{"id":356661,"date":"2026-09-25T13:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/356661\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:04:14","slug":"red-cloud-renewables-training-of-solar-warriors-wins-recognition-at-climate-week-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/356661\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Cloud Renewable\u2019s training of \u2018solar warriors\u2019 wins recognition at Climate Week NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Native-led nonprofit won a national award this week for its work training \u201csolar warriors\u201d for renewable energy development in Indian Country.<\/p>\n<p>Red Cloud Renewable, a solar workforce development nonprofit based on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, received the Power for All Award from the Electric Innovation Initiative on Wednesday during Climate Week NYC. The award recognizes projects that expand access to clean energy and related jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnergy independence is possible,\u201d said Chief Henry Red Cloud, the organization\u2019s founder and president. \u201cI want Solar Warriors on rooftops in every state, representing all 575 tribal nations walking the green path.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The organization pairs hands-on technical training with solar installations in Native communities. John Red Cloud, its operations director, said the recognition reflected years of work carried out in one of the country\u2019s most challenging energy landscapes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the highlight of the work and the impact that it\u2019s doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Red Cloud Renewables operates what it describes as the only Indigenous-led renewable energy training campus in the United States. It has trained more than 1,100 \u201cSolar Warriors\u201d and helped install more than 1,200 solar furnaces in Native homes, John Red Cloud told Tribal Business News.<\/p>\n<p>The organization also administers BRIDGE, a $1.5 million <a href=\"https:\/\/tribalbusinessnews.com\/sections\/energy\/15170-charging-forward-oglala-lakota-women-prepare-to-rewire-the-solar-industry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">solar workforce program for Native women.<\/a> More than 80% of its alumni have found jobs, John Red Cloud said.<\/p>\n<p>RCR\u2019s model is designed to chip away at entrenched unemployment on Pine Ridge, where rates have hovered between 65 and 80 percent for decades.<\/p>\n<p>John Red Cloud said attending the award ceremony felt surreal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a bit of bewilderment, first of all, and then really surreal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe started to feel like, okay, we do belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The award follows an April fire that damaged the Sacred Earth Lodge, the organization\u2019s main classroom and gathering space. The fire forced Red Cloud Renewable to temporarily suspend in-person training and postpone its May cohort, <a href=\"https:\/\/tribalbusinessnews.com\/sections\/energy\/15578-fire-damages-red-cloud-renewable-training-facility-halts-solar-workforce-programs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tribal Business News reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Red Cloud Renewable plans to double its annual training capacity at Pine Ridge and eventually establish satellite campuses in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest. John Red Cloud said the organization is working on an agreement with the Warm Springs Housing Authority in Oregon and hopes to launch a pilot training center there in spring 2027.<\/p>\n<p>About The Author<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chesley_oxendine.jpg\" alt=\"Chez Oxendine\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Staff Writer<\/p>\n<p>Chez Oxendine (Lumbee-Cheraw) is a staff writer for Tribal Business News covering Native agriculture, tribal broadband, energy and real estate.<\/p>\n<p>Other Articles by this author<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"clear\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Native-led nonprofit won a national award this week for its work training \u201csolar warriors\u201d for renewable energy&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-356661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}