Riley Neugebauer, Solar, Colorado
Riley Neugebauer is Residential DC Installer at Namaste Solar. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, and she’s been in the industry for 3 years.
Why is clean energy important to you? My career has spanned over 40 years, and it has been diversified because I am not an energy person. I’m a liberal arts lady has made a difference!
What’s your proudest accomplishment in clean energy? I just recently passed my NABCEP PVIP Certification Exam! There aren't that many women installing solar, and I hope to see more.
What did you do before entering clean energy? I worked as a farmer, a food systems advocate and program manager, and as a sustainability coordinator in higher education.
How did you first get introduced to clean energy? I first learned about renewables and efficiency during my liberal arts education at Allegheny College in western PA. I helped advocate for renewables in previous positions, and then I attended a solar PV design and installation certificate program at San Juan College in Farmington, NM around 2007.
How does clean energy impact your community? Clean energy is helping meet greenhouse gas reductions goals and helping all of us transition away from fossil fuels like coal. Coal has been a big polluter and player in the Four Corners region of Colorado where I have lived at various times in my life. Seeing coal plants be phased out and retired, while solar is being installed at record rates is uplifting, particularly when clean energy development (in the place of fossil fuels) is happening on or right next to tribal lands where some of the worst environmental injustices are playing out.
What is something you wish more people knew about your job? My job means that I have job security while also working towards improving the environment and addressing climate change. And I’m proof that women are definitely capable of becoming a solar installer!
Why should Congress invest in clean energy jobs, not fossil fuel jobs? Congress should invest in clean energy jobs because it helps put our public dollars into workers and energy infrastructure that reduces greenhouse gas emissions rather than adding to them. It gives people hope, it cleans the air, it provides options to marginalized and low-income and BIPOC communities who have been overlooked for so many generations and the recipients of the dirtiest air and water and pollution. Let's turn that around. It's also the kind of work that can be more equitable and definitely should include more women!