Clean Energy Internship Program for Employers

The Challenge: Prepare the Next Generation of Clean Energy Workers

Massachusetts' growing clean energy industries need a robust, diverse, and equitable pipeline of talent to keep up with their work on decarbonization strategies and climate solutions.

About the Clean Energy Internship Program

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program facilitates the placement of college students and recent graduates into paid internships with verified clean energy companies across Massachusetts by providing stipends for interns during fall, spring and summer sessions. Since its launch in 2011, the program has allocated over $24 million to place nearly 6,000 interns at over 600 unique companies, and more than 1000 interns have received full or part-time jobs at their host companies as a result of their internships.

Employers who'd like to participate in the Clean Energy Internship Program can start by creating an account and profile on our Workforce Portal.

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Award Potential

$4,320/intern for Fall or Spring session; $8,640/intern for Summer session

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Questions? Contact

Program Schedule

The Clean Energy Internship Program offers three sessions per year:

Spring (January-May)
Summer(May-August)
Fall (September-December)

Funding is allocated on a first-come/first-served basis until it runs out, or until the deadline for employers to submit signed offer letters to MassCEC has passed.

Spring 2025 Internship Session
Process Step	Timing
Open enrollment and intern selection begin	November 13, 2024
Spring 2025 session starts	January 1, 2025
Deadline for employers to submit signed offer letters to MassCEC	February 5, 2025
Spring 2025 session ends	May 16, 2025
Deadline for Spring 2025 session reimbursement packages	June 18, 2025

Who's Eligible

To participate in the program, employers must be clean energy or water innovation companies registered to do businesses in Massachusetts, with at least one office located in the Commonwealth.

For the purposes of this program, MassCEC defines a clean energy employer as “an employer engaged in whole or in part in goods and services, or advanced and applied technologies that significantly reduce or eliminate the use of energy from non-renewable sources, including, but not limited to: energy efficiency; demand response; energy conservation and those technologies powered in whole or in part by the sun, wind, water, geothermal energy, including networked geothermal and deep geothermal energy, hydrogen produced by non-fossil fuel sources and methods, alcohol, fuel cells, fusion energy or any other renewable, non-depletable or recyclable fuel."

Download Program Summary

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Application Process

Create an employer account and fill out the company submission. Await approval of your account from MassCEC. All approved employers are eligible to participate in the program for a full year from the date of their application submission.
Once your company has been approved for the program, you can submit new internship postings, which will be published once approved by MassCEC.
Access the student dashboard to review candidates. If you have external candidates, they can submit intern applications here. Every candidate must have a profile on the internship portal to participate in the program.
Contact candidates from the student dashboard in whom you are interested and conduct an in-person or phone interviews.
Click on “eligibility check” for the student(s) you'd like to hire and notify internships@masscec.com that you submitted an eligibility check for a student.
Once an eligibility check is processed, you will receive an automated email letting you know that the intern has been approved and prompting you to submit a signed offer letter.
Submit a co-signed offer letter to internships@masscec.com to receive funding. After funding has been reserved for the intern, you will receive an email confirmation.

Reimbursement

Sign and return your award letter.
After completion of the internship, submit your Reimbursement Package to ap@masscec.com. You must submit your fully completed reimbursement package before the session deadline of January 15, 2025.

Application Materials

Employers - College Internship Program 2024

Employer Program Overview FY25

Workforce Portal - Employer Manual

Employer FAQ FY25

FY25 Employer Portal Contracting FAQ

Employer Terms & Conditions FY25

Create a Workforce Portal Account

Clean Energy Internship Leads to Full Time Hire

A former Intern, now full-time employee, and the co-founder of the company that hired him both share their advice to students and employers on how to get the most out of the Clean Energy Internship Program.

FAQs

Updated March 6, 2024

What are the eligibility requirements for organizations to participate in the program?

Be an eligible clean energy employer. For the purposes of this program, MassCEC defines a clean energy employer as “an employer engaged in whole or in part in goods and services, or advanced and applied technologies that significantly reduce or eliminate the use of energy from non-renewable sources, including, but not limited to: energy efficiency; demand response; energy conservation and those technologies powered in whole or in part by the sun, wind, water, biomass, alcohol, wood, fuel cells, any renewable, non-depletable, or recyclable fuel.” MassCEC in its sole discretion makes the determination of whether an employer is a clean energy employer.
Be registered to do business in Massachusetts. If you are unsure if your business is registered to do business in Massachusetts, please consult the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Corporate Database at the Commonwealth’s Corporations Division.
Provide a meaningful internship (as defined in the General Terms and Conditions).
Provide adequate proof that your organization is able to pay your intern(s) and all associated costs associated with employment.
Successfully demonstrate that your organization has a physical presence in Massachusetts.
Not be an academic or government entity.
Be in good standing with MassCEC. The Host Employer must have submitted all paperwork relating to any prior internship completed, including the mandatory final survey, which must have been received and approved by MassCEC.

How much may I pay my intern?

MassCEC will reimburse a Host Employer up to the cap of $4,320/intern in the fall or spring sessions and $8,640/intern in the summer session. The minimum wage for this program is $15/hr; MassCEC will reimburse up to $18/hr.

How many interns may an organization employ?

Host Employers are allowed to select up to three interns if one of the three interns attends a community college. Two interns are permitted if neither attends a community college. Each intern must be approved individually. Funding for one intern does not entitle an employer to funding for a second or third.

May I hire a relative?

The Intern(s) cannot be the spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, niece, nephew, or spouse of a child, grandchild, sibling, niece, or nephew of the president, CEO, or other senior executive member of the Host Employer, or of any other employee of Host Employer who may have hiring authority on behalf of the Host Employer.

May we hire an intern from a previous session and be eligible for MassCEC reimbursement?

MassCEC will only provide reimbursement if the intern is hired in a different calendar year, and not a subsequent session. For example, an employer may take on the same individual once per year in the same session (i.e., Summer 2020 and Summer 2021) OR twice per year in nonconsecutive sessions (i.e., Spring 2021 and Fall 2021). Additionally, an individual will not be eligible to participate at the same Host Employer if they continue to work or volunteer for you in between sessions in an amount greater than five hours/week on average.

Current or very recent employees are not eligible to participate with you as an intern under this program unless they have been working for the Host Employer less than six weeks leading up to the session start date.

I’ve selected my student intern(s). Why do you need to conduct an eligibility check? I thought since they are in the database you had already been in touch with them.

MassCEC does not provide an eligibility check on interns before the check is specifically requested by a potential employer due to the large number of student applications we receive every session.

The cleantech industry is really competitive. I’d like to have my intern sign a non-compete agreement. Is there a policy regarding non-compete agreements?

Host Employers are not permitted to require or request that an intern sign a non-compete agreement. Host Employers are permitted to use non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement to protect any sensitive information.

My intern left mid-internship. May I hire someone else?

If a hired intern terminates employment during the internship, the Host Employer has until three weeks after the start date referenced in the initial offer letter to hire a new intern. After the three-week window has passed, the Host Employer’s funding will be awarded to a company on the waitlist. New interns must be approved by MassCEC.

Can governmental entities or academic institutions apply to the Internship Program?

Government and academic institutions are not eligible to receive funding under this program. However, they may use the database to identify potential interns. Contact internships@masscec.com for details.

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Additional Resources for Employers

Technical Trades Work and Learning Program

The Technical Trades Work and Learning Program enhances the talent pipeline for Massachusetts clean energy companies by placing skilled students from vocational high schools, After Dark programs and CTI programs in paid clean energy internships during the academic year. Employers select eligible interns for their companies, and MassCEC reimburses wages paid to the interns.

Jobs Board

Looking for full- or part-time employees with a passion for the clean energy sector? You’ve come to the right place! Post your non-internship positions with us and attract skilled candidates to join your team.