms.

Italy Independent School District

Supporting life skills education

At the Italy Independent School District in Ellis County, Texas Lightsource bp is supporting renovations to special education facilities, where  students with disabilities will have a place to practice and acquire independent life skills. The school is located near our Elm Branch and Briar Creek Solar projects.

Riverview School District

Supporting STEM education

At Riverview High School in Searcy, Arkansas, Lightsource bp is supporting the purchase of new and improved computers for the robotics program and esports team​. The school is located 10 miles from our Conway Solar at Happy project. As the Conway Solar at Happy project progresses in the community, the district plans to bring students on site tours​.

Partner with us

At Lightsource bp, we’re excited to support and work with organizations in the communities that are home to our solar projects and also our offices. We seek partnerships with groups that share our desire to create a more sustainable, resilient and equitable world for present and future generations. If you represent a group interested in exploring a partnership with Lightsource bp, we would love to hear from you.

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Empowering economic development

Our solar projects help provide stable revenue for landowners as well as create jobs, generate property tax revenue, and bring operating budgets that are primarily spent in the area.

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Empowering education

We value education and help bring real-world experiences to the classroom through funding for research, internships, capstone projects, solar training, and so much more.

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