BlocPower founder Donnel Baird inspired by childhood to create green energy in inner cities

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TheGrio collaborated with The Weather Channel and Pattrn to share their series Faces of Change– people of color dong the work to promote green solutions and sustainable communities.

Donnel Baird is the founder and owner of ‘BlocPower,’- “a Brooklyn-based energy technology startup that markets, engineers, and finances renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies to buildings in underserved market segments. BlocPower partners with governments, utilities, building owners, and community members to generate energy bill savings and reduced carbon emissions, and generates financial returns and improved public health.”

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Baird’s inspiration to create this start-up came from his own personal upbringing in NYC buildings. In the series, he reveals that he grew up in a building that didn’t have a working heating system.

“We would turn on the oven and open up the oven door and heat up our apartment that way and we would open up the window to release the carbon monoxide, says Baird.

Now, Baird is replacing old wasteful heating systems with 21st-century green technology. His company has done 1,000 building apartment buildings, churches, synagogues, and schools.

Check out the full video for more.

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About Faces of Change 

As the nation remembers the life of Martin Luther King and observes the inauguration of a new President who has affirmed a commitment to climate science, The Weather Channel and Pattrn showcase people of color already doing the work to promote green solutions and sustainable communities.

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