The U.S. is launching a pilot solar installation training program that will provide veterans with the skills needed to help build the country's clean energy infrastructure, the White House announced Thursday.
Headed by the Energy Department, the program will begin this fall at up to three military bases where 30 veterans per base will undergo solar panel installation training.
Participating service members will learn how to size and install solar equipment, connect electricity to the grid, and comply with local building codes, preparing them for careers in the industry as "installers, sales representatives, system inspectors, and other solar-related occupations," said the White House.
"Ultimately, lessons learned from this first successful pilot will enable the Energy Department and military branches to expand solar training access to interested veterans, tapping into the Department's nearly 400 solar training partner institutions nationwide."
It's part of the SunShot Initiative's Solar Instructor Training Network, which hopes to train 50,000 new solar installers by 2020 - some of who will be veterans - in order to meet rising alternative energy demands.
"Solar energy is shattering records in the United States," said the White House. "Since President Obama took office, installed solar power has increased 13-fold, topping nearly 16 gigawatts today - enough to power the equivalent of 3.2 million average American homes."
The solar industry employs more service members than any other sector in the U.S, according to the White House, who added, "three of the largest U.S. solar companies - Vivint Solar, SolarCity and SunPower - have already committed to interviewing graduating military trainees for employment."
This announcement from the White House comes nearly a month after the world's largest private bank, UBS, issued a prediction that large, centralized power stations will soon become extinct, making way for cheaper and more efficient decentralized energy generation in the form of solar power and other alternative forms.
"Power is no longer something that is exclusively produced by huge, centralized units owned by large utilities," said UBS in a briefing sent to clients and investors. "By 2025, everybody will be able to produce and store power. And it will be green and cost competitive, ie, not more expensive or even cheaper than buying power from utilities."
