The Renewable Energy Community Partnerships (RECP) Program is a new SERC program that was created for students interested in energy justice. It is a way for students at Berkeley to partner and work with off-campus organizations that work in the intersection of renewable energy and environmental justice. This program is created as a result of the revamping of our previous program, Solar Spring Break, which consisted of an alternative spring break program in collaboration with GRID Alternatives and participation in a student-led decal class on solar energy and environmental justice. To read about the decal this semester, please visit this page [LINK to Ashley’s decal website page].

Spring 2021 projects

• Solar Spark Collegiate Conference

This semester, we are collaborating with GRID Alternatives to plan for Solar Spark, a collegiate conference that will be held virtually on April 1-4, 2021. Attendees will get the chance to engage in workshops and discussions focused on environmental equity and sustainability, training in solar (and other related technologies), and connect with other organizations and students in the field.

Some of the tasks that this team will do this semester include: conference visioning, planning and scheduling, speaker and student outreach, community engagement (including marketing, publicity and social media outreach for the conference), moderating/facilitating panels, facilitating peer discussions, logistics and tech support before and during conferences, and resource collecting.

Our project leads for this project:

• Emma Centeno, Renewable Energy Community Partnerships Project Lead (she/they):

Emma is a second-year student pursuing a double major in Environmental Science and Data Science. At UC Berkeley they have worked as Associated Students of the University of California Eco Office co-lead and as an intern for the Pilipinx Association of Scientists, Architects, and Engineers. She also spends her time doing research on Bay Area wildfires with the Student Undergraduate Research Group. They are passionate about data science applications to climate resiliency and environmental justice. Emma also really loves frogs and has raised poison dart frogs in the past. 

• Apollonia “Apple” Cuneo, Renewable Energy Community Partnerships Project Lead (she/her/hers):

Apple is a second-year student pursuing a degree in Environmental Economics and Policy and a minor in Sustainable Design. (Although she is open to change, depending on where her interests take her). At UC Berkeley, she has been involved with creating environmental curriculum for K-12 schools through SERC, developing a DeCal about house plants, and interning with HADSA to implement sustainability on campus. Currently, Apple is spearheading a “Sustainable Seminars” program within the ASUC Community Engagement Department. Overall, she is happiest when she has the opportunity to collaborate with others, learn about a broad range of topics, and be creative. Besides promoting environmental justice and dedicating herself to the environmental community, Apple loves to find time for analog photography, animals, and adventures! 

We also want to highlight other California-based organizations working in the intersection of renewable energy and environmental justice:

• TURN
• Rising Sun
• Communities for a Better Environment (CBE)

If you have any questions about RECP, or if you want your organization to be featured on this page, please don’t hesitate to contact Jesica at jesica.sutandi@berkeley.edu