Solar And Storage Project Comes To Wilmington Senior Center

Long caught in industry’s shadow at the Port of Los Angeles, locals in the community of Wilmington are about to go green. 

At the Wilmington Senior Center, 31.2 kilowatt DC, or direct current, of solar and 40.6  kWh storage capacity were installed February 2021 by way of a new project, GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles or GLA’s “Green Harbor” initiative — a combination of energy and battery storage.  It will provide adaptability during climate disasters and long-term energy independence for Banning Park’s twenty-year-old senior community. It was designed by nonprofit GLA with financial support from The 11^th Hour Project (a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation) and a $25,000 Solar Moonshot Program grant,  managed by Hammond Climate Solutions, funded by Left Coast Fund. 

Living in the Harbor area, amid the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach brings with it issues of health concerns. The region has been called LA’s most burdened residential and industrial neighborhood in environmental health reports, like the Los Angeles and Long Beach Maritime Port Health Impact Assessment Scope. It sites “1) continued health inequities in communities impacted by port operations; 2) benefits of the Health Impact Assessment process for the ports; and 3) the possibility of collaboratively understanding project benefits and developing mitigations for adverse health impacts.”

For the Wilmington Jaycees Foundation, which operates the Wilmington Senior Center, the cost saving benefits of solar will enable it to expand its services. In addition to meal delivery, transportation, providing activities, education programs and social services, the center aims to offer COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic which has significantly affected low-income areas and communities of color.

“With these savings on our electric bill, we will be able to program an additional part-time staff person to  provide direct service,” said Gary Kern, Executive Director at the Wilmington Jaycees Foundation. 

Communities like those in the Harbor area have a stake in the transition to renewable technologies, as levels of pollution and the associated health impacts demonstrate. 

“Especially during these times, when  health disparities in our most vulnerable communities can’t be ignored, there is powerful symbolism when a mainstay like the Wilmington Senior Center goes green,” said Ashley Christy, GLA Executive Director.

The need for environmental justice in Wilmington is clear. Support for this construction project by The 11^th Hour Project helps further the goals of the senior center’s staff to be both financially and environmentally sustainable. Wilmington Jaycees Foundation staff anticipate a $500 per month bill savings through this system will be instrumental as meal service programming expands to let five more Wilmington seniors participate daily — matching the growing needs in the neighborhood. 

In the Harbor area, residents live with 100 tons of daily smog emissions coming from two large ports. GRID GLA, which makes solar power accessible for local environmental and economic justice communities,  envisions resiliency improvements at Wilmington Senior Center as the first of multiple green projects. Clean power and storage for the only 20-acre open space in Wilmington — unblighted by extractive industry — serves as an environmental justice project model for similar neighborhoods that historically deal with disparities. 

Following completion of the ninety-six-panel system with storage, future Green Harbor projects surrounding the ports will include solar and resiliency improvements within council District 15 including San Pedro’s Toberman Neighborhood  Center and “cool roof” projects with solar for homes near LADWP’s gas-powered Harbor Generating Station. 

The Harbor area has a great investment in fossil fuels, Danny Hom project leader at GRID GLA said, but at the same time, if the region doesn’t partner in showing the viability of clean energy, it will get left behind.

Details: www.GRIDLA.org.