About the Project
Since 1994, Rising Sun Energy Center (Rising Sun) has evolved from a modest renewable energy education center into a leading green workforce development, environmental education and residential efficiency services organization serving communities in Northern California. Rising Sun’s mission is to empower individuals to achieve environmental and economic sustainability for themselves and their communities. With a focus on under-served populations, Rising Sun provides youth and low-income adults with meaningful training and employment opportunities in the growing green sector, while delivering free energy and water conservation upgrades to thousands of households each year. Its internationally recognized programs offer the valuable skills training needed for the 21st-century economy, while simultaneously contributing to climate action solutions through energy and water conservation.
Since 2000, Rising Sun has operated a youth training and employment program model, California Youth Energy Services (CYES), that provides young people with both job training and direct work experience, while fostering environmental stewardship. CYES includes one week of intensive training followed by 6 to 12 weeks of field work, where youth Energy Specialists provide no-cost residential energy retrofits to their community.