Solar Landscape Announces Green Ambassador Program and Scholarship for NJ High School Students
ASBURY PARK, NJ — May 18, 2021 — Solar Landscape, one of New Jersey’s leading solar energy companies, today announced that it has expanded its Workforce Development Program to include a Green Ambassador Program (GAP) for New Jersey high school and vocational/technical school students. As part of the program, Solar Landscape will award $20,000 in first-year scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000. Scholarships will be awarded to outstanding students who complete the GAP and compete in a sustainable energy project competition.
Solar Landscape’s GAP was developed in collaboration with several key community partners from the private and public sectors with a common goal and vision to increase renewable energy awareness and education. It is part of the greater mission of the company’s Solar Workforce Development Program, which is to help educate, train and develop the solar energy industry’s future workforce.
The company has hired Todd Menadier, a former Adjunct Professor at Stockton University who holds a Master’s Degree in Power Systems Engineering, to lead the program. The GAP will consist of five virtual training sessions where participants will learn about solar energy and renewable energy careers from industry leaders and connect with like-minded students.
“This is a great opportunity to educate the thought leaders of the future about policy, careers, business strategies and environmental issues,” said Menadier. “Governor Murphy said it best – ‘the clean energy economy is a once in a generation opportunity for New Jersey.’”
The GAP will officially launch in June 2021 and new sessions will be made available every two weeks to students throughout the summer and into the 2021-2022 school year. The first-year scholarships are expected to be awarded in August 2021. To increase awareness of the GAP, Solar Landscape is providing introductory solar energy classroom training to New Jersey high school and vocational/technical school students across the state.
“High school science students are aware of the challenges their generation will face from climate change,” said Dr. Emily Tenenbaum, a science teacher at Piscataway High School. “Solar Landscape did a great job with my class reviewing careers in renewable energy that will enable them to be part of the solution. The Green Ambassador Program will provide an exciting path for students to explore clean energy career opportunities that are available in their own New Jersey communities.”
Educators interested in bringing solar energy training to their classroom can email Mr. Menadier at: todd@solarlandscape.com. Students interested in the ongoing GAP can find out more and enroll online at www.solarlandscape.com/workforcedevelopment.
The U.S. solar industry employs nearly 230,000 workers as of 2020, according to the Solar Foundation’s 11th Annual National Solar Jobs Census. With the advent of the NJ Board of Public Utilities’ new Community Solar Energy Pilot Program, New Jersey is poised to see an increase in solar energy employment opportunities.
The Solar Landscape Workforce Development Program is designed to help educate, train and develop New Jersey residents for careers in the rapidly expanding solar workforce. To find out more, or to learn about the Green Ambassador Program in further detail, go to: www.solarlandscape.com/workforcedevelopment.
About Solar Landscape
Solar Landscape is a leading New Jersey developer, designer, installer, owner, and operator of community solar and solar energy solutions for the commercial/industrial, municipal, public school and non-profit marketplace. The company has installed more than 110 megawatts of commercial solar energy projects in the Northeast. Solar Landscape offers a Workforce Development Program as part of the company’s commitment to the Board of Public Utilities’ Community Solar Pilot Program. When completed, Solar Landscape’s portfolio of community solar projects from the program’s first year will deliver enough electricity to power more than 3,000 NJ homes for the next 20 years. For more information visit www.solarlandscape.com
