Over the past five years, Sol Systems has significantly expanded its investment in community impact, increasing funding and growing its network to more than 30 community-based organizations working to strengthen resilience across the United States. This approach is grounded in the belief that meaningful and sustainable community impact can only be achieved by working in close partnership with local organizations that understand their communities best. By listening, learning, and adapting to insights shared directly by community partners, Sol aims to create long-term opportunities that truly serve the places where its projects are located.
Founded in 2008, Sol Systems leverages its position as a national leader in renewable energy to collaborate with customers and partners in accelerating America’s clean energy transition while investing in local communities. To fulfill this mission, Sol developed its Infrastructure + Impact approach, which ensures that clean energy projects and transactions are paired with dedicated funding for local organizations. These organizations lead initiatives that enhance community well-being, restore land, and protect natural habitats surrounding project sites.
This integrated model is designed to support under-resourced communities and those disproportionately affected by environmental pollution, while also incorporating best practices to reduce the ecological footprint of construction activities. Central to Sol’s impact strategy is engaging with trusted, community-embedded partners whose work strengthens the ability of local communities to benefit from a more inclusive and resilient energy infrastructure.
Since 2020, Sol has partnered with grassroots organizations in regions surrounding its solar projects, supporting community impact initiatives through dedicated investment funds. These partnerships span the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Nebraska, Maine, New York, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Through these collaborations, community partners have delivered energy efficiency and home repair programs, developed solar-plus-storage resilience hubs, provided workforce training and education, and offered essential wraparound support services.
Through ongoing conversations and structured reporting with its partners, Sol has gained valuable insights that continue to shape its community investment strategy. Workforce development partners, in particular, highlighted persistent challenges related to trainee retention before and after program completion. These insights revealed that success in workforce development depends heavily on access to wraparound support services that promote workplace inclusion, reduce financial and logistical barriers, and help participants adapt to new professional environments.
Partnerships with organizations such as GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic and PowerCorps PHL underscored the importance of comprehensive support systems. These organizations demonstrated that services such as life-management and workplace counseling, financial literacy training, and transportation assistance not only improve recruitment efforts but are also critical to increasing graduation rates and long-term job retention. By addressing everyday challenges—from managing finances and accessing transportation to navigating workplace expectations—trainees are better equipped to complete programs and succeed in clean energy careers.
Decades of research across multiple sectors have consistently shown the effectiveness of wraparound support in improving educational outcomes, employment stability, and self-sufficiency, particularly for youth and under-resourced populations. Guided by these findings and lessons learned from grassroots partnerships, Sol has made wraparound support a central pillar of its community investment strategy focused on resilience and long-term impact.
Looking ahead, Sol remains committed to building and strengthening partnerships with community organizations to ensure that clean energy development remains community-centered while advancing land stewardship and energy supply goals. As this work evolves, Sol plans to continue sharing insights and lessons learned, contributing to broader industry collaboration and driving progress toward a more inclusive and sustainable clean energy future.
