Check Out Our Newest Time-Lapse Video!

As we approach the beginning of summer, CHERP-LGP has set out to complete several significant renovations in order to launch our first solar facility in Pomona, California. We are delighted to share all of the progress and hard work going into making this factory space a home for our CHERP-Locally Grown Power initiative. In the first phase of our project, we are proving that our social enterprise model will not only make solar energy more accessible to under-served populations most vulnerable to the effects of pollution, but also providing a comprehensive approach that creates job opportunities, addresses environmental justice, and reinvigorates our local economies. 

Our team is currently hard at work, as we've begun upgrading our 7,000 square foot space. Jason Flejter, our Director of Manufacturing, and Ronald Crisp, our Senior Design Engineer, have taken the lead to tackle the renovations. Over the last several weeks, they have been cleaning, power washing, scrubbing, and buffing the floors, and are now in the process of adding a fresh coat of paint to the interior walls.

We have created a time-lapse video that shows how much progress we have made in just two weeks. Watch it below to see our Pomona project coming to life!

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The equipment for the factory will be arriving within the next few weeks. They include two Tabber Stringers, one Auto Layup Machine, one Laser Scriber, one EVA Back Sheet Cutter

one Framing Machine. The manufacturers have shared photos of the machines with us, and we are incredibly excited to begin receiving and placing these necessary tools within our space. 

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We hope you continue to follow along with us on our journey to prove we can create a solar micro-factory capable of producing world-class solar panels by and for our community, while simultaneously keeping all profits recirculating locally within our economy. We will have many more updates and time-lapse footage to share in the next few months, so stay tuned!

Become a CHERP-LGP Founder!

Dear [CHERP Locally Grown Power Supporter], 

CHERP-Locally Grown Power has made immense progress over the last few months as we prepare to launch our first solar panel factory in Pomona. We have been incredibly pleased to share with you all the advancements we've made along the way. Our story has been five years in the making, and thanks to the incredible support of our donors, we're well on our way to producing IdealPV test panels for UL certification by the end of this year. 

From its inception, the CHERP-LGP initiative has been geared towards combining cutting-edge solar technology with an economically regenerative, non-profit business model. As we move closer to reaching the first phase of our manufacturing goals, we want to ensure that our factory space is clean, inviting, and healing to all of our community members and our employees. To do this, we are employing an art committee to help us redefine what it means to work in a "factory," a word that has historically carried very negative connotations. Our art team intends to dismantle the notions of what a typical factory looks like by incorporating artwork that explains our technology, engages our community, and radiates both warmth and comfort. 

One of the first art pieces we are planning to showcase in our facility's interior is a "Circle of Founders" mural. This piece is meant to present our heartfelt gratitude for the generous contributions we have received from our community throughout the years. We want to individually recognize community members and organizations that have supported us in our ongoing efforts to build a brighter, better, and cleaner future for our community. This is not just a historic moment for CHERP-LGP but for our community as a whole.  If you're not yet a current donor but wish to join in helping revolutionize solar energy, we invite you to donate today. Your name and your family’s names can be permanently etched onto the walls of the world’s first nonprofit solar factory! You can donate through the following link here and have your name, or your family’s name honored on the mural. 

We greatly appreciate all of your continued support! The CHERP Locally Grown Power model keeps all the energy savings and manufacturing profits inside local communities, and our goal is to spread this model beyond Pomona, California, throughout cities across the United States. Our vision for cities is for them to be integrative and regenerative places, grounded in a shared deep sense of well-being and community. Thank you for joining us in transforming the future together! 

Our Story of Hope & Announcing the Energy Revolution Podcast

Dear CHERP Locally Grown Power Supporter,
 

We are closer than ever to developing the world's first locally based nonprofit solar panel assembly factory. We are bringing communities together to solve some of the most significant problems currently facing our society. As we provide solar energy in revolutionary ways, we will not only address global warming and environmental injustice within the solar industry but also create more manufacturing jobs and revitalize our local economies -- something our local communities need now more than ever in light of the COVID-19 crisis. With our cutting-edge solar technology and our novel nonprofit business model focused on building community wealth, we will address these issues simultaneously to maximize the economic, social, and environmental benefits for our local communities. 

We have created a video, included below, that details our story of hope, why our mission is so important to us, and how we are working to achieve our goal to create a better future for everyone. Watch it to learn more about who we are!

Our Story of Hope. 

We have also been making significant strides towards developing our Pomona factory space. We have officially signed the lease and will soon start moving our equipment in! We are incredibly excited to share how this space will be transformed in the next coming months.
                      
We hope you are just as thrilled to follow along with us as we continue to make advances towards making solar power available to low-to-moderate-income households. 

CHERP Locally Grown Power now has a Podcast!

We've launched our new Energy Revolution podcast! You can watch Episode 1: Hotspots, Solar Panels, Nonprofits, and CHERP-LGP. 

In our first episode, our President and CEO, Devon Hartman, sits down with the inventor of our IdealPV panels, Kent Kernahan. They discuss why CHERP-LGP's solar panels, and the nonprofit method by which we are deploying this groundbreaking technology, will revolutionize solar energy as we know it.

Going forward, new episodes will be available on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to see our latest videos, podcasts, and more!

Introducing our Staff Stories Series!

Dear {CHERP Locally Grown Power Supporter}, 

CHERP Locally Grown Power's mission has always centered on bringing clean, solar energy to the communities that need it most. Our comprehensive social enterprise model brings an innovative and community-focused approach that helps local communities tackle social, economic, and environmental justice issues. 

With that in mind, building a strong sense of community is incredibly important to us, which is why we are uniting physicists, engineers, economists, local businesses, community volunteers, and local government to help us bring back-middle class manufacturing jobs, cut down carbon emissions on a massive scale, and address environmental justice at the local level. Global change starts at home. 

Our team members are also thrilled to be a part of this movement toward greater community engagement. We want our supporters to get to know our organization on a more personal level. For this reason, we have created a new video series that introduces our wonderful CHERP Locally Grown Power team members. Each video features an individual staff member sharing their experience with CHERP-LGP; they tell their story of how they came to join our team and how our mission resonates with them.  

This week we want to share with you our Director of Manufacturing, Jason Flejter's story. Jason came to us with a desire to find meaningful manufacturing work where he could make a positive impact on others' lives. He shared that he is now proud to be a part of a cause that is helping the environment and creating green jobs in the process. He states, "What inspires me to wake up every day is knowing that we are making a difference. We're helping save the earth from a carbon mitigation perspective, and we're also creating jobs." Jason is looking forward to setting up our first solar factory from scratch and becoming a mentor to individuals who wish to learn the necessary skill set to start their careers in the solar industry. 

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With Jason Flejter, and our fellow team member Ronald Crisp's leadership, we are making swift progress through the initial stages of developing our prototype factory. Our second time-lapse video is ready to view! We captured the moment when our equipment and machinery began to arrive, which our team is currently working on installing. You can watch the process below to see the most recent renovations to our Pomona facility. 

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Thank you for being a part of our community and following us on our mission to make solar energy accessible to the most economically and environmentally disadvantaged communities in the United States. We hope you are as excited as we are for what the future holds!