Miss Bishop Paiute, dressed in full tribal regalia, brought into focus on Tuesday the intersection of old and new, tradition and innovation as she helped celebrate a partnership that is transforming the way this remote Eastern Sierra tribal community uses—and thinks about—energy.

 

In a ceremony at the home of resident Rosalie Fimbres, GRID Alternatives, Tribal leaders and other community partners gathered to cut the symbolic ribbon for Ms. Fimbres' new solar electric system, the first of 22 systems to be installed on the Bishop Paiute Reservation under a U.S. Department of Energy grant. The project builds on more than 50 systems GRID Alternatives has already installed with the Tribe through California’s Single Family Affordable Homes program (SASH), bringing long-term energy cost savings and hands-on job training opportunities for families and helping fulfill the Tribe’s long-term vision of sustainability.