SunEdison and GRID Alternatives, a non-profit solar installer, have just launched the National Women in Solar Initiative.
The $1.2 million philanthropic partnership aims to encourage women to enter the fast-growing solar industry, and contributes to GRID Alternatives’ mission of providing work training and clean energy to underserved communities.
GRID Alternatives will provide training to over 1,000 women, as well as paid fellowships to work in the industry for a year to 20 women. Plus, they’ll host networking events, starting in Denver in late April.
“GRID Alternatives’ volunteer model provides women a pathway to access a variety of careers in an industry that added jobs at a rate of 20 percent last year,” said Erica Mackie, co-founder and CEO of GRID Alternatives.
Credit: GRID Alternatives
“Women’s talents and voices will be critical to the solar industry’s continued growth, and we are thrilled to be partnering with SunEdison to increase their participation in this field,” she added.
“Taking this step to create and advance the Women in Solar Initiative is not only the right thing to do, it is a smart business investment,” said Ahmad Chatila, CEO of SunEdison.
“The continued success of the solar industry depends on recruiting and nurturing the best and brightest people, and this initiative is going to help do exactly that,” he added.
