Clean Energy Advocate
We are currently hiring college interns in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oregon to join our national team of Clean Energy Advocates! (This is a fully remote position) To be a Clean Energy Advocate, you must be a college student in the process of completing an undergraduate degree, and you must live in one of our qualified areas. While a major within the environmental field is not required, a strong interest in environmentalism and sustainability is a must! Over the course of 135 hours (3 college credit hours) you will work to enroll local households in community solar projects by participating in outreach campaigns, giving presentations, and helping clients sign up through Common Energy’s user-friendly portal. Along with earning college credits, you will also be compensated for each successful signup you complete ($50/per signup), with the increasing potential to earn Impact Bonus incentives for 10, 20, and 30 signups!
What is Community Solar?
Community Solar is a state program that connects local solar farms to existing utility grids. Anyone in a qualified area can sign up to support a local community solar farm for free, without having to install anything on their homes, and without switching utility providers. As an incentive to join this program, anyone who signs up for Community Solar will receive monthly savings on their electricity bills in the form of Clean Energy Credits, which are funded by state taxes. Community Solar is an opt-in program that allows electricity consumers to redirect their utility bills to support local clean energy and save money due to state incentives.
Who is Common Energy?
Common Energy is a state-certified Community Solar provider. We are a for-profit LLC, and our services are completely free for customers. As a subscriber management organization (SMO), we are paid by solar project developers to connect their solar farms to the utility grid through educating utility customers about Community Solar, and helping them sign up for free. Our work displaces fossil fuel use and is an essential part of the transition to a clean energy economy!
What Does it Mean to be a Clean Energy Advocate with Common Energy’s Impact Team?
Clean Energy Advocates are the local enablers of Community Solar. We teach people about the benefits of this state program, and help them sign up to support the addition of local clean energy to their electricity grids. We are pioneers, leaders, educators, action-takers, and change-makers. We have the awesome opportunity to support our communities in the transition to clean energy, and accelerate global sustainability at a local level. Research has shown that the most effective way to implement Community Solar is through existing communities and social networks. The Common Energy Impact Team was designed to give young people all of the tools and support they need to teach their community members about Community Solar, and ignite the clean energy revolution from home.
Qualifications:
- You must attend a school within one of our service areas.
- You must be an undergraduate student.
- You must be comfortable participating in community solar outreach to people within your school, workplace, and social networks.
- You must have at least 25 connections (personal, professional, etc) within our qualifying states.
- You must be passionate about the Common Energy mission and about combating climate change!
Weekly Requirements (10 hours):
- Training: 2 days, 4 hours total
- 1 General Body Meeting (1 hour)
- Attendance at 1 Office Hours session with Beth (3 hours)
- Independent outreach (6 hours)
- End-of-Semester Goal of 25 appointments and 10 signups
- On-campus and neighborhood outreach
- Hours reporting form required at the end of each week
Intern will participate in the planning and coordination of two informational webinars
- February 4, 2022: Community Solar as a Climate Mitigation Strategy
- April 8, 2022: Community Solar and Environmental Justice
You would be a great candidate if you...
- Are an active and engaged member of your college campus, including participation in student clubs and organizations.
- Leadership positions are a plus!
- Are outgoing and have a skill for interpersonal communications.
- Are willing to learn new skills and build upon your professional portfolio.
- Are passionate about addressing the climate crisis, and are ready to take direct action to build a more sustainable future.