Program areas at IREC
State regulatory engagement. Irec facilitates policies that help make clean Energy accessible to everyone. Irec's expertise advances policy and regulatory best practices that enable more rapid and efficient integration of distributed Energy resources (ders), such as rooftop solar and Energy storage, on the distribution grid. In 2022, the regulatory team provided technical assistance and consulting in nine states. Due to irec's work, California, Illinois, and new mexico adopted new policies that make it easier to connect ders to the grid. Irec published widely used technical resources on storage interconnection, smart inverter adoption, hosting capacity data validation, and evs, and conducted stakeholder trainings reaching thousands of people across 42 states.
Local initiatives. Irec programs help local governments and organizations bring clean Energy solutions to their residents and businesses. The solsmart initiative provided technical assistance to support community solar development and recognized local governments for their solar Energy best practices. As of march 2022, 107 million people in the u.s. Lived in solsmart communities. The sustainable Energy action committee published recommendations to improve codes, standards, permitting and inspection that govern clean Energy systems. In puerto rico, irec supported deployment, financing, and workforce development to advance Energy resilience in puerto rico, including a solar microgrid in the rural community of castaer that is one of the first community-led microgrid projects in puerto rico.
Workforce development. Irec supports the growth of a highly-trained and inclusive workforce to support the rapid expansion of clean Energy industries. In 2022, irec and the workforce team published the 12th annual national solar jobs census; developed new clean Energy training courses; convened thousands of stakeholders to identify solutions to improve clean Energy education, training, and job placement outcomes through the national clean Energy workforce alliance; connected transitioning military service members and veterans with career opportunities in the solar industry; and created one of the most widely-accessed clearinghouse websites with expert information on clean Energy codes, standards, permitting, and inspection.