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SunPower’s educational SunPower Horizons program has reached more than 10,000 students in the U.S. since 2008.
For students from kindergarten age through college, the SunPower Horizons program offers hands-on curriculum, lesson plans and teacher professional development to support student engagement and knowledge retention in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program is designed to prepare students for STEM-related advanced academic study and professional careers by building STEM knowledge as well as skills in critical thinking, communication and collaboration.
"As solar power plays an increasingly critical role in meeting global energy demand, students participating in SunPower Horizons programs may become the engineers and business leaders charting our energy future," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, business units. "In the process of learning about solar technology and energy solutions, the students' enthusiasm and ability to understand complex concepts is very inspiring. SunPower is proud of the increasing number of participants in the SunPower Horizons program we attract each year."
SunPower Horizons program offerings range from an innovative Summer Solar Energy Academy, which is a work-based summer learning experience in solar energy, to classroom project-based STEM curriculum delivered in partnership with Project Lead the Way, a provider of world-class STEM programs.
According to 2015 data from The Solar Foundation, the number of solar industry jobs is increasing almost 12 times faster than growth of the overall U.S. economy. With nearly 209,000 solar jobs in the U.S. by the end of 2015, the solar sector is expected to increase approximately 15 percent this year.
SunPower is a leader in delivering energy solutions to California school districts. At 21 school districts across the state, the company has installed solar power systems totaling more than 87 megawatts which, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, is enough to power almost 14,000 average California homes.
In 2014, The Solar Foundation estimated that more than 3,700 K-12 schools in the U.S. have solar power systems, serving nearly 2.7 million students across the nation and saving about $77.8 million in electricity costs annually.
