Clearway Essay Contest Scholarship
Our Scholarship for the 2020-2021 School Year is CLOSED!
Clearway Community Solar LLC (“Clearway”) is offering essay scholarships (“Essay”) to a full-time undergraduate college student. Students will be writing an essay about a topic chosen by Clearway. The 2020 scholarship is CLOSED.
Scholarships Available
1st Place
Emmy Scott ($5,000)
2nd Place
Sadie Bernstein ($2,500)
2nd Place
Clara Almeter ($2,500)
Applications are now CLOSED!
The Essay Contest prizes will be awarded as a check.
The student must use this check to pay for college-related expenses such as tuition.
Do not use the phone number or chat listed on this site for questions about the scholarship. Please email communitysolarscholarship@clearwayenergy.com with any questions. Use this email to also submit your essay.
2020 Applications Are CLOSED
Our 2020 Scholarship Essay Contest prompt for the 2020-2021 school year is now CLOSED.
Check out the 2020 first place winning essay and the two 2020 second place winning essays, Paralleling the COVID-19 Pandemic and Climate Crisis and Climate Change Mitigation in the Midst of a Pandemic. If you’re curious, learn more about the environmental impact of community solar and how solar farms work.
2020 Essay Topic
The climate crisis is among the most critical existential threats facing humankind. But today, we are also facing a new global crisis: the COVID-19 pandemic. Are there similarities in the threat of these two crises? How has the urgency of combating the climate change crisis been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis?
Please consider the following questions in your response:
- What impact has the COVID-19 global pandemic had on the environment and the economy?
- How do these impacts affect ongoing or new climate change mitigation strategies?
- In what ways have recent changes to daily life, school, governance, or business provided a preview of what might happen to society if the climate crisis continues to escalate?
- Based on what we’ve learned from navigating through the COVID-19 crisis, what steps should we take today to help manage the climate change crisis?
Thinking about these key points, create an essay of no less than 1,000 words that describes the parallels and differences of these two crises, and share your insights on how this experience can help us create a more sustainable future.
Essays must be 1,000 words or more and in a Word Document. Plagiarized essays will not be considered. We will only accept essays in English. One essay per student. See full rules for more details.
Judging
Entries will be judged on grammar, originality, and content quality. Clearway will make the final judgment decisions and notify the winners via email or phone. If a winner does not contact Clearway Community Solar within a week of being notified, Clearway Community Solar will select a new winner.
*Applications are CLOSED*
Eligible Students
Scholarship applicants must be full-time undergraduate students enrolled in a degree program in fields such as Environmental Science, Sustainable Studies, Industrial Technology, Energy and Sustainability Policy, Energy Commerce, Environmental Engineering, or a related field at a US institution and be a United States citizen.
Scholarship applicants must have completed, at the attending institution, a minimum of 15 college credit hours or one semester. The selected winner must provide verification of school status via transcript prior to the release of the prize.
Scholarship applicants must possess an overall minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The selected winner must provide verification of GPA via transcript prior to the release of the prize.
About Clearway Community Solar
Clearway builds local solar farms that bring communities together to support clean power generation, no roof required. A convenient and practical approach for going solar without property installations or upfront costs, Clearway has nearly 100 solar farms active or in development across Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York and has produced over 70 million kWh of solar energy – the equivalent of offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions of driving a car nearly 128 million miles. Customers who join Clearway Community Solar farms not only support local clean power, but also receive credits for their subscribed solar generation that help reduce their electric utility bill. To learn more about the program, visit www.clearwaycommunitysolar.com.