Clean Energy Education Program

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Application Is Open

NC GreenPower’s Clean Energy Education Program is a STEM-based initiative that helps bring exciting and engaging energy curriculum to the classrooms of North Carolina teachers.

The program aligns with North Carolina State Science Standards and combines energy workshops, hands-on activities and outside community experts to enhance the experience of all students and expose them to the energy field and STEM. Participating educators are invited to take part in energy education workshops where they can receive STEM kits for their classrooms. These kits get students learning about the science of energy and how it impacts their daily lives.

NC GreenPower is partnering with the NEED Project to bring North Carolina educators this opportunity. The NEED Project is a 501(c)3 organization with over 40 years of experience in providing energy education programs to educators and students across the country.

All K-12 educators in North Carolina are invited and encouraged to apply. The Clean Energy Education Program will accept up to 30 schools in the 2025-2026 cohort.

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Program Timeline

Summer 2025Application to participate opens
August 2025Application review
Rolling application confirmations
September 2025Application review continues
October 2025Workshop 1 held
Returning school workshop held
Kits shipped to workshop attendees — Science of Energy & Wind/Solar
School mini-grant applications open
December 2025Workshop 2 held
Energy Fair in a Box shipped
February 2026Workshop 3 held
March–April 2026Educational audits
School Energy Expert kits shipped to schools that complete audit
Energy Challenge & Youth Awards submissions

Educator Professional Development

Each participating school will be invited to send two teachers to each of three one-day teacher workshops.

Hands-on Classroom Kits and Curriculum

Each participating school’s teachers will select a series of STEM-focused hands-on kits. All kits and curriculum are correlated to the North Carolina State Science Standards.

Science of Energy + –

This unit provides background information and hands-on experiments to explore the different forms of energy and how energy is transformed from one form to another. Groups of students explore six stations and then teach others about the energy transformations at their stations. Teacher demonstrations are included to introduce the unit. The stations include equipment to teach transformations focusing on kinetic and potential energy, heat, light, motors, batteries and electromagnetism.

Solar Energy Kit + –

This kit is available in four levels for primary, elementary, intermediate and secondary students to learn about solar energy transformations, including solar energy to thermal energy and solar energy to electricity. All levels include hands-on investigations and activities.

Wind Energy Kit + –

Also available in four levels, this kit covers wind formation, the history of wind use and how wind is used to generate electricity. Lessons are included for both onshore and offshore wind.

Energy Efficiency Kit + –

Written at three levels, this kit provides activities and tools to explore energy efficiency in a school building, including plug loads, water heating and insulation.

Energy Challenge

Participating schools work on a yearlong energy challenge and develop a solution to energy-related problems and barriers. Schools will share their Challenge Project at the end of the year and submit their work to NEED’s Youth Awards for Energy Achievement.

 

Energy Fair

An energy fair is a great opportunity for students to share their energy knowledge with their communities. Participating schools receive fair supplies and a stipend to purchase additional items.

Educational Energy Audits

Participating schools have the opportunity to request an educational energy audit. NEED’s Certified Energy Manager will visit the school and work with a small group of students to do an audit of the building, investigate how the building uses energy and understand how efficiency and conservation could be improved. Students take their knowledge with them to help their families manage energy use at home.

 

Program Resources

Clean Energy Education Program Portal Login
Clean Energy Education Program Guide
Energy Fair Kit Contents