Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation

Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation

Solar Systems Will Reduce Energy Costs, Provide Critical Heating and Relief for Frigid Winters at Minnesota Reservation

Grounded in the knowledge that environmental injustices often disproportionately impact communities of concern, Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation (HCSF) is on a mission to help and heal people and the planet. HCSF partners with nonprofit organizations that are working to end those injustices with funding and services to transition to clean energy.

HCSF manages the Solar Moonshot Program, a nationwide initiative to aid nonprofits that serve communities of concern, such as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities, switch to clean energy. HCSF offers program and project development, management and investment. To date, the Solar Moonshot Program has helped 157 organizations across 29 states install solar, offsetting 141,938.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

All Points North Foundation’s grant to Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation will propel the installation of solar thermal systems at the White Earth Nation Reservation in Osage, Minnesota. HCSF will oversee the installation of solar thermal panels by the nonprofit 8th Fire Solar on the homes of 20 Elders in an area where the average income per capita is approximately $22,768 and nearly one-quarter of the Indigenous residents live below the poverty line. During some of the most frigid Minnesota winters, gas stoves are turned on to heat homes – a dangerous, inefficient and unhealthy means to stay warm. The solar thermal systems will provide ample heating with the goal of reducing energy costs by 20 to 50% per home.

White Earth faces a 90% unemployment rate, and through the Solar Moonshot Program, tribal members will be trained and employed to do the solar thermal installations, increasing their knowledge of renewable energy and creating local, green jobs and stimulating the regional economy. The aim is to lessen climate injustices while improving environmental health impacts on the White Earth Reservation for years to come.

For more information, www.hcs.foundation.

Photo credit: Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation

All Points North Foundation provides grants for U.S.-based projects and initiatives that support our priorities: improving public middle school education and teacher training, and implementing effective solar programs and/or projects.

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