Sometimes all it takes to launch careers and solve labor shortage issues is for someone to open the door and welcome the next generation of workers inside.

The R.I. Office of Energy Resources has been doing that since 2019, the summer its Clean Energy Internship program debuted. Its purpose is to develop the workforce needed to transition to a clean

energy economy, a goal Abigail Hasenfus understands firsthand. She participated in the program and now works full time for OER as its renewable energy programs manager, promoting clean energy internships at career fairs.

“It’s really a great opportunity for anyone trying to get their foot in the door of a very booming, up-and-coming industry,” she said of the internship program.

Hasenfus was participating in a yearlong energy fellows program through her school, the University of Rhode Island, that placed her at OER. While her office/cube mate was designing the internship program, she suggested Hasenfus apply. She did and interned at E2SOL LLC in Providence.

The renewable energy development firm helps businesses leverage solar power to reduce operating costs or create a revenue annuity by selling power. As an intern, Hasenfus mostly marketed solar-powered docks to marinas in Southern California, where she grew up. “I was excited to do marketing work in an area of the country that I chose,” she said.

In addition to the clean energy internship program, E2SOL also hires interns from the New England Clean Energy Council internship program and Rhode Island Workforce Incentive program. Anthony Baro, managing principal of E2SOL, estimates having about 15 interns in the past three years and says he appreciates the energy and ideas they bring to the workplace.

“[Interns] like to take higher risks and they’re excited about their career opportunities,” he said. He also does CAP Engineering projects, where he funds a group of seniors at a university to work on a specific project. From that endeavor, he says, he hired two electrical engineers.

At the start of each 12-week clean energy internship session, Baro asks interns a simple question: What is your passion and what do you definitely like to do? Based on their response, he aligns them with work that E2SOL is doing, to set them up for success.

HOW IT WORKS

Students and employers create accounts in OER’s internship portal and reach out to each other. But hiring takes place the traditional way: via interviews. Internships span 12 weeks in summer, spring or fall. R.I. Commerce Corp. reimburses host companies for each intern up to $15 per hour/40 hours a week for 12 weeks. Since 2019, OER has matched approximately 85 college students through seniors with nearly 30 employers.

To date, about a dozen seniors have landed full-time jobs at host companies upon graduation. “It’s a great life cycle through this program,” Hasenfus said. “Graduates of the program that land a full-time job at their host company can then mentor the next round of interns.”

At The Rise Group in Cranston, the hope is that interns will take their passion for clean energy and turn it into a career. In 2023, the company had more than 20 interns from various programs: Prepare Rhode Island, Foster Forward, Roger Williams University, University of Rhode Island, six high schools and OER’s Clean Energy Internship program, according to Stephen Dolinich, manager, talent acquisition, at The Rise Group.

The company’s OER clean energy interns were responsible for solar projects. They learned HelioScope, a software program for creating 3D solar designs for commercial buildings. The students had to consider rooftop exposure (where the sun rises and sets), determine how many solar panels they can fit on a rooftop and the size of those panels. They also watched the panels get installed, wrote proposals for new business and calculated energy savings.

But internships are also available in The Rise Group’s energy modeling department, which works with business owners to make their facilities more energy efficient with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Those interns do energy modeling to determine the resulting energy savings and efficiency, Dolinich said.

“It’s similar to the solar-side department in that we also talk about energy savings. But it’s with HVAC systems,” he said.

A lot of students tell Dolinich they want to intern at The Rise Group because they’re passionate about the environment as a career choice. That was Josh Ongera’s goal when he met Hasenfus at a career fair. He applied for a Clean Energy Internship and interviewed at The Rise Group beginning in fall 2023.

“The internship has helped a lot with my problem-solving skills, proficiency with Microsoft Teams and formatting emails,” Ongera said. It worked out so well that the computer engineering major’s 12-week internship extended through the 2024 school year.

While Hasenfus’ experience at E2SOL was positive, it solidified her interest in public-sector work. “I always like to tell students that, ‘You never know what you love to do until maybe you know what you don’t love to do,’ ” she said.

“You can love a job and every aspect of it,” she added. “But sometimes it’s important to think about how you want to move laterally in your career before you move up. I’m happy to have found where I fall laterally because there’s a lot of room for growth.”