Grants for Solar Energy Training

Solar energy training is available through federal grants.

Solar Energy is increasingly becoming a valuable source of environmentally-friendly energy. The technology for solar energy is more advanced and implementable today than ever before. Along with new technology, there must be a work force trained to use it. There are various grants available to those companies and individuals interested in solar energy training.

Finding Federal Aid

A roadblock to obtaining grant money is knowing where to find grant programs. Federal Grant Wire is an excellent website where you can look up all available federal grant programs. Under "Energy Federal Grants" is a listing of all available federal grants to increase energy-efficiency. For example, there is one titled "Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Dissemination, Outreach, Training and Technical Analysis/Assistance." This program covers solar energy training via grant money. Individuals can apply directly through grants.gov, along with nonprofits, large and small businesses, state and local governments and universities. Federal Grants Wire provides current information and is a great starting point to find solar energy training grant money.

Finding State Aid

If you run a small business, the U.S. Small Business Administration website is an excellent starting point in your search for solar energy training grant money. SBA provides listings of available programs in your state to assist with a variety of energy-efficient items, including solar energy training.

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency website is another great resource for finding grant funding at a state and local level. DSIRE allows you to search specifically for solar-related programs. The site then lists the available programs by state and then by locality.

DOE Training

In 2009, the Department of Energy allocated $87 million in funds to assist solar energy technologies and training nationwide. This is good news if you are interested in attending school to be solar-energy trained. A portion of the money was allocated for use by colleges, universities and training facilities to implement up-to-date solar energy training programs. The DOE is implementing this through a solar instructor training network. Trained solar instructors will then teach and train at select educational facilities. Although not a direct grant to individuals or businesses, this grant program makes up-to-date training available to individuals and businesses.

DOL Training

The Department of Labor announced in 2010 that it was allocating $100 million for green workforce training. This program provides some of this money for solar-energy training at utility companies. However, a large portion of the money will go specifically to individuals hit hard by the economic recession via local training programs. The training activities funded by this program will be specific to individual trainee companies---including those in the solar energy field. Contact your local government office to learn more.

References

• Federal Grants Wire: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Dissemination, Outreach, Training and Technical Analysis/Assistance
• Solar Energy International: DOE Announces Solar Energy Training Grant to Rocky Mountain Region; April E. Clark; Oct. 23, 2009
• United States Department of Labor: US Department of Labor announces $100 million in green jobs training grants through Recovery Act; Lina Garcia and Mark Trupo; Jan 6, 2010
• U.S. Small Business Administration: State and Local Energy Efficiency Programs
• Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency: Financial Incentives