Solar Works DC is a solar installation and job training program led by GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic, in Washington, DC. The program provides no cost solar to low-income communities and offers community members the solar installation training and hands on experience needed to pursue careers in the industry. Devonta Sanders was a participant in the first Solar Works DC cohort and now works as a Construction Fellow for GRID Alternatives. Hear him reflect on his journey into the solar industry.
Jacqui Traiger, Outreach Coordinator, and Dom Paul-Baha, Workforce Training Supervisor, discuss GRID's job training and solar installation programs on WEBR Radio Fairfax.
Solar panels are more than renewable sources of energy for participants in the GRID Alternatives program. For Tazz Hunter, they are catalysts of change.
How does someone get a job in the solar energy industry? 90% of employers in the Mid-Atlantic area find it either somewhat or very difficult to hire qualified individuals, according to The Solar Foundation’s 2017 Solar Jobs Census. And solar jobs pay well; an installer job pays on average $20 an hour. So how do we bridge the gap between inexperience and jobs? The answer – job training.
Families living in an affordable housing complex in Washington, D.C., will benefit from upgrades to their homes, thanks to solar energy provided by GRID Alternatives.
We all know that solar energy is good for the environment and good for your pocketbook. Even a small solar array on a DC rowhouse roof can significantly reduce electricity costs. But, did you know that solar energy is also creating jobs for District residents? In 2017, Washington, DC, increased its solar energy workforce by 10 percent and now ranks sixth in the number of solar jobs per capita in the US.
When Tyrone Evans moved into his Washington, D.C. neighborhood about 25 years ago, he remembers seeing black smoke coming from the smokestacks just down the street.
