{"id":1481,"date":"2019-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gridalt.wpenginepowered.com\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T14:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T18:44:02","slug":"release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders","status":"publish","type":"press-mention","link":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Release – GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

For immediate release<\/strong><\/p>\n

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders <\/strong><\/p>\n

The four-week course offers classroom and hands-on learning of solar energy technology and explores career opportunities in the booming industry<\/em><\/p>\n

Media Contact: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nayeli Pelayo <\/p>\n

npelayo@gridalternatives.org<\/a> <\/p>\n

(202) 656-2473 <\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C.; May 20, 2019<\/strong> \u2014 GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s innovative Solar Futures program culminates Monday afternoon with capstone presentations from 16 students at H.D. Woodson Academy of Engineering. Students will present at 1 pm EST in front of guest judges representing different environmental nonprofits after four weeks of classroom-based instruction on practical solar technology and installation experience. The GRID Mid-Atlantic teamed up with representatives from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), whose researchers focus on creative answers to today\u2019s energy challenges, to provide students with an understanding of solar energy technology through hands-on activities that challenged students\u2019 quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cSolar Futures aims to open career pathways in the fast-growing and well-paid solar industry and inspire the next generation to combat climate change,\u201d said Nicole Steele, executive director at GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic. \u201cStudents in the program participate in a dynamic \u2018Solar 101\u2019 course to learn how solar energy works and receive hands-on opportunities to learn the technology and process of installation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cH.D. Woodson students were quick, enthusiastic learners,\u201d said NREL\u2019s Jonathan Morgenstein, who helped teach the \u2018Solar 101\u2019 class. \u201cAt NREL, we get excited about helping build a cleaner, better future\u2014normally through technology, policy, or business innovation. So we were doubly excited to help GRID, through education, empower the next generation to build a broader and more diverse clean energy community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am excited that our H.D. Woodson students were able to participate in a unique program that will prepare them for college, career, and life,\u201d said District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee. \u201cThe GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic Solar Futures program is supporting our efforts to provide students with rigorous and joyful learning that allows them to explore potential career interests while thinking of ways to address key challenges facing our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program, which began April 29, met once a week for 2 hours and 15 minutes. High school students from H.D. Woodson Academy of Engineering volunteered to join the program, which offered opportunities to learn about solar and explore career opportunities in the industry as they begin to make post-graduation plans. See photos here<\/a>. Interested students applied through an application process that included providing a statement of interest before beginning the curriculum. <\/p>\n

\u201cD.C. is a leader in green infrastructure,\u201d said Elizabeth Dunn, an educator at H.D. Woodson Engineering Academy, \u201cIt\u2019s only right that we get students, especially from low-income areas, involved in this lucrative career path. My goal for HD Woodson Engineering Academy students is to offer them as much exposure to high-income, sustainable career pathways\u2014the partnership with GRID Mid-Atlantic is accomplishing just that.\u201d <\/p>\n

High school programs in the District that are interested in more information should contact GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic at infodc@gridalternatives.org<\/a>. For resources to give presentations to young students about solar and renewable energy, solar jobs, and energy conservation see our Solar Futures K-8 Classroom Toolkit<\/a>. These resources are designed to support anyone who wishes to visit a classroom and share their enthusiasm for renewable energy.<\/p>\n

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic is an affiliate of GRID Alternatives, a national leader in making clean, affordable solar power and solar jobs accessible to low-income communities and communities of color. GRID Alternatives\u2019 our energy access work is powering off-grid communities across the globe. GRID Alternatives began the Solar Futures program in California\u2019s Inland Empire and San Joaquin Valley, combining classroom-based sessions with real-world experience in installing solar for GRID Alternatives\u2019 income-qualified clients. The Solar Futures program in those areas is supported by SunPower.<\/p>\n

About GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic<\/strong><\/p>\n

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic is an affiliate of GRID Alternatives, a national leader in making clean, affordable solar power and solar jobs accessible to low-income communities and communities of color. Using a unique, people-first model, GRID Mid-Atlantic develops and implements solar projects that serve qualifying households and affordable housing providers, while providing hands-on job training. GRID Mid-Atlantic has installed 237 solar systems and helped households and housing providers save $7 million in lifetime electricity costs while training over 836 people. For more information, visit www.gridalternatives.org\/midatlantic<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s innovative Solar Futures program, which aims to open career pathways in the solar industry and inspire the next generation to combat climate change, culminated on May 20 with capstone presentations from 16 students at the H.D. Woodson Academy of Engineering.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","focus-area":[20,23,69],"region":[65],"class_list":["post-1481","press-mention","type-press-mention","status-publish","hentry","focus-area-job-training","focus-area-solar-futures","focus-area-youth","region-mid-atlantic"],"acf":{"link_type":"detail","external_url":"","media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\nRelease - GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders - GRID Alternatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Release - GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders - GRID Alternatives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s innovative Solar Futures program, which aims to open career pathways in the solar industry and inspire the next generation to combat climate change, culminated on May 20 with capstone presentations from 16 students at the H.D. Woodson Academy of Engineering.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GRID Alternatives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-25T18:44:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Open-Graph.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/press-mentions\\\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/press-mentions\\\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\\\/\",\"name\":\"Release - GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders - GRID Alternatives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-20T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-25T18:44:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/press-mentions\\\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/press-mentions\\\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/press-mentions\\\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Press Mentions\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/press-mentions\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Release – GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/\",\"name\":\"GRID Alternatives\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Release - GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders - GRID Alternatives","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Release - GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders - GRID Alternatives","og_description":"GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s innovative Solar Futures program, which aims to open career pathways in the solar industry and inspire the next generation to combat climate change, culminated on May 20 with capstone presentations from 16 students at the H.D. Woodson Academy of Engineering.","og_url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/","og_site_name":"GRID Alternatives","article_modified_time":"2026-08-25T18:44:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Open-Graph.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/","url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/","name":"Release - GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders - GRID Alternatives","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-05-20T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-25T18:44:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/press-mentions\/release-grid-alternatives-mid-atlantics-solar-futures-program-prepares-washington-d-c-s-next-generation-of-solar-leaders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Press Mentions","item":"http:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/press-mentions\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Release – GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic\u2019s Solar Futures program prepares Washington, D.C.\u2019s next generation of solar leaders"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/#website","url":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/","name":"GRID Alternatives","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-mention\/1481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-mention"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-mention"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"focus-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus-area?post=1481"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=1481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}