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Adopted formally by the city in 2022, the Kansas City, Missouri “Climate Protection and Resilience Plan” calls for a 100 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the city’s operations by 2030. The plan also includes a focus on the needs of marginalized communities who disproportionately experience the effects of climate change. Simultaneously, in the Kansas City area, some high schools are offering career and technical education (CTE) pathways for students to develop skills needed for the “climate-ready” workforce. MDRC is learning from schools and programs across the country that are building innovative programs to prepare high school students for jobs that address these shifting labor market needs.

To better understand how schools can build programs that provide reliable growth trajectories for students in the green economy, MDRC wanted to learn more about the North Carolina Community College System’s (NCCCS’s) 10-year-old “Code Green” initiative. In 2010, NCCCS launched “Code Green” at its 58 community colleges, which college leaders called the largest curriculum redesign initiative in the system’s history. The system overhauled programs in five sectors that offered a total of 82 degrees in energy efficiency and sustainability, building, transportation, engineering technologies, and environment and energy.

This 100% affordable family housing project is a 152-unit residential rental development featuring a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units designed with families in mind. Units will be restricted to between 30% and 70% of the area median income (AMI). On-site amenities will include a small park, outdoor grill area, fitness center, community event and craft room, and a dedicated leasing office. Residents can also expect Energy Star-rated appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, LED lighting, hard stone countertops, low flow plumbing fixtures, LED lighting, and programmable thermostats for the common area.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $300 million in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants to 34 Tribal nations and territories. These grants, part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, aim to cut climate pollution and accelerate the clean energy transition. The projects include installing solar arrays, improving energy efficiency, and developing electric vehicle infrastructure. This marks one of the largest climate investments in Tribal and territorial communities.

Sunscape Renewable Energy is a proposed 500-megawatt solar and 500-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project on up to 3,600 acres of privately owned land in Nueces County, Texas. This project could be operational as soon as the end of 2026 with the potential to provide taxpayers, school districts, hospitals, and the local government with reliable economic benefits for years to come.

Plum Nellie is located in the rolling hills of southeast Cloud County, just northwest of Miltonvale. The area is a mix of cropland, hay fields, and pastures. The project complements the area’s mixed agricultural landscape, providing local farmers with a stable, weather-resistant cash crop in the form of landowner lease payments.

US renewable power developer Invenergy has secured US$1.27 billion to construct a 677MW renewables portfolio, including a 189MW solar PV project in Kansas, US. The Pixley solar PV project, located in Barber County, Kansas, will be purchased by Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), a subsidiary of utility American Electric Power (AEP), and is expected to begin commercial operations in Q1 2025.

Construction is officially underway on the Boot Hill Solar Project. Set to be the largest in Kansas, this 150-megawatt solar facility near Dodge City will feature nearly 300,000 solar panels on a single-axis tracking system. It is expected to generate 400,000 megawatt-hours annually, which is enough to power more than 38,000 Kansas homes.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is poised to create millions of new jobs in green energy and climate infrastructure that could offer middle-class wages and jobs with growth potential to young workers across the country. To implement the act’s plan fully, the country will need to quickly build a skilled workforce ready to fill these jobs. This demand offers an extraordinary chance to provide equitable opportunities for young people of color and those from lower-income families to secure these jobs. High school career academies (also called pathways) may offer an evidence-based place to start. These programs combine a college preparatory curriculum with a career theme and are often structured as small learning communities inside larger high schools. An MDRC evaluation found students who attended career academies experienced improved earnings over the long term. Academies and pathways focused on sectors related to green infrastructure can help high school students build valuable work skills while preparing them for postsecondary education in fast-growing job sectors. MDRC is learning from schools and programs across the country that are building innovative models to prepare high school students for jobs in climate infrastructure.

On Friday, Jan. 31, ES Foundry, an American company advancing U.S. solar by onshoring crystalline solar cell production, celebrated the grand opening of its cutting-edge manufacturing facility.