New program offers paid solar infrastructure training in Georgetown

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WMBF) – Fourteen students with little to no experience in the solar energy field are spending three weeks learning how to install solar infrastructure.

And they’re getting paid to do it.

Founding partner of Solar United International, Grant Scheffer, said the program is meant to increase the amount of people in the solar energy workforce.

“In lieu of waiting for that structure to be created, we then had to come in on the grassroots and actually create that infrastructure,” said Scheffer.

Students are installing two EV car charging stations on Highmarket Street behind 7 Dimensions Outreach, a nonprofit that helped to recruit the students.

The nonprofit’s founder and president, Ebony Hughes, says students get hands-on learning experience in the field but they also learn skills like communication, time management and etiquette.

“They can be trained here. Hopefully we’ll be able to help them find suitable jobs here and so the money stays here and they don’t take their talents elsewhere,” said Hughes.

Zayvion Dennison, 16, said he joined the program because he wanted to help Georgetown step into the future.

“It’s not really about the money,” he said. “It’s more about just knowing that this could give back to so many others, like just showing and doing.”

Scheffer said this is the first site in South Carolina to receive a commercial EV charging structure from Infinity Racking.

He said the plan is to host this hands-on learning program in nine other cities across the state.

Scheffer also said this kind of structure won’t only benefit the public, but the nonprofit they’re working with.

“It is designed to offset the building’s energy use as well as provide electric vehicle charging to customers,” said Scheffer. “The benefit and the proceeds from that go to seven dimensions outreach here in the building,”

Students will graduate from the program on July 11th, that’s the day the charging stations will be available for use as well.

If you’d like to learn more about the program and how to donate you can click here.

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