SunShare, a Denver-based solar farm developer, has announced grants totaling $7.2 million to support jobs training and human services that will benefit the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico.

A $6 million grant to Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico, will support the expansion of workforce development programs to train students in the high-skill jobs needed for the growing solar and renewable energy industry in the state. To that end, SunShare is developing six subscriber-based “community solar gardens” across New Mexico with the capacity to generate as much as 30 megawatts of power, which will benefit local Indigenous communities by providing better jobs and greater energy autonomy and attracting new industry to the region.

In addition, a multiyear grant of $1.2 million to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women will enable the advocacy group to expand its training and education programs and extend services to women and children in more tribal communities.

“We are excited to join hands with the Navajo Nation and our partners to celebrate the intersection of renewable energy and community empowerment,” said SunShare founder and CEO David Amster-Olszewski. “Our collaborations…exemplify our commitment to creating a sustainable, inclusive future.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Adam Kaz)