Good Jobs in Clean Energy Prize

The Good Jobs in Clean Energy Prize is designed to encourage coalition-building in communities across the country that focus on creating quality jobs and fostering an equitable and inclusive workforce in clean energy sectors. 

What is a “Good Job”?

A “good job” is a job that:

1. Provides fair, transparent, and equitable pay that exceeds the local average wage for an industry
2. Delivers basic benefits (e.g., paid leave, health insurance, retirement/savings plan, access to affordable, reliable, and high-quality child care/long-term care for loved ones, and transportation)
3. Provides workers with an environment in which to have a collective voice
4. Helps the employee develop the skills and experiences necessary to advance along a career path
5. Provides predictable scheduling, and a safe, healthy, and accessible workplace devoid of hostility and harassment
6. Has employees properly classified with the limited use of independent contractors and temporary workers
7. Protects workers’ statutory right for a free and fair choice to join a union under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Good jobs are provided by management’s rigorous knowledge of these rights and other employment rights that protect against harassment, discrimination, and retaliation and their active attempt to avoid any violations of the NLRA and other labor and employment laws; such as worker intimidation or harassment, or unwarranted delay in negotiations or grievance resolution.
Source: About Community Benefits Plans

A Coalition Competition Structured for Workforce Partnership Success

The Good Jobs in Clean Energy Prize encourages building new and newly focused placed-based coalitions to create quality, accessible jobs and training partnerships in their community. Each coalition is required to include, at a minimum, one coalition representative from each of the five key stakeholder groups below:

1. Labor organizations
2. Clean energy employers
3. Community-based organizations
4. Public agencies
5. Education and workforce providers

These competing coalitions will develop and implement Coalition Action Plans that improve the quality of and expand access to good jobs in clean energy.

Competitors participate in three prize phases designed to increase the long-term engagement of place-based coalitions to ensure that the clean energy jobs created nationwide are high quality and accessible to target populations. Coalitions must compete and win in Phase One of the prize to qualify to compete in Phase Two and Phase Three of the prize. Qualified coalitions will have the chance to win part of $3,375,000 prize pool to help them develop plans and accelerate the implementation of their solutions.

More than $3 Million in Incentives for Innovation

The three-phase competition catalyzes coalition building to understand, plan, and improve job quality and job access within the clean energy economy for target populations.

The Three Phases

Phase One: Coalition Formation 

Up to 15 winning coalitions / $50,000 cash prize each

Winning coalitions are selected for:

1. Identifying a clean energy employment opportunity and workforce challenge in a specific sector and target community, and 
2. Displaying robust partnerships that include at least one organization from each of the five stakeholder types: labor organization, clean energy employer, community-based organization, public agency, and education and workforce provider.

Phase Two: Coalition Action Plan

Up to 10 winning coalitions / $100,000 each

Competing coalitions participate in a virtual U.S. Department of Energy-led training on High Road economic and workforce development strategies for clean energy  and develop a robust Coalition Action Plan to create quality, accessible jobs, and training partnerships.

Phase Three: Implementation and Impact 

Up to 10 winning coalitions. First place: $300,000 / Second place: $250,000 / Third place: $200,000 / Seven runner-up coalitions: $125,000

Competing coalitions implement their Phase Two Coalition Action Plans and participate in community-of-practice activities and quarterly check-ins with prize administrators.

Please review the official rules for the complete application process and instructions for competing.

If you would like to receive updates on the prize, please ‘Follow’ the competition at the top of this HeroX page. If you have questions about the competition, you can email the prize administrators at .

The American-Made Good Jobs in Clean Energy Prize is a multimillion-dollar prize competition designed to equip coalitions with tools to ensure that clean energy programs and investments result in good jobs and greater access for target populations. The American-Made Good Jobs in Clean Energy Prize is directed and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy 's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Learn more.