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Rising Sun Energy Center

Since 1994, Rising Sun Energy Center has evolved from a modest renewable energy education center into a leading green workforce development and retrofit services organization. Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Rising Sun has become a national leader in curriculum, training and workforce development in the energy efficiency sector.

Rising Sun Energy Center's mission is to create a society that uses energy and water responsibly and equitably. This is done by:

• Providing green workforce development training & employment that creates green career pathways for youth and adults
• Offering low-to-no cost residential retrofits & services that lower energy & water usage
• Educating communities about sustainable behaviors and technologies

In 2010, Rising Sun's California Youth Energy Services (CYES) program trained over 126 young people ages 15-22 as Energy Specialists to perform home low-to-no cost energy audits in the East Bay and Marin County. CYES was able to provide over 1756 Bay Area households with 19,097 energy and water saving hardware installations and education. These installations represent over $984,784 in savings energy dollars over the lifetime of the installation and reduce 5767 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere (this is equivalent to 648,706 gallons of gasoline).

Rising Sun's Green Energy Training Services (GETS) prepares adults with barriers to employment for entry-level jobs leading to careers in the energy efficiency industry. In partnership with other Corridor organizations like Richmond BUILD and Solar Richmond, the GETS academy has served seven cohorts and trained 137 unemployed Richmond and Berkeley residents. Ninety of the GETS graduates have been placed in positions, with 39 being in green jobs.

Rising Sun is a shining example of a Green Corridor workforce and education program preparing local residents for the green jobs of today and tomorrow. For more information go to http://www.risingsunenergy.org.