Office of Indian Energy Updates
Happy National Intern Day! Celebrating 22 Years of Tribal Energy Interns
 2024 Tribal energy interns Dresean Abeyta, Alexis Glaudin, and Sherralyn Sneezer, along with supervisor Sandra Begay, at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is highlighting the next generation of the clean energy workforce serving as interns during the 2024 summer season.
The Office of Indian Energy currently has three interns stationed at Sandia National Laboratories as part of our long-running Tribal energy internship program. Since its inception in 2002, the program has helped guide more than 50 Native STEM students on their career journeys.
Meet the current Indian Energy interns:
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Sherry Sneezer, Rochester Institute of Technology, Ph.D. in Sustainability—Navajo Nation. Sherry's research focus is a case study of the Picuris Pueblo, who have successfully implemented a strategic energy plan and have received solar hardware grants.
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Dresean Abeyta, University of New Mexico, Chemical Engineering—Navajo Nation. Dresean’s research is focused on solar opportunities for his home community, the Alamo–Navajo Community.
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Alexis Glaudin, University of Washington, Ph.D. in Chemistry—Lumbee Tribe. Alexis’ research is focused on the possible end of life for photovoltaic panels.
Want to participate, or know someone who should? Applications are accepted each spring for both full- and part-time internship opportunities.
Bookmark it: You can find many other internships across DOE, along with TCU funding, research, and clean energy curriculum opportunities, on the DOE STEM homepage.
Connect With Us on LinkedIn!
 We are now on LinkedIn! Follow the Office of Indian Energy on our new LinkedIn page to stay in the know about our Office activities, professional opportunities, Tribal energy project successes, and more.
News and Resources
DOE Prize Aims To Increase TCU Readiness To Compete for Federal Contracts
The MSI Contract Readiness Prize is a one-phase capacity building prize that aims to boost equity for small, medium, and large TCUs, Historically Black Colleges, and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) across DOE contracting. The ultimate goal of this prize is to increase institutions’ capacity for winning contracts across all federal agencies.
Up to 25 winners will be awarded a minimum of $10,000 based on their institution's size. Competitors will need to show they have increased their institution’s level of contract readiness with a clear plan of action. Submissions are due by Oct. 4.
Applications for Industrial Decarbonization Fellows Due Aug. 15
The DOE Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office is seeking passionate fellows interested in helping to decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector. Fellows will collaborate closely with DOE to develop a broad understanding of the barriers and opportunities for transformative technologies across the industrial sector.
Current or aspiring students, researchers, and professionals should apply by Aug. 15.
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DOE’s Next Solar Decathlon Is Now Open for Applications
 Students from the University of Arizona won multiple awards at the 2024 Design Challenge for their partnership with the Hopi Tribe to design the Tawa’ovi Community Development project.
Applications for the 2025 Solar Decathlon opened July 16! This collegiate competition prepares the next generation of the solar workforce to create efficient, resilient, and sustainable buildings that meet community needs as part of DOE’s longest-running student competition.
Register by October 23 for the opportunity to create high-performance, low-carbon buildings and use your skills to make a difference in the world of clean energy.
Solar District Cup: Coming to a College Campus Near You 🏆
 DOE announced the sixth round of the Solar District Cup, a collegiate competition designed to bring together multidisciplinary teams to design energy systems for a mixed-use campus or district. Diverse students in engineering, urban planning, finance, sustainability, communications, and related majors will form teams to reimagine how energy is generated, managed, and used.
As students design their energy systems, they will present solutions to pressing solar deployment challenges while making professional contacts and gaining skills needed to enter the clean energy workforce.
Collegiate teams will base their energy system designs around the needs of real-world district use cases. Students will have two options for their district use cases:
- Assignment to a district use case defined by competition organizers
- Self-selection of a district use case. All student teams choosing to bring their own district will compete in a division against other teams bringing their own districts.
The Solar District Cup Class of 2025 will accept collegiate team registrations on a rolling basis, which means students can begin work and access learning resources on a timeline that best aligns with their academic calendar.
Register to compete for the full academic year by Sept. 26, 2024. Registered student teams will receive their assigned district use case and access to modeling tools within 2 weeks of registration, which opens August 16.
Register for an informational webinar on Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
In addition to rolling registration throughout the fall, the Solar District Cup Class of 2025 will allow for one-semester or two-quarter participation in the winter/spring.
Three Student-Led Teams Win Final Phase of DOE's Community Energy Innovation Prize for Advancing Energy Equity in Underserved Communities
 On June 25, DOE announced the winners of the Collegiate Track in the American-Made Community Energy Innovation Prize. In the prize's IMPACT phase, the three winning student-led teams demonstrated how their projects brought the benefits of clean energy to underserved communities with measurable impacts.
The teams' community partners were awarded a total of $100,000 for the IMPACT phase. The prize, part of the Justice40 Initiative, is designed to build trust, strengthen relationships and partnerships, and support underserved communities in their clean energy transitions.
DOE Selects Recipient for Career Skills Training Grant to Bolster Next Generation of Green Workforce
On July 9, DOE announced the first selectee for the Career Skills Training Program, which promotes collaboration between labor organizations and industry to attract, train, and employ underrepresented individuals in the clean energy workforce.
The International Finishing Trades Institute, the training arm of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and its industry partners will receive $1 million to extend professional glazing curriculum and certification opportunities to pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, and journey worker upskilling programs and K12 career academies.
The investment will address the growing need for a credentialed workforce specialized in the installation of energy-efficient fenestration technologies across the United States.
NREL Launches Toolkit To Help Hydropower Industry Prepare for Workforce Transitions
 Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed a new resource, the Hydropower Knowledge Sharing and Succession Planning Toolkit, to help hydropower organizations smoothly transition knowledge to new workers.
This resource was created to address the needs of the evolving hydropower workforce, which is experiencing high rates of retirement and an influx of workers new to the industry, creating potential organizational knowledge loss.
The toolkit guides hydropower organizations through a five-step process that helps them effectively evaluate the risk of knowledge loss, initiate succession planning strategies, and foster a culture of knowledge sharing.
Read more about the toolkit.
Funding Opportunities
Stay up to date on the latest clean energy funding opportunities for tribes and tribal entities on the Office of Indian Energy Current Funding Opportunities page.
Upcoming Prize Explores the “Moo”tual Benefits of Cattle Agrivoltaics
$8 million
Submissions due Oct. 14.
 The upcoming Large Animal and Solar System Operations (LASSO) Prize is an opportunity for U.S. farmers, ranchers, landowners, and solar developers to co-locate grazing and solar installation.
The prize offers over $8 million to develop innovative co-location practices, build pilot sites, and share information on best practices, costs, and outcomes for energy and agriculture. To get funding for your innovative co-location practices and pilot sites, follow the prize and start building your team today.
Events
View DOE’s STEM calendar for additional events and funding deadlines.
Community College Internships Program Application Workshop
📅 Aug. 6 | 1:30 p.m. ET
Are you a community college student seeking opportunities to expand your technical skills and expertise while exploring career pathways in STEM? Then DOE’s Community College Internship program is for you! Learn strategies to submit a compliant and competitive application and get answers to your questions.
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships Program Application Workshop
📅 Aug. 8 | 4 p.m. ET
Are you an undergraduate student or recent graduate who is ready to use your major in a STEM field or science policy to help make a difference in the world? Then the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship is for you! In this workshop, you’ll learn strategies to submit a compliant and competitive application and get answers to your questions.
The internship application deadline is 5 p.m. ET on October 2, 2024.
Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition—Informational Webinar
📅 Aug. 15 | 4 p.m. ET
Students, faculty, and program administrators interested in learning more about the Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition's Class of 2024–2025, join us for this informational webinar! Topics will include how and why to compete, submission requirements, important dates and deadlines, and what's new with this year's competition.
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