Paonia-based Solar Energy International (SEI), a global leader in solar energy education and training, has opened applications for 2024 high school graduates in Colorado to enroll in two of its most popular courses to kickstart a career in solar energy.
Founded in 1991, and originally based in Carbondale before moving to Paonia in 2013, SEI leads the industry in both entry-level and advanced solar education programs. For over 33 years, SEI has trained more than 100,000 solar professionals.
As part of its scholarship program, SEI is offering two of its most fundamental courses to high school graduates both to prepare them for an entry level position in the industry and to successfully complete the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Photovoltaic (PV) Associate certification exam — the standard certification for private and public employers. The scholarship covers the entire $1,600 cost of the two-class program, including the $100 fee for the NABCEP exam.
The two courses, Solar Electric Design and Installation and PV System Fundamentals, are available online and take place over six weeks, each. While the lessons are pre-recorded, students will also be connected with instructors to provide feedback and help answer any questions.
Students are not required to take the NABCEP exam, but it is highly recommended by SEI to do so. Completion of the courses also earns graduates SEI’s own certification to tack onto resumes.
Doctor Laurie Williams, professor of physics and engineering at Fort Lewis College, spoke highly of her education through SEI. After the pandemic, Williams took every SEI course available and, today, uses her skills to lead solar projects on the Navajo Nation. “Literally everyone I meet in the solar world points to SEI,” said Williams.
“I was very impressed with the SEI courses because they were self paced [and] super convenient,” Williams added. “If you reached out to someone with a question, they were very quick and very thorough with responses. I really felt like I was being mentored … As an educator myself, I thought they really established a high bar and were meeting it.”
The 2024 scholarship program was made possible through State Bill 23-205, once titled the Universal High School Scholarship Program but renamed to Opportunity Next Colorado. The bill was signed in 2023 with the goal of increasing enrollment in Colorado-based postsecondary education and training programs in order to invest in Colorado’s homegrown talent.
Educational organizations such as SEI were required to apply to Opportunity Next Colorado directly, and are to use awarded funds for individual student scholarships. SEI has received funds to offer scholarships to 40 students for this year’s program. If SEI receives enough applicants, they could be eligible to reapply for the grant so as to offer the same scholarship incentive to 2025 graduates.
The scholarship comes at an opportune time for young Coloradans looking to start a solar career in their home state. In Delta County planning is currently underway for an 383-acre, 80 megawatt agrivoltaic solar facility — which will not only provide energy to over 18,000 homes, but also include grazing land for over 1,000 sheep.
Further away, tribe officials on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation have proposed an eight-mile long, one-mile wide solar array, slated to be one of the largest in the country. Named the Sun Bear Solar Project, it’s expected to employ over 500 long-term solar professionals and thousands more for the duration of construction.
Both arrays are potential opportunities where SEI certified students can apply their skills, and help keep the lights on in their home state.

Applicants are required to be Colorado residents and have graduated high school in 2024. Applications are active until June 2025 and can be found at www.solarenergy.org/opportunity-next-colorado