Evansville PowerUp Initiative

Project Summary

In 2020, the Indiana National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) launched a Just Energy Campaign and funded the installation of solar panels on the Greater St. James Community Recreation and Education Center in Evansville, Indiana. In alignment with this Campaign, the Indiana NAACP established the PowerUp initiative to advance solar production in vulnerable communities and create clean energy jobs for communities of color and low-income areas. They collaborated with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) to develop the online solar training course, and with Morton Solar to assist with the in-person training. Trainees successfully completed the initiative in its first year and were offered opportunities to work with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) or join a more formalized solar training program and become certified.

In 2020, the City of Evansville was in the process of developing its Climate Action Plan (CAP) with the assistance of the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute. During the process, the Indiana NAACP shared its Environmental and Climate Justice Program with the City and launched a Just Energy Campaign to advocate for equitable and just climate policies, as well as clean energy. They then identified a solar equity project in Evansville, which advances economic development, labor, education, health, and criminal justice by funding the installation of solar panels on the Greater St. James Community Recreation and Education Center. Additionally, the Indiana NAACP developed a PowerUp initiative in Evansville to provide online and hands-on solar installation training for underemployed and unemployed workers, formerly incarcerated individuals, and young adults.

In June 2020, the Indiana NAACP distributed outreach and education materials for the Just Energy Campaign and the PowerUp initiative, with the assistance of community members and volunteers. They partnered with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, which developed the solar panel installer online training for the Evansville participants. The online training consisted of two modules. Once the trainees completed the online training portion, they attended an in-person six-hour, hands-on solar installation training hosted by Morton Solar.

Since the City of Evansville has an ordinance in place that does not allow individuals to be trained on electrical work, such as solar installation, without the permission and guidance of the Union, the NAACP partnered with Morton Solar and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Work. After the trainees completed both the online and the in-person trainings, they received a certificate and were awarded an opportunity to work as helpers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Work in Evansville. They were also given the option to continue into a more formalized solar training program and become officially solar certified.

Funding

The initiative was funded with $5,000 from the NAACP. The money was used for outreach and education materials, as well as the certificates given at the end of the cohort. In addition, the initiative provided stipends for all the trainees.

Timeline

The initial cohort of the PowerUp initiative launched in June 2020 and was completed in August 2020. However, the initiative is continuing to accept trainees into the online program.

Despite the clean energy sector being one of the fastest growing industries, there has been a lack of racial diversity. In 2019, the Solar Foundation and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released a comprehensive study highlighting the racial disparities present within the U.S. solar industry. The study found that while African American employees make up 12.1 percent of the U.S. workforce, they comprise only 7.6 percent of the solar workforce. In addition, African Americans pay $41 billion to the energy sector but hold 1.1 percent of the energy jobs. To address the lack of diversity, the NAACP established the national PowerUp Employment Projects, which provides energy justice education, solar industry job training, and job placements. Equity and justice are the primary guiding principles of the PowerUp Employment Projects and are the foundation of the PowerUp initiative in Evansville.