Airen Washington, Solar, Washington D.C.
Airen Washington, who has been in the industry for 5 years, is the Communications Consultant at Volt Energy Utility.
Why is clean energy important to you? My main concern is equality—making sure ethnic communities aren't left behind. Which includes predominantly Black communities, but all communities across the diaspora. When people move here, everything changes for them: the air quality, the fumes, the lack of trees in their neighborhoods. Think about the sun beating down on them while their children are trying to play. And those kids, sometimes in strollers that aren’t designed to protect them from the environment, end up breathing in car fumes directly into their faces.
This all ties back to the environment. What environmentally friendly, clean energy solutions are we putting out into the world to help communities of color and native communities? How many solar panels? How many wind turbines? What are we actively doing to ensure they aren’t left behind? We need to make sure that we’re not adding to the existing health issues in these communities but instead finding ways to address them.
What did you do prior to working in clean energy? Why did you transition to the clean energy industry? I've always had two jobs. I wanted to be an engineer and build solar panels—that's what I originally wanted to go to school for. I ended up studying mathematics, but all the math started turning into sentences, and I was like, ‘No, no, this isn’t what I signed up for!’ So, I switched and majored in political science. Still, I wanted to stay connected to sustainability as much as possible.
In my local community, there’s an organization called Think Broccoli. They host a music festival every year called the Broccoli City Festival, which promotes green energy, sustainability, and access to healthy produce. That’s how I met Gilbert Campbell, the founder and CEO of Volt Energy. He spoke on a panel at their conference—it must have been in 2018 or 2019. At the time, I was working a political job during the day, but in the evenings, I was running social media for the nonprofit and the festival. I was sharing facts about sustainability, green energy, and what it meant for diverse communities.
From there, I connected an old friend from Capitol Hill, who had transitioned industries and started her own community solar farms called WeSolar Inc.. She’s a Black woman from Baltimore and is also friends with Gilbert. They often spoke together on panels because they were both excellent representatives—she, a Black woman doing this work, and he, a powerful speaker as a man of color in the field. It was a natural fit for them to speak together and raise awareness about these issues.
What do you wish more people knew about the clean energy industry? It’s important to highlight the federal advocacy happening around climate issues. For example, there’s the Hip Hop Caucus, which does a lot of work on climate advocacy. What are these amazing things happening at the federal level, and at the same time, what are some of the setbacks? How can we push back against the rollback of environmental protections?
One of my biggest priorities is helping people understand the facts about environmental injustices in a simple, digestible way. We also need to highlight the clean energy work being done, and who the unsung heroes are—the people advocating behind the scenes. How can we support their work?
Clean energy isn’t some distant concept; it’s very close to home. It’s connected to kids getting asthma and the affordability of utilities in your house. I think my main points are health, affordability, and, like I mentioned before, the role of financial institutions. What role does your bank play in the clean energy world? How can they help you better understand your finances so you can make informed decisions about clean energy in your neighborhood? And what should you be asking your local representatives and elected officials about clean energy?
Why should congress invest in clean energy jobs? One thing I’ve noticed living in DC is that both sides of Congress seem to agree on the need for more skilled workers, particularly in the trades. I think Congress should invest in clean energy jobs and diverse suppliers because it’s something that doesn’t always require a degree or law degree—it’s attainable for a lot of people.
Jobs are really the sweet spot, right? When you hear Biden speak, he often talks about jobs and the automotive industry. The automotive industry has been crucial to America for decades, but we need to shift the conversation toward clean energy jobs. Cars were designed for the times of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, but now, we need to focus on transitioning to clean energy while still using the same types of skills.
By doing that, we can employ people who build things, but also people with data backgrounds, researchers, and those working with technology, like AI, to forecast changes and advancements. There’s so much potential with AI coming into play. I believe investing in clean energy jobs is a sweet spot where we can ensure no one is left behind, reach people from all backgrounds, and integrate tech and AI into workforce development.
