Institutional assessment & strategy
Connect campus land, facilities, infrastructure, research and academic strengths to practical clean-energy readiness and deployment pathways.
An HBCU clean-energy model built from years of workCampus power.
Campus power.
Community progress.
The HBCU-EWA model is designed to connect clean-energy strategy, campus assets and career pathways—so HBCUs can help shape a transition built to last.
Built around HBCU institutions. Designed to radiate opportunity.
20+years of our
clean-energy workyears of work
clean-energy workyears of work
Energy transitionInstitutional assetsWorkforce pathwaysCommunity wealth
0120+ yearsof our HBCU clean-energy work
024 functionsin our clean-energy strategy framework
03104 campusesin the national HBCU landscape we aim to serve
From initiative toward institutionA proposed platform
for HBCU leadership
for HBCU leadership
The energy transition needs HBCU leadership at its center.
We are building HBCU-EWA as a national intermediary for the clean-energy transition—connecting campus assets, workforce pathways and equitable economic development across HBCUs.
Our goal is to carry HBCU clean-energy work forward by linking campus infrastructure with learning, careers and community opportunity.
“We build on years of HBCU clean-energy work—and connect it to lasting opportunity.”
A four-part framework
Make the campus a launchpad.
We bring campus energy assets, institutional strategy, workforce development and community opportunity together as one connected effort.
Cross-sector partnerships
Bring HBCUs into working relationships with clean-energy research, policy, technology and implementation partners.
Workforce pathway design
Shape credentials and apprenticeship pathways with employers so learning can connect to real clean-energy career demand.
Deployment infrastructure
Build campus-based clean-energy assets and hands-on learning environments that link infrastructure to education and opportunity.
Built to connect campus readiness, real assets, employer alignment and evidence of community benefit.
Campus to career
A connected path from assessment to opportunity.
Physical infrastructure can become a living laboratory when campus priorities, learner pathways and employer demand are designed together.
01AssessCampus readiness & assets
02Co-designPartners & skill needs
03BuildInfrastructure & pathways
04LearnDocument & improve
Our campus-to-career approach connects readiness, employer needs, infrastructure and learning. We shape each pathway with the campus and its partners.
Campus at the
community center
SIGNATURE PROGRAM · 01community center
Signature program · HBCU + MSI campuses
HBCU Green Town™
“Building Back Better… Green.”
Our place-based model positions HBCU and MSI campuses as clean-energy hubs where technology, education, workforce development and community benefit come together.
Campus-centered design Community benefit radiates out Clean energy as an economic driver
Explore the ecosystem The ecosystem effect
Benefits that move beyond the campus gate.
The Green Town model is designed to connect clean-energy infrastructure to opportunity in nearby communities. These are intended pathways, not quantified outcomes.
STEM education
Connect campus learning and laboratories with STEM opportunities for nearby schools and learners.
Adult workforce pathways
Make room for adult education, reentry pathways, credentialing and work-based learning.
Local enterprise
Support the conditions for neighborhood businesses, local vendors and clean-energy services to grow.
Community resilience
Pair campus-centered infrastructure with an ambition to reduce energy burden and strengthen surrounding communities.
National scope, clearly framed: Inclusive to all underrepresented communities, our model targets low- and moderate-income jurisdictions and positions 104 HBCU campuses as the intended national scale.
TARGET · NOT A DEPLOYMENT COUNTA foundation to build on20+ years of work.
20+ years of work.
The case for a lasting institution.
20+
years of community energy, research and workforce collaboration
Our work spans community-scale solar, federal research, multi-university collaboration and workforce pilots. Together, these efforts shape how we connect campus energy solutions to opportunity today.
Greensboro Solar Cares Project
Through Greensboro Solar CARES and related No Home Left Behind efforts, we combined weatherization upgrades for about 20 family and manufactured homes—including roof insulation, replacement windows and smart receptacles—with free solar for low-to-moderate-income families near NC A&T and Winston-Salem State. Foundation funding for HBCU CDAC’s Clean Energy Initiative and collaboration with NC A&T CERT, Community Housing Solutions, Southern Energy Management and ERS of North Carolina helped advance the work.
Long-duration energy storage
We advanced long-duration energy storage through the Second Life Smart Systems (SMART) project with Smartville and HBCU CDAC. The project was designed to repurpose retired EV batteries into Smartville 360 systems for grid resilience, backup power, and EV charging. The deployment plan included more than 7 MWh across six locations in four states, with sites intended to serve senior centers, affordable housing, and EV-charging facilities. HBCU partners included Denmark Technical College, Dillard University, Claflin University, and South Carolina State University; campus education, apprenticeships, and workforce-development opportunities were also included.
Multi-university collaboration
Under the HBCU CDAC umbrella, we brought Johnson C. Smith University, The Ohio State University, and Florida International University together for a collaborative research project identifying systemic barriers for African American energy researchers. The work was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
View or download the published research papers and proceedings
Watch the session overview and extended interviews, featuring researchers, practitioners and community leaders sharing lived experiences and perspectives on systemic barriers in energy research.
Denmark Technical College
Our workforce efforts include an apprenticeship pilot hub at Denmark Technical College.
We are building on these efforts—preserving knowledge and expanding HBCU capacity for what comes next.
Continue the work
Illustrative workforce-training imageCareer pathways with purpose
Training belongs where opportunity is built.
Our workforce framework connects campus infrastructure to employer-informed credentials and apprenticeships—so HBCU talent can learn alongside the clean-energy systems shaping the future.
Employer-aligned skill and credential design
Apprenticeships and work-based learning pathways
Student, adult and community workforce opportunities
Explore a workforce partnership One alliance · many ways to contribute
Bring your strengths to the table.
A national intermediary works when institutions, employers, funders and communities can see where they fit—and shape the work together.
01
HBCUs & MSIs
Explore campus readiness, institutional asset strategy, technical assistance and learning environments.
Explore a conversation 02Employers & industry
Help define skills, credentials, apprenticeships and work-based learning linked to clean-energy careers.
Explore a conversation 03Funders & institutions
Discuss investment in campus infrastructure, workforce pathways, research and community-centered delivery.
Explore a conversation 04Community partners
Connect campus initiatives to neighborhood priorities, resilience and local economic opportunity.
Explore a conversationAn invitation to collaborate
Let’s build what comes next—together.
Start a conversation about a campus, a workforce pathway, a community priority or a shared clean-energy goal. Messages are welcome anytime; office hours are 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. EST.
Choose the pathway that fits your work. No partnership or outcome is implied until it is confirmed.