When most people think about clean energy, they picture fewer emissions and a smaller carbon footprint. But there’s another powerful reason to champion clean energy: it’s a driver of economic growth. Clean energy creates jobs, strengthens local businesses, and opens doors for residents to build new careers right here in Columbus.
Investing in Columbus: Workforce Development and Training
At the heart of CEC’s mission is a commitment to reinvesting in Columbus communities. A portion of the Clean Energy Columbus community grant is directed specifically toward local workforce development and training. This ensures that the transition to clean energy can both help the planet and build new opportunities for Columbus residents.
Career Discovery Events
One of CEC’s key goals is to introduce more people to careers in clean energy through eight Career Discovery Events (two of which were highlighted in CEC’s recent Summer Update).
Most recently, on June 27th, CEC attended IMPACT’s Beat the Heat event, a hands-on experience where residents explored clean energy concepts by building solar circuits and learning about watershed protection. With help from COSI, participants received kits to explore careers like solar installation. One activity had participants connect a small solar panel and wires to a buzzer, using sunlight to make it buzz.
Another activity taught about water pollution: by crumpling a white sheet of paper to mimic land topography, adding dots and lines to represent pollutants, and spraying with water, participants could see how contamination flows into watersheds.
Save the Date: The next Career Discovery Event takes place on August 15th at the Columbus Metropolitan Library – Main Branch downtown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Interested in a future in clean energy? Come explore demonstrations and speak with local vendors about career pathways.
Achieving Workforce Investment Goals
CEC also set out to invest $800,000 in local workforce programs in 2025, a goal we’ve proudly met. This funding is already supporting partnerships with four respected nonprofit organizations that have strong roots in the Columbus community:
- Goodwill Columbus: Running the Clean Tech Accelerator to prepare workers for careers in manufacturing.
- ARCH (Accompanying Returning Citizens with Hope): Providing solar technician training to women in Ohio prisons, helping them build skills for a fresh start.
- IMPACT: Offering a hands-on solar installer training program.
- Eckerd Connects: Operating a green advanced manufacturing program that opens doors in sustainable industries.
These programs help to build the local workforce and ensure that new clean energy opportunities are accessible to more people across our community.
Clean Energy: A Win for Business and the Community
Clean energy brings a range of benefits, like reducing utility bills and cutting emissions to growing new industries, and, most importantly, it’s simply smart business. By investing in local people and programs, Clean Energy Columbus is building a stronger, more resilient community and setting Columbus up to thrive in a clean energy future.
Ready to Join?
You can sign up online here or call AEP Energy at 888-307-0264 to check eligibility and enroll. Take the first step towards a sustainable future!