PG&E and We Share Solar® are partnering once again to bring a fully funded, local and global STEM project to classrooms in central and northern California. The Solar Suitcase Program blends engineering skills with sustainable energy lessons and local and international philanthropy.
The Solar Suitcase Program, part of the PG&E Foundation's Better Together Giving Program, empowers 8th-12th grade students to build We Share Solar® Suitcases. The program places special emphasis on leveraging a hands-on and humanitarian approach to engage youth traditionally under-represented in STEM fields.
By combining hands-on engineering education with real-world applicability, teachers cultivate students’ interests in clean energy. Students are also inspired to meet an immediate societal need by delivering solar energy to local communities and areas of need in the developing world.
We Share Solar® Suitcases are small, portable photovoltaic lighting systems, powerful enough to illuminate a classroom. Through this program, participating educators will be trained to teach youth how to build Solar Suitcases that will be delivered to energy-scarce regions of the world.
Applications are due by May 30, 2018 and applicants will be notified by June 8, 2018.
If you miss this year's application deadline, please check this website next spring for program updates.
Download the program fact sheet (PDF, 128 KB)Email Alli Pemerl, We Share Solar® Program Assistant at alli@wecaresolar.org.
When North High School student Evelyn Valdez joined her school’s Solar Suitcase club, she had no idea it would lead her to a small village in Kenya. “It was amazing to see how teenagers could make such an impact in the lives of others,” she said.
In a surprise announcement in front of more than 500 students, classmates Evelyn Ramirez and Isaiah Lucero learned they were selected to go to Kenya as part of a service learning trip to deliver solar suitcases they helped build.
PG&E has selected 19 Northern and Central California schools to participate in the inaugural year of the Solar Suitcase Program. Under the program, students will build portable solar units, share their commitment to sustainability by participating in local projects and have an opportunity to share the solar suitcases with students in Kenya.
City | School or Organization | |
---|---|---|
Arcata |
Humboldt State |
|
Hayward |
California State University East Bay |
|
Monterey |
California State Monterey Bay |
|
Sacramento |
Sacramento State |
|
San Francisco |
San Francisco State |
|
San Luis Obispo |
Cal Poly SLO |
City | School or Organization | |
---|---|---|
Alameda |
Encinal High School |
|
Atwater |
Buhach Colony High School |
|
Bakersfield |
Independence High School |
|
Bakersfield |
North High School |
|
Bakersfield |
Stockdale High School |
|
Byron |
Delta Vista High School |
|
Chico |
Inspire School of Arts and Sciences |
|
Clearlake |
Konocti Education Center |
|
Cloverdale |
Cloverdale High School |
|
Clovis |
Buchanan High School |
|
Daly City |
Jefferson High School |
|
Daly City |
Thomas R. Pollicita Middle School |
|
Fowler |
Sutter Middle School |
|
Fresno |
Hoover High School |
|
Hayward |
Winton Middle School |
|
Hayward |
Cesar Chavez Middle School |
|
Hoopa |
Hoopa Valley High School |
|
Los Molinos |
Los Molinos High School FFA |
|
Madera |
Mountain Vista Alt. Ed. High School |
|
Madera |
Madera South High School |
|
Marina |
Los Arboles Middle School |
|
McKinleyville |
McKinleyville High |
|
Merced |
Yosemite High School |
|
Monterey |
Girls Inc. of the Central Coast |
|
Oakland |
Skyline High School |
|
Oakland |
Girls Incorporated of Alameda County |
|
Oakland |
Oakland High School |
|
Oakland |
Oakland Technical High School |
|
Orcutt |
Orcutt Academy High School |
|
Patterson |
Invest In Me |
|
Petaluma |
Sonoma Mountain and Carpe Diem |
|
Sacramento |
Foothill High School |
|
Sacramento |
Rio Americano High |
|
San Francisco |
Abraham Lincoln High School |
|
San Jose |
Independence High School |
|
Seaside |
Seaside High School |
|
Stockton |
Stagg High |
|
Templeton |
Templeton High School |
|
Tracy |
Tracy High School |
|
Turlock |
Stanislaus State / Turlock Unified |
|
Ukiah |
Mendocino County Office of Education |
|
Upperlake |
Upper Lake High School |
|
Vacaville |
Willis Jepson Middle School |
|
West Sacramento |
River City High School |
|
Winters |
Winters High |