On Monday, students and instructors from the Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator’s residential solar installation program visited Stratford East Senior Apartments, which had solar installed in Winter 2025.
This is the first-ever class of solar installation students from Goodwill Columbus. The field trip is a capstone experience for the 11 students who will graduate from the program this weekend! Community Renewable Energy was happy to host these students, who will soon have meaningful careers in a growing industry.
The installation was done by Appalachian Renewable Power (ARP). John McNamara, ARP’s COO, led the students on a walking tour, showing how the team managed long wire runs and heavy conduit to connect the building’s 317KW system. They toured the outdoor system and the interior electrical room and got a close look at the newly installed interior conduit before it’s covered by drywall. The building hosts both ground and roof-mounted solar panels, meaning the students got a unique up-close look at large panels.
Goodwill Columbus’s four-week Solar Installation course covers electrical energy fundamentals, safety standards, the basics of residential solar and storage installation, steps to commission a solar and storage system, common maintenance tasks, solar site evaluation, and customer service excellence.
The students learn on model rooftops in the Goodwill Job Training Center, just down the street from Stratford East. This field trip gave the students a look at alternatives to rooftop residential solar — allowing them to envision where the industry can take them after they are certified. The students took notes, giving them exposure to the materials and manufacturers common on commercial-scale installations.
Goodwill provides a mix of technical and employment readiness training, career navigation, supportive services and job placement support. Their mission is to expand the number of qualified clean energy technicians and installers, get them to work quickly and put them on pathways for continuous professional progression.
Goodwill is recruiting for the next class of solar installers, with courses set to begin this summer.Â
Stratford East secured their solar through the Impact Solar Initiative. The initiative, a collaboration between our Community Renewable Energy team and the Columbus Partnership’s Clean Energy Ventures, works to provide cost-saving solar for nonprofits and government agencies around central Ohio. Thanks to the Impact Solar initiative, Stratford East’s 82 residents will benefit from over $2 million in savings over the 35-year life of the system.
