The Coalition for the Clean Energy Workforce of Missoula received $30,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for a program to help low-income women and women of color join the Missoula County clean energy workforce.
The Missoula Group was one of ten national winners of the Phase 1 Award of the Community Clean Energy Coalition Awards. The award is a new DOE initiative aimed at promoting energy equity. According to Kelly Crawford, DOE Senior Advisor for Energy Equity and Environmental Justice, this is the first focused effort to address energy equity.
The award aimed to find community organizations that “are tackling energy issues differently within their communities,” Crawford said. DOE sought a geographically diverse collection of winners, with submissions from Puerto Rico, Atlanta, Philadelphia, the Navajo community of Arizona, and others.
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The award was intended for community-driven coalitions to address the challenges small organizations face in securing funding. It also called for the inclusion of groups forming coalitions, as many programs would have to adapt existing organizational structures.
In addition to meeting award criteria, the Misoula Clean Energy Workforce Coalition’s application is “very local, very specific,” Crawford said. She said the local application was hers one of the strongest the DOE has received.
The Phase 1 award is for founding a coalition and establishing a program plan. Phase 2 will pay out $115,000 in prize money to move toward completion of the plan and will be open to all Phase 1 winners. Phase 3 includes a summit to demonstrate the Coalition’s accomplishments, and he will be awarded a $50,000 prize for one Phase 3 application.
The Missoula Coalition consists of Missoula County, Climate Smart Missoula, Mountain Home Montana, and the Missoula Economic Partnership. Supporting partners include the University of Missoula and the Montana Renewable Energy Association, as well as trade and labor representatives.
The plan is to expand the workforce development pipeline in clean energy careers for low-income women and women of color to increase access to opportunities to support families. The funds will help the Coalition launch supportive apprenticeships and training programs that connect young Mountain Home Montana mothers to family-supporting jobs in the clean energy sector.
Mountain Home Montana Executive Director Steph Goble said in a press release: “This new coalition will help build bridges for women to enter the clean energy economy, increase their access to economic prosperity, and develop the workforce they need in their communities.”
Caroline Bean, Missoula County Climate Action Program Manager, said: “Our core team could not be more committed to building this coalition and better understanding how best to include women and others who have historically been excluded from careers that support families. I am excited.”
Amy Cilimburg, Executive Director of Climate Smart Missoula, said: “We need a larger, more diverse workforce, and we need it ASAP.”
