NC GreenPower Launches Initiative to Enhance Clean Energy Education in North Carolina

As North Carolina and the rest of the country continue to transition to a clean energy future, training and instruction are becoming essential to ensure we have the people in place to tackle the challenges ahead. One way to build the requisite knowledge is by supporting education, and NC GreenPower — our subsidiary — is excited to announce a new effort in partnership with the NEED Project to do just that.

The Clean Energy Education Program is a STEM-based initiative that will bring energy curriculum to the classrooms of North Carolina teachers. Aligned with North Carolina State Science Standards, it will combine energy workshops, hands-on activities and outside community experts to enhance the experience of students and expose them to the energy field and STEM.

Participating educators — all K-12 educators in North Carolina are invited to apply — will take part in three energy education workshops organized by NEED. During these workshops, participants will receive STEM kits to help their students learn about energy and how it impacts their daily lives. The kits will highlight four topics: the science of energy, solar energy, wind energy and energy efficiency.

Along with the workshops, the Clean Energy Education Program will feature other engaging elements:

• A yearlong energy challenge, in which schools develop a solution to energy-related problems and barriers. Schools then share their Challenge Project at the end of the year and submit their work to NEED’s Youth Awards for Energy Achievement.
• An energy fair for students to show off their energy knowledge with their communities.
• Educational energy audits, in which NEED’s certified energy manger visits schools and works with students to assess their building’s energy usage.

The Clean Energy Education Program extends an already fruitful relationship between NC GreenPower and NEED. The two groups have worked together for the past nine years on NC GreenPower’s Solar+ Schools program — which offers grants to schools to install educational solar arrays — with NEED providing a one-day training session for awardees.

Both Solar+ Schools and the Clean Energy Education Program increase awareness of renewable energy, with the goal of preparing our future energy leaders and improving the environment. The Clean Energy Education Program, though, will allow NC GreenPower to reach even more schools, more teachers and more students. It will also provide broader coverage of energy topics (Solar+ Schools’ accompanying curriculum focuses primarily on solar power) and allow students to take on an active role through participation in energy fairs and audits.

“We wanted to broaden NC GreenPower’s program offerings beyond providing grants for the installation of solar systems and solar-focused curriculum, so we worked with NEED to develop this new, more-diversified energy education program,” said Davis Reed, NC GreenPower’s project manager.

The Clean Energy Education Program will accept up to 30 schools in its initial 2024-2025 cohort, which opens in August and will run through next spring. Feel free to spread the word with your networks!