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Solar Industry and Antirecidivism Team Up in Illinois

By Rick Laezman | Oct 11, 2024
Staffing for Mega Solar Projects / solar jobs / solar photovoltaic / green jobs / clean energy jobs

The growing popularity of solar photovoltaics is creating hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs around the country. Many of those jobs are also changing lives.

The growing popularity of solar photovoltaics is creating hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs around the country. Many of those jobs are also changing lives.

The Renewing Sovereignty Project (RSP) is a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps people transitioning out of incarceration find jobs in the solar industry. Their efforts are paying off.

The Energy News Network, an online news portal that covers the clean energy transition, reported in October 2024 that the RSP is having success placing its clients in new jobs right away. The first cohort of 12 participants finished their training in 2023. They achieved a 100% rate of placement in solar industry jobs upon completion.

RSP’s mission is to help bridge a large gap. On the one hand, the solar industry has a tremendous need for skilled workers. At the same time, residents of disadvantaged communities typically don’t get the training they need to join this labor pool. The organization helps bring the two sides closer together by providing a full menu of services to those who are trying to transition from the justice system into the mainstream, and in particular, to a career in the solar industry.

The challenges in making this transition can be daunting. General support services include housing, transportation, childcare, payment of outstanding utility and rent bills, and budgeting and financial literacy training.

Other services include mentorship, service connections, direct financial support, living wage stipends and alumni services. Participants received basic skills training as well as industry-specific training.

RSP is supported by industry stakeholders, such as solar developer Cultivate Power, Chicago, which provided the seed funding and a six-year commitment of $1.75 million. The project is a product of the Chicago Coalition for Intercommunalism, a group of more than 70 grassroots organizations dedicated to social and environmental justice.

RSP supports its cohorts even after they leave the program and are employed. Individual support lasts for a full year after they graduate. RSP is expecting to train and place roughly 50 more participants in 2024.

About The Author

LAEZMAN is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer who has been covering renewable power for more than 10 years. He may be reached at [email protected]

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