The name "One Block Off the Grid" is a metaphor for freeing the world from its dependency on non-renewable power sources one block at a time.
Chairman of 1BOG's board is Steve Newcomb, who is also the chairman of Serious Business and the founder of SF Green, Powerset (now MFST) and Loudfire (now Nokia). Steve Newcomb sits on the policy committee for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
In early 2007 Sylvia Ventura and Dan Barahona decided to explore solar power for their own San Francisco home. They spent the following 3 months rigorously researching residential solar solutions – a process that required them to become experts in solar technologies, electric utility rates and metering, and local and federal tax incentives and rebates. They also discovered a major solar awareness gap – virtually all their friends and colleagues were interested in solar, but none had any awareness of its feasibility. They decided to share their research online and created Solar4SF.org, an advocacy and community outreach effort to promote and educate about all things solar. Solar4SF.org became a recognized resource for easy-to-understand information and key concepts for evaluating solar for San Francisco area residents. After a thorough vetting process Sylvia and Dan selected a local solar installation company and their system was installed in September 2007.
One day in March 2008 Sylvia and Dan came up with the idea of creating a solar community in San Francisco. The initial idea was to identify and mobilize a single city block and get each residence on that block to go solar. The collective power of such a large community of solar buyers would allow the group as a whole to negotiate the best pricing from local installers. The goal was to take one city block off the grid – which led to the venture's name, One Block Off the Grid, or 1BOG. Realizing the challenges of convincing 100% of the residents of a single city block to adopt solar, Sylvia and Dan modified the model to focus on the aggregate energy usage a 'virtual city block' representing about 200KW and launched their campaign citywide.
While developing the first 1BOG program Sylvia and Dan met Dave Llorens, a solar sales consultant and the co-founder of SolarPowerRocks.com, a site providing solar information for all fifty states. The three agreed to join forces and build 1BOG together.
1BOG.org was officially launched on June 5, 2008, the day after San Francisco passed the largest solar incentive in the city's history. It was followed by numerous grassroot and social media efforts to educate and recruit San Francisco residents.. Within one month 200 people had signed up on 1BOG's to receive an evaluation.
The pilot program in San Francisco was a success. 1BOG negotiated 48% reduction off the list price after rebates and incentives, generated over $800,000 in local solar installation, and helped 42 homes convert to solar energy. , The San Francisco Chronicle documented the success of the campaign in an in-depth article on October 11, 2008. The press coverage drove another 400 new 1BOG members within two days and helped propel 1BOG forward on future campaigns. Over the following months 1BOG was featured prominently in Huffington Post, CNET, New York Times, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Wired, treehugger, and many more. By the end of October 1BOG had seeded campaigns in 7 additional cities including New York, Seattle, Portland, Colorado, Bay Area's San Jose and Oakland. The company was acquired in November 2008 by San Francisco-based Virgance, a company that promotes large-scale social activism through market-based methods.
Chairman of 1BOG's board is Steve Newcomb, who is also the chairman of Serious Business and the founder of SF Green, Powerset (now MFST) and Loudfire (now Nokia). Steve Newcomb sits on the policy committee for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
In early 2007 Sylvia Ventura and Dan Barahona decided to explore solar power for their own San Francisco home. They spent the following 3 months rigorously researching residential solar solutions – a process that required them to become experts in solar technologies, electric utility rates and metering, and local and federal tax incentives and rebates. They also discovered a major solar awareness gap – virtually all their friends and colleagues were interested in solar, but none had any awareness of its feasibility. They decided to share their research online and created Solar4SF.org, an advocacy and community outreach effort to promote and educate about all things solar. Solar4SF.org became a recognized resource for easy-to-understand information and key concepts for evaluating solar for San Francisco area residents. After a thorough vetting process Sylvia and Dan selected a local solar installation company and their system was installed in September 2007.
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1BOG.org was officially launched on June 5, 2008, the day after San Francisco passed the largest solar incentive in the city's history. It was followed by numerous grassroot and social media efforts to educate and recruit San Francisco residents.. Within one month 200 people had signed up on 1BOG's to receive an evaluation.
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