US company SunEdison has announced a USD $1.2 million philanthropic partnership with GRID Alternatives that aims to boost the number of women participating in the nation’s solar industry.
Under the initiative, GRID Alternatives will provide hands-on training and experience in the field in solar system installation to over 1,000 women.
“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.”
SunEdison installers will also join GRID Alternatives employees to help install solar power systems for low-income families around the country.
GRID Alternatives is the USA’s largest non-profit solar installer, bringing the benefits of solar technology to communities that would not otherwise have access. Since 2004, the organisation has installed more than 12 MW of renewable energy systems for over 4,000 families; providing more than $110 million in energy cost savings.
In other recent SunEdison news, the company along with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, National Bank of Arizona and Sol Systems announced a $50 million fund to build a 13.4 megawatt solar portfolio for the State of California prison and hospital systems.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) already has approximately 37 MW of solar energy installed at its prisons and by the end of 2014, it expects to have over 41 MW installed capacity. Over a 20-year period, CDCR expects to save over approximately $84 million in electricity costs.
Once the projects are complete, SunEdison will manage the installations via its Renewable Operations Center (ROC); which the company says is one of the world’s largest solar management centers; monitoring over 1.9 gigawatts of solar projects around the world.
