REpowering Schools

2026 Renewable Energy Education Awards Nominations Voting Now Open!

We’re excited to announce 22 nominees for the 2026 Renewable Energy Education Awards across five categories. Presented by REpowering Schools & KidWind, awards recognize outstanding contributions to renewable energy education and workforce development in classrooms, communities, and across the industry.

Public voting is now open—help us celebrate these outstanding nominees by casting your vote at https://www.repoweringschools.org/awards by June 30.

Our Awards Program will be held virtually on Thursday, July 2, at 6:00 PM (ET). To attend, please register through Zoom on the link above.

Award Categories Include:

📍 Outstanding Educator
📍 Student Excellence
📍 Industry Champion
📍 REpowered Schools
📍 Special Recognition

[LAST DAY TO APPLY!] Apply for The AES Corporation Seed Grant funding Program. Up to four student teams can each receive $5,000 to bring their renewable energy project to life this Fall 2026.

If you’re a student, educator, or advisor thinking about applying, this is your chance to help shape something tangible through:

→ Student-led teams
→ Real community engagement
→ Practical, applied renewable energy projects

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2026 (5 p.m. EST)

🔗 Get details at repoweringschools.org/project-based-funding

Congratulations to our 2026 Collegiate Wind Competition regional champions!

This spring, students across the country capped off a year of hands-on engineering, project development, and outreach at the 2026 Collegiate Wind Competition, hosted across three regional events. Each team designed and built a prototype wind turbine and planned a hypothetical wind farm from the ground up—the kind of real-world experience that prepares the next generation for careers in the clean energy workforce.

2026 CWC Central Region Winners -
Hosted at CU Boulder, May 6–8, the Central Region brought together top teams for a year-end showcase of turbine design, project development, and outreach.

🏆 Overall First Place: Texas Tech University with Southern Plains Community College
🥈 Overall Second Place: University of Colorado Boulder
🥉 Overall Third Place: Iowa State University
⚙️ Turbine Design and Testing Contest: Texas Tech University with Southern Plains Community College
📊 Project Development and Engagement Contest: University of Colorado Boulder
🎨 Best Poster: University of Southern California
📱 Best Social Media: University of Southern California

2026 CWC Western Region Winners -
Hosted at Cal Poly Maritime Academy, May 10–12, the Western Region delivered a closely contested field of standout teams. Congratulations to all our winners!

🏆 Overall First Place: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
🥈 Overall Second Place: University of Wisconsin–Madison
🥉 Overall Third Place: Cal Poly Maritime
⚙️ Turbine Design and Testing Contest: Cal Poly Maritime
📊 Project Development and Engagement Contest: University of Wisconsin–Madison
🎨 Best Poster: University of Texas at Dallas

2026 CWC Eastern Region Winners -
Hosted at Penn State, May 12–14, the Eastern Region capped off the 2026 season with an outstanding display of student engineering and teamwork. Congratulations to all our winners!

🏆 Overall First Place: Penn State
🥈 Overall Second Place: Johns Hopkins University
🥉 Overall Third Place: The City College of New York
⚙️ Turbine Design and Testing Contest: Penn State
📊 Project Development and Engagement Contest: Penn State
🎨 Best Poster: Penn State
📱 Best Social Media: Penn State

On behalf of everyone involved, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your support of the final Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) events this year. Your dedication and generosity played an important role in making these events a success, and we are sincerely thankful for your involvement.

Read more: repoweringschools.org/collegiate-wind-competition

[Spots still Available] Join us for our Solar ACTION Summer Camp! Spend a week with Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Energy at JMU at Virginia Tech’s Potomac Yard Campus, building the tech that’s changing the world.

This camp aims to educate, engage, and empower Middle & High School Students in Virginia to become solar energy ambassadors, civic leaders, and innovators driving clean energy solutions in their communities.

Over the course of this immersive experience, students will:

✔ Learn directly from solar industry professionals
✔ Explore real-world clean energy challenges
✔ Gain hands-on experience in solar + community engagement
✔ Build meaningful connections in a growing industry

👉 Learn more & apply:

Solar ACTION Summer Camp — REpowering Schools Ready to do more than just talk about climate change? Spend a week with the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Energy (CASE) at Virginia Tech’s Potomac Yard Campus, building the tech that’s changing the world.

Deadline Approaching! Apply now for our Seed Grant funding Program through The AES Corporation. Up to four student teams will each receive $5,000 to bring their renewable energy projects to life this Fall 2026.

If you’re a student, educator, or advisor thinking about applying, this is your chance to help shape something tangible through:

→ Student-led teams
→ Real community engagement
→ Practical, applied renewable energy projects

📅 Application Deadline: June 15, 2026

🔗 Learn more at

Project based Funding — REpowering Schools REpowering Schools offers seed funding for universities, colleges, and community colleges related to topics relevant to the renewable energy industry.

Congratulations!

⚡ Introducing REpowering Careers: Powering the Next Generation of Clean Energy Leaders!

The clean energy workforce of tomorrow starts with the students of today. That's why we're launching the inaugural REpowering Careers Fellowship, a career development program connecting the next generation of renewable energy leaders with the companies building our future. Powered by REpowering Schools and supported by Google.

🎓 For Students:
Get hands-on workshops, mentorship from industry professionals, access to the RE+ Conference, the WRISE Career Fair, and a direct path into a renewable energy career. Applications are open now, only 12 spots available (filling up)!

🏢 For Employers & Partners:
We're building a talent pipeline of passionate, career-ready students across engineering, finance, policy, technical, and consulting tracks. If your company is growing in clean energy, let's talk.

📅 Cohort kicks off at the Virginia Clean Energy Summit in Richmond, VA — October 7–8, 2026.

👉 Apply or learn more: https://www.repoweringschools.org/repowering-careers

REpowering Careers — REpowering Schools The future of renewable energy depends on the people who power it. Yet, for many bright students, the path to a meaningful career in clean energy remains unclear. At the same time, innovative companies are searching for local talent ready to make an impact.

🌟Renewable Energy Education Awards Nominations have been selected, and voting is now officially open! Please submit your vote by June 30, 2026.

Visit our link below to nominate your favorite energy educator, student or organization who is doing hard work to help enrich our students and the public better understand how we power our lives!

Presented by REpowering Schools in collaboration with KidWind Project, the 2026 national Renewable Energy Educator Awards highlight innovation, leadership, and real-world impact across K–12, higher education, informal education, and industry.

Learn More & Vote, by visiting

Awards — REpowering Schools Renewable Energy Education Awards

💫 NLR Internship Opportunities

The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) has three Graduate (Year-Round) Internship opportunities focused on the intersection of technology, economics, policy, and community impact related to wind energy recycling and decommissioning.

These positions offer a unique opportunity to support community-focused solutions for the next generation of energy infrastructure.

Open Internships Available below:

📌 Public Policy and Environmental Affairs
📌 Socio-Economic Impacts
📌 Techno-Economic Impacts

If you know graduate students or emerging professionals interested in clean energy, sustainability, public policy, economic development, or energy systems, please share these opportunities with your networks.

LEARN MORE:

Graduate Internships | NLR NLR's Research Participant Program provides graduate students with mentorship, hands-on experience, and professional development activities designed to strengthen technical and professional skills.

Apply now for our Seed Grant funding Program through The AES Corporation. Up to four student teams will each receive $5,000 to bring their renewable energy projects to life this Fall 2026.

If you’re a student, educator, or advisor thinking about applying, this is your chance to help shape something tangible through:

→ Student-led teams
→ Real community engagement
→ Practical, applied renewable energy projects

📅 Application Deadline: June 15, 2026

🔗 Learn more: repoweringschools.org/project-based-funding