Projects + Trainings
Current and Upcoming
Solar Electric
Professional Level
Solar Electric
Public Workshop
Solar Tribal Train the Trainer (T4)
We'll be partnering once again in 2020 and 2021 with the #1 solar electric training organization in the United States - Solar Energy International (SEI). The tribal Train the Trainer Program is a professional level training course that consists of three weeks of intensive training at the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center at Pine Ridge. As we are training new trainers for tribal communities, graduates of the course will then become the teacher at a supervised Solar 101 one week workshop for other tribal members.
Students selected for this program receive full scholarships that covers all training costs, lodging, food, and the fee to take the national NABCEP Solar Certification test. A travel stipend will also be provided.
Summer and Fall T4 classes have been postponed due to the Corona virus Pandemic and will be rescheduled in Spring 2021.
Click here for more about the Solar Tribal Train the Trainer Project.
SEI Professional Solar Course 101
(TBD - Spring 2021) - PV101 is your gateway to a career in the solar industry. It all starts with the fundamentals, and a solid understanding of various components, system architectures, and applications for PV systems. Other topics include site analysis, system sizing, array configuration, and performance estimation; electrical design characteristics such as wiring, overcurrent protection, and grounding; a detailed look at module and inverter specifications and characteristics; mounting methods for various roof structures and ground-mounts; and an introduction to safely and effectively commissioning grid-direct PV systems. This course focuses on grid-direct PV systems.
Mobile Power Station
Provides training on how to make both trailer-sized and handcart-sized mobile solar power stations. These solar power stations are ideal for remote locations and/or off-grid construction projects and camps.
Other Unscheduled Workshops Periodically Provided by Red Cloud Renewable
Off-Grid Solar Furnace
Our Off-Grid Solar Furnaces can reduce a family’s monthly winter heating bill by 20-25% for twenty years! This leaves struggling families with money for other important items, like food and medicine. These supplemental solar air heating units are relatively inexpensive to make and have no ongoing costs for the homeowner. They are simple to use, have almost no maintenance and are an environmentally sound way to bring comfort to families struggling to heat their homes during the bitter winter months.
Solar Lighting
We have two very different trainings on solar lighting:
Solar Light in a Bucket – This course teaches the basics of solar power through making an LED light that fits in a bucket with the solar panel. Use as a separate light or have it light up the bucket. Great for remote camps.
Solar in a Suitcase – A training program we do in conjunction with our friends We Share Solar. Created for high school classes, it comes with a diverse training curriculum that covers all the basics of solar energy and schools love to use!
Sustainable Housing
Learn how to build with compressed earth blocks (CEBs). Past trainings include building a small office as well as a three bedroom house that we donated to Paul Shields and family (Leonard Peltier’s son). Great insulation to keep you cool in the summer and warm during the long hard Pine Ridge winters. We are beginning to gear up to build some new homes so keep an eye on our website!
Solar Water Pumping
We provide two types of solar water pumping:
Watering Crops – Learn how to install and use a solar water pump to provide water for your garden or small farm. We use the pump to keep our 1,000 gallon water tank full for our dripline system to use.
Watering Livestock – this workshop will provide you with the skills to install a solar water pump to fill up remote livestock tanks. Great business opportunity across Indian Country!
Solar Warrior Farm Workshops
Our small farm consists of a row crop area that produces organic food for residents and guests. We are also developing a food forage program that expands and harvests traditional Lakota foods and herbs.
Food Preservation – Learn different ways to preserve and can food from your garden and farm. Your delicious harvest tastes even better in winter!
Foraging for Lakota Traditional Foods – This evolving new workshop will help you to identify and harvest traditional Lakota foods such as wild grapes, chokecherries, buffalo berries, Jerusalem artichokes, wild plums, wild turnips, and wild onions. Will also cover how to nurture and expand native forage plants.