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Solar Training in the City

In Richmond, Calif., a solar training and placement program offers skills and a new life to at-risk residents.


Daryl Horne on the roof
By Zoey Burrows
Published: September/October 2009 issue

Daryl Horne was shot when he was 14 years old. He's been stabbed, sold drugs, and, at 16, he went to prison. Life wasn't always so chaotic for Horne. He was raised in a strict religious household with a father who was a successful businessman. But when his parents divorced, Horne's life began to unravel. Of his dad's seven children, five have been to prison and three have been shot. Horne's story, though unique, exemplifies the struggle that many black men living in urban settings face.

Now in his early 30s and the father of two, Horne is a graduate of a pioneering green-collar job-training program offered by the city of Richmond, Calif. As a program graduate, Horne is gaining experience installing solar systems with many of Northern California's leading solar firms.

The 12-week RichmondBUILD Pre- Apprenticeship Construction Skills & Solar Installation Training program includes hands-on training in construction, math, energy efficiency and photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal skills. The city offers the program in conjunction with several green 501(c)3 nonprofits, including Solar Richmond, which brought solar training to the curriculum. Solar Richmond has staged the five-week solar training module three times per year since August 2007.

Executive Director Michele McGeoy founded Solar Richmond in 2006 to bridge the eco-divide that she observed while working at Real Goods Solar, an installation firm in Hopland, Calif. It was a gap similar to the digital divide she had witnessed during her years in Silicon Valley. McGeoy believed that it shouldn't be just white, relatively wealthy people who cared about and could afford things like solar energy, Priuses and global warming, but everybody. That's when she coined her personal mantra: "Solar is one great antidote to pollution, and jobs are one great antidote to violence."

Tailoring Training to Low-Income Residents' Needs


In 2006, McGeoy approached the mayor of her city, Richmond, often known for its polluting industries and high rates of violence and unemployment. Together they established three green goals for 2010: to get 5 megawatts (MW) of solar PV installed in Richmond; to offer training by way of 50 affordable solar installations for low-income homeowners; and to secure 100 new solar jobs for Richmond residents. Next she approached the employment and training department's new RichmondBUILD program and proposed bringing solar to the construction-oriented program, a proposal that was accepted.

Each cohort includes 25-30 trainees, about 75 percent of them male. Roughly half of the trainees are black, 15 percent Latino and 10 percent comprise Asian and other low-income minority groups. All are residents who may not otherwise have a chance to break into the emerging green economy. Solar Richmond seeks to make the green economy an inclusive one, healing not only this planet, but our broken communities as well.

The solar training began as a one-week, 25-hour course, but as interest grew, it increased to five weeks, including a week of training in solar thermal technology. Initially, Solar Richmond trainers worked with the solar curriculum from the Hopland-based Solar Living Institute. But participants complained that it was too much talking and not enough doing. So Solar Richmond has worked to tailor its training to its audience, focusing on hands-on installation while also touching on broader points like system wiring and sizing.

In addition to providing the training, Solar Richmond helps graduates like Daryl Horne break into the solar field. That's easier said than done, despite all the sunny forecasts about renewable energy and solar. Solar Richmond has created a solar bid-evaluation service that appeals to home and business owners with a slightly different pitch. By going green through Solar Richmond, McGeoy says, "Not only are you doing something good for the planet and your pocketbook, but for the people in your community, as well."

Placing Program Grads, Serving Local Firms


With so many people competing for green jobs, McGeoy's technique is to "move the job interview from the conference room to the rooftop, where our graduates will shine." In 2008, Solar Richmond set up its own staffing agency, which gives Bay Area solar companies incentives to hire its training graduates temporarily. These incentives include paying employee taxes, liability and insurance that the employer would typically owe.

For the past year, Horne has been gaining installation experience working transitional jobs at SunPower, SunWater Solar and now as an installer at SunEdison, where he hopes to be hired full time. At SunEdison, Horne helped install a 912-panel system at theRichmond BART station, part of the Bay Area's public transit system. By October, he and the crew are expected to complete a system at the Hayward BART station.

In addition to PV, program trainees are breaking into the emerging solar thermal field. Horne and program graduate Alberto Martinez both worked with SunWater Solar, a Richmond-based solar thermal company, to install a small system atop Richmond Fire Station No. 68. The system will offset 60 to 70 percent of the station's annual hot water load. Because the installation team was a small one, Horne and Martinez received lots of one-on-one guidance.

SunWater Solar President Justin Weil says he's glad for the opportunity to try Solar Richmond graduates before committing to hire. "It's much better than a typical labor pool company," he says.

In January, Solar Richmond hosted a focus group for solar employers including representatives from Akeena Solar, Sun Light & Power, Sungevity, SunPower and several smaller solar companies. Participants discussed what they expect and desire when hiring newly trained job candidates. The resounding answer: soft skills, soft skills, soft skills! From showing up on time to being reasonably computer-savvy, solar representatives were more interested in attitude and professionalism than in specific hard skills.

Jumpstarting a Market to Feed New Jobs


In addition to its efforts to develop the green workforce, Solar Richmond has worked to promote solar policies in Richmond. In January, Solar Richmond persuaded the city to pilot a solar thermal rebate program. The program awards Richmond building owners $1,000 if they hire a Solar Richmond graduate on the installation job.

In the three years since founding Solar Richmond, McGeoy has seen great progress toward her initial goals. Nearly 4.87 MW of PV have been installed in Richmond as of July. In a 2008 NorCal Solar Energy Association report, Richmond was named among the top three cities for watts per capita of solar installed in the Bay Area. Solar Richmond has installed eight low-income home installations and created 35 green-collar jobs, both temporary and permanent.

With a few hundred Richmond residents on the waiting list for the next training session, Solar Richmond is working to scale up its solar-promotion and job-creation services. For instance, the organization is working with local churches and other nonprofits to evaluate solar at community buildings. A pilot project Solar Richmond conducted in 2007 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek, Calif., offers a good model for cash-strapped organizations eager to support the local community and renewable energy. By promoting the benefits of solar to large building owners, Solar Richmond aims to fulfill its mission to install more solar and create more green-collar jobs.

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About the Author: Zoey Burrows manages development and communications at Solar Richmond, which serves the community through solar job training, creation and placement. Read more about Solar Richmond's groundbreaking work in The Green Collar Economy, the best-selling book by Van Jones.

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