Resource Center

Instructions

The Resource Center is a curated collection of information organized around 7 green economy “Sectors” and 7 “Topics.” In time, more Sectors will be added. Topics represent those areas in which educators and workforce development professionals continue to seek direction.

You can search by sector or by topic. Or across all sectors and/or all topics.

You can also perform a keyword search of all resources on the top right of this page.

Overview

Solar

The solar industry is expected to show steady growth over the coming decade largely due to rising energy prices, advances in technology through public/private partnerships and investments, and continued enactment of federal and state policies and financial incentives. more >>

Wind

Wind power is considered a leading source of new electricity generation in the United States, with the potential of providing 20% of the nation’s energy needs by 2030. more >>

Green Building

The green building market has expanded five fold over the last three years to a $48 billion national market—and is projected to triple in the next five years. more >>

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is considered the foundation of a vibrant and sustainable green economy, and one of the most cost effective ways to lower energy consumption, reduce operating costs, and mitigate carbon emissions. more >>

Sustainability Education

Sustainability education refers generally to learning experiences that enable students to develop the knowledge, behaviors and skills to help create healthier ecosystems, social systems, and economies. For the purposes of the SEED Center, this includes resources to help build non-credit continuing education for the incumbent workforce and integrating sustainability curriculum into existing credit programs. more >>

Sustainable Ag., Food & Land

The Sustainable Ag., Food & Land sector covers the areas of organic farming, horticulture, culinary art, and landscaping. This sector includes organizations and resources that integrate environmental, social and economic factors into land use, food preparation, and land specific practices in an attempt to create a more sustainable future. more >>

General Clean Tech

The General Clean Tech sector is a space for resources that encompass multiple ‘green’ sectors. Many are applicable to the broader clean economy and sustainability-related technology and will serve the general clean tech community. Resources also provide valuable information on sectors that are experiencing substantive development in the sustainability realm, like manufacturing and smart grid. more >>

Transportation and Fuels

The Transportation & Fuels sector covers the area of electric and hybrid vehicle development and maintenance, other forms of alternative and sustainable transportation, natural gas, fuel cells, battery storage, and renewable fuels sources including ethanol, biodiesel, algae, and methane. more >>

Certifications and Industry Credentials

Certainly, one of the biggest challenges facing green educators is the rapid and mostly uncoordinated emergence of green certifications and credentials. more >>

Curricular Materials

These resources and materials have been vetted by industry and education experts, and while not in the form of specific educator tools, will assist in creating quality curricula for your classroom. more >>

You will find more specific educator tools (e.g. syllabi, lab manuals, lesson plans, special classroom projects, equipment lists, etc.) submitted by SEED member colleges in our Curricular Materials Sharing Portal.

Employment Industry Projections

While job training providers have been quite active in past years working with local industry to define the emerging green jobs market and potential job growth areas, most still struggle to forecast accurately regional occupational demand. The U.S. Department of Labor has made recent strides toward classifying green occupations and competencies which will help communities define and track green jobs (and colleges to design appropriate education and training programs). Given the uncertain renewable energy and efficiency industry outlook, and rapidly changing technologies, access to the most up-to-date industry studies and employment projections will be critical. more >>

Innovative Practices & Partnerships

The job creation potential of the green economy has led to some unique job training and economic development partnerships and collaborations. more >>

Professional Development Resources

This section includes promising facilitated learning opportunities, including “train the trainer” programs, standing conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice for faculty and staff seeking to further their knowledge of industry trends and requirements. more >>

Policy & Funding Sources

Included you will find links and descriptions of agencies and organizations that typically fund sustainability and green job training initiatives as well as those that provide important information on national legislation and policies relevant to the clean energy sector. CHECK BACK AS MORE ARE ADDED. This section also highlights resources that provide guidance on how to supply input into program and grant design for certain agency solicitations. more >>

Skill sets, Competencies & Career Pathways

This section includes lists and assessments of skill sets and competencies tied to the green economy – across the broad industry as well as within specific sectors. It also includes some critical resources that colleges can use to align programs and facilitate student transitions. Included are green energy competency models and newly-developed career pathways that allow movement across educational and training programs. more >>

Sector:

Topic:

Featured Resources

Financing the Next Generation of Solar Workers: An Exploration of Workforce Training Program Sustainability in the Context of Reduced Public Funding

Recognizing that much of the public funding for solar training programs has already expired - despite a profusion of studies pointing to increased worker demand - The Solar Foundation, along with SolarTech and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), collaborated on this paper to introduce a number of possible funding mechanisms designed to attract both public and private capital and efficiently allocate funds to solar workforce programs with the greatest need. This paper supplements the broader efforts of the SolarTech Workforce Innovations Collaborative (SWIC), which was a market-driven pilot program that took a systems approach to source, train, and place the right people in the right jobs at the right time.

AASHE: Campus Solar Photovoltaic Installations Database

A new database of hundreds of campus solar photovoltaic installations designed for higher education solar advocates to browse success stories at campuses of a similar type, size and location.

Best Practices Documents for Solar Instructor Training

The Best Practices documents, a compendium of national curriculum models of solar training, education and workforce development curriculum from The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC), are available to help instructors enhance the quality of their existing solar education and training programs.

NABCEP: Photovoltaic Installer Resource Guide

This publication was written for NABCEP by industry leading subject matter experts and teachers, Bill Brooks and Jim Dunlop. It follows the NABCEP Solar Heating Job Task Analysis and is a useful tool for candidates preparing for both the NABCEP PV Entry Level and the NABCEP PV Installer Certification exams. It is also intended for use as an instructional reference for educators.

NABCEP: Solar Heating Installer Resource Guide

This publication was written for NABCEP by industry leading subject matter experts and teachers, Vaughan Woodruff and Chuck Marken. It follows the NABCEP Solar Heating Job Task Analysis and is a useful tool for candidates preparing for both the NABCEP Solar Heating Entry Level and the NABCEP Solar Heating Installer Certification exams. It is also intended for use as an instructional reference for educators.

North American Board of Certificed Energy Practictioners (NABCEP) Task Analysis for Solar Water and Pool Heating Systems Installation Contractor

This document presents a comprehensive task analysis for contractors installing solar water and pool heating systems on buildings. For the purposes of developing training curricula, assessment mechanisms and certification criteria, specific tasks are classified as either cognitive or psychomotor skills.

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV Technical Sales Job Task Analysis

This document presents an in-depth Job Task Analysis for solar electric professionals who gather site specific information and analyze customer needs and energy usage for the purpose of advising and providing customers with the most appropriate proposal for a solar photovoltaic (PV) system given their situation.

North American Board of Certificed Energy Practictioners (NABCEP) Objectives and Task Analysis for the Solar Photovoltaic System Installer

This document presents an in-depth task analysis for practitioners who specify, install and maintain solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems and equipment.

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Solar PV Installer Certificate

The NABCEP PV installer certification is a voluntary certification that provides a set of national standards by which PV installers with skills and experience can distinguish themselves from their competition. Certification provides a measure of protection to the public by giving them a credential for judging the competency of practitioners.

Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies (SEEDS)

A new program administered by the DOE SunShot Initiative to support use-inspired research on solar energy innovation dynamics and technology adoption patterns.

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More Resources

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) provides updates on jobs, policy and more. Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. Through advocacy and education, SEIA is working to build a strong solar industry to power America. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy.

Solar Energy Resource Center

SunShot, through the Solar Energy Resource Center, maintains a collection of resources on solar technologies and best practices to implement solar, both at the local level and with large-scale deployment. Resources include articles, case studies, fact sheets, how-to guides, model rules and ordinances, presentations, sample government documents, technical reports, tools, and webinars that can assist you in the development of curricular materials.

Solar Instructor Training Network

Solar Instructor Training Network, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is a network of regional resource and training providers offering resources to select educational institutions in their regions. Resources include train-the-trainer workshops and, in many cases, training equipment and tools for instructors. As a network, the regional providers collaborate to develop curricula, identify career pathways, share labor market data, and resolve issues related to solar training and workforce development.

Solar Living Institute Curricula and Training

The Solar Living Institute offers collaborative, customized or turnkey curricula for colleges and training organizations including online and hands-on options in Solar PV Economics and Finance, and PV System Design & Installation. Curriculum is Institute for Sustainable Power Quality (ISPQ) accredited and developed to address North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) task analyses. Train the Trainers opportunities are also available.

Solar Nation from the American Solar Energy Society

This grass roots organization advocates for the implementation and use of solar energy technologies. You can sign up for policy alerts to use in your courses, student life activities, and sustainability committee.

Strengthening Green Career Pathways for lower-skilled adults Webinar

Learn how you can develop, expand, or refine green pathway programs that: 1) lead to postsecondary credentials (certificates or degrees) and employment in family-sustaining green careers; 2) are designed for lower-skilled adults/non-traditional students who cannot currently access such programs, and 3) utilize campus sustainability efforts as a “learning laboratory” for education and training activities.
NOTE: View the Archived Greenforce Webinars section of the page to download and vew all past webinars.

Survey of Studies: Green Energy and Jobs

The Energy Foundation presents over 150 studies relating to green energy and jobs. In this website, search by your own criteria then click on a study’s title to access its summary and, when available, a link to the original text.

Teaching Technicians (TT) Faculty Development Events

This website links technician educators with National Science Foundation supported, faculty development in advanced & emerging technologies, teaching methods, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Climate Network- Transatlantic Solutions for a Low Carbon Economy

This Network increases cooperation on climate and energy policy between Europe and the U.S. and provides a wealth of information on upcoming events focusing on all fields of sustainability. The networks Publications section provides insight and analysis from international and national experts in the field.

The Greening of Oregon’s Workforce: Jobs, Wages, and Training

A survey of green jobs in Oregon. The purpose of this survey is to estimate the number of green jobs in Oregon and to gather key information for workforce and training policy-makers, as they seek to ensure Oregon has a workforce ready for the opportunities provided by a greening economy. It also attempted to identify future growth trends in green jobs.

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