WSU Tri-Cities wins $250,000 award. Here’s who it will help get next-generation jobs
Latino students interested in working in clean energy jobs just got a $250,000 boost from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Washington State University Tri-Cities is one of six grand-prize winners for the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize.
The university’s prize-winning plan — Empowering the Future Energy Workforce — includes developing an energy and environment certificate that will prepare students to join the next generation of clean energy scientists and leaders.
It also establishes a Clean Energy Ambassadors Network to increase retention and empowerment for Latino students pursuing energy and environmental education.
“The Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize is central to the campus strategy of serving our students, half of whom are students of color and first generation, by preparing them for jobs in a clean energy economy and addressing environmental justice issues in disadvantaged communities,” said Chancellor Sandra Haynes in a news release.
The prize aims to further climate and environmental justice during the transition to a net-zero-carbon economy by investing in ground-up programs and proposals. It’s part of President Joe Biden’s Justice40 Climate Initiative.
Part of the cash award also will help establish the university’s Institute for Northwest Energy Futures, a research institute that will help address the increasing demand for low-carbon electricity and transportation fuels, and educate the next generation of clean energy experts in the Tri-Cities.
The WSU-Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Advanced Grid Institute and Energy Northwest collaborated with the team during the process to represent the university’s local industry partnerships.
