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Yale's Clean and Equitable Energy Development (CEED) Certificate Program, through CBEY, gives participants the opportunity to develop and assess clean energy projects that are intended to provide local communities with financial, social, and environmental benefits. One team worked on a project for Doña Ana County in New Mexico. The proposal is a 150 MW solar, and 50 MW battery storage project designed to help El Paso Electric meet its 2045 renewable energy targets. The project’s scale matches its vision for equity: beyond site viability and transmission access; the team built in workforce training, tribal partnerships, and local ownership pathways.

Yale's Clean and Equitable Energy Development (CEED) Certificate Program, through CBEY, gives participants the opportunity to develop and assess clean energy projects that are intended to provide local communities with financial, social, and environmental benefits. One such participant is Jameson Davis, he and his team worked on reimagining the African American Society (AAS) headquarters in Hamden, CT, as a community resilience hub. Their microgrid design combines rooftop solar and battery storage with an 83-acre urban farm, training facilities, and cultural programming—all linked to state green bank funding and community ownership models.

Despite apparent rollbacks in clean energy policy under the Trump administration, it is important to remember the unexpected progress made in decarbonization over the last several years. This article provides an overview of one rapidly changing energy service in particular: industrial heating. As an essential energy service, heating compromises roughly 50% of global energy demand. Heating for industrial use accounts for 20% of global energy demand. Industrial heating needs high temperatures (>150°C) and thus requires high fuel density. Moreover, heating needs to be consistently provided to enable manufacturing processes.

A remarkable group of 31 practitioners from the U.S., U.K., Uganda, and China have completed Yale’s Clean and Equitable Energy Development (CEED) Certificate Program. Offered by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), CEED is an online certificate program that trains developers, policy experts, advocates, and institutional leaders who want to rethink how clean energy systems are designed, financed, and implemented. Over 16 weeks, learners move through an interdisciplinary curriculum that begins with technical fundamentals and culminates in a comprehensive team project simulating real-world energy development.

What is community solar and why does it matter? Community solar enables a diverse range of customers-including residents, businesses, and institutions-to subscribe to a shared solar project within their utility territory and receive direct credits on their electricity bills for the energy produced by their share. As community solar continues to mature as a market, it offers a promising pathway to democratize clean energy access, making solar benefits available to millions who would otherwise be excluded.

Rural communities are essential to the global shift toward renewable energy. Regions like Thompson, Connecticut; Imperial Valley, California; and Molokai‘i, Hawaii, are emerging as key players in the clean energy movement, each bringing unique landscapes and strengths that support innovation and sustainability. This article explores how these rural areas are embracing clean energy solutions—particularly solar power, lithium extraction, and energy storage—while navigating the real challenges and meaningful opportunities that come with leading the way toward a greener, more resilient future.

The Yale Clean Energy Forum had the opportunity to speak with Connor Waldoch. He is a co-founder and Head of Strategy for Grid Status, an energy data and analytics platform. Explore GridStatus.io to see how their data can help you decipher the US energy landscape.

Juan Andres Garcia Alvarez is a participant in the Financing and Deploying Clean Energy Certificate Program (2024-2025 cohort), expanding his expertise in energy finance with a particular focus on fusion energy. He is examining what lessons can be drawn from the policies of renewables and hydrocarbons, their technological transitions, project...

The Yale Clean Energy Forum had the opportunity to interview entrepreneur and law professor Andy Bowman to discuss careers in clean energy and the current conversation around energy storage. Andy is the CEO of Jupiter Power, an IPP (independent power producer) with a focus on stand-alone energy storage. Their portfolio...

Introduction

As the global demand for energy continues to rise, so does the urgent need for cleaner, more efficient solutions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a game-changer in the clean energy sector, offering unprecedented capabilities to optimize power generation, manage energy grids, and reduce carbon emissions. According to a...