Annual Reports

The 2024 annual report covers IREC’s biggest highlights from 2024—including key wins from our Regulatory, Workforce, and Local Initiatives teams, metrics that quantify IREC’s impact, and more.

In 2024, IREC made significant strides towards our mission to build the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency to benefit people, the economy, and our planet—through measurable wins in three complementary areas of our work:

• advancing key state regulations that enable rapid and just clean energy growth (IREC has shaped energy regulations in more than 41 states and U.S. territories!),
• building a qualified energy workforce with opportunities for candidates of all backgrounds,
• and capacity building at the local level to give communities tools to achieve their energy goals.

“2023 was an impactful year in IREC’s work to build the foundation for a 100% clean energy future.

One of the things that differentiates IREC from many other groups working in the clean energy sector is the complementary nature of our three distinct, but interconnected areas of work: State Regulatory Engagement, Workforce Development, and Local Initiatives (focused on community-level clean energy adoption).

Without sound regulatory policies, we know that clean energy growth is often stunted, as states confront daunting challenges like multi-year delays for projects to be interconnected to the grid. IREC’s Regulatory Team—one of the few independent nonprofit stakeholders that brings technical engineering expertise into regulatory dockets—-contributes expert guidance to align states’ regulatory frameworks with the conditions needed for equitable, affordable, and safe clean energy growth.

As that market growth materializes, more people with clean energy training and skills are needed to implement all aspects of clean energy projects. IREC’s Workforce Team is making sure that there are enough well-trained professionals to meet the demand—and that people of all backgrounds have access to quality clean energy jobs.

Meanwhile, IREC’s Local Initiatives Team ensures that communities and local governments have the capacity to manage clean energy growth locally and ensure that new projects benefit their communities and align with local needs. Each of these areas is essential for the clean energy transition to be successful—and to ensure that this transition benefits all Americans.

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, this work, and the synergies between each of these programs took on new significance because the foundation we collectively lay for the growth of clean energy will determine how impactful these unprecedented investments in clean energy and climate change mitigation—$369 billion!—will be.

I am proud to say that each of our teams delivered major impacts in 2023 that bring us closer to a 100% clean energy future.”

—Larry Sherwood, IREC President & CEO

“IREC celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022! Since 1982, IREC has made clean energy possible for millions of Americans through cutting-edge policy and workforce solutions that advance renewable energy, electric grid modernization, and energy efficiency. In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest federal program for clean energy deployment. However, barriers remain to growing clean energy use, including changes needed in interconnection, workforce, and supportive local policies. IREC is working to remove these barriers and reach a 100% clean energy future to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Interconnection processes must become more efficient and better aligned with the capabilities of clean energy systems. IREC works to ensure that interconnection of distributed energy resources (DERs) is safe, reliable, fast, affordable, and enables the full range of DER benefits. IREC’s model procedures and tools are used throughout the country. In 2022, IREC and partners published a toolkit of practical solutions to storage interconnection. Over 12,000 individuals attended related education events or explored the toolkit online, and several U.S. states have already adopted the recommendations. IREC also published work related to hosting capacity analysis, electric vehicle adoption, and smart inverter standards implementation. IREC advanced policies to streamline the interconnection of DERs on the grid, by intervening as a public interest stakeholder or providing technical assistance in nine states. California, Illinois, Minnesota, and New Mexico adopted new policies as a result of IREC’s work.

The clean energy workforce will need to expand significantly and inclusively to support a growing demand. IREC programs connect quality training opportunities, employers, and employees. In 2022, IREC co-convened the National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance, which brought together hundreds of organizations and identified solutions to build the inclusive, highly-trained, and significantly expanded clean energy workforce that will be needed to meet national clean energy goals. IREC published the 12th annual National Solar Jobs Census, showing a 9 percent growth in solar jobs. However, 85 percent of solar firms surveyed reported difficulty finding qualified applicants, demonstrating the immediate need to create a workforce pipeline into clean energy jobs. Over 3,000 building safety professionals, installers, and building operators were trained through IREC’s online clean energy training. In addition, IREC connected military service members and veterans with career opportunities in the solar industry through the Solar Ready Vets Network.

Local communities must have the tools and resources to facilitate rapid installation of clean energy projects. Many barriers to clean energy adoption exist in local communities, even in communities that have set clean energy goals. Local governments establish zoning regulations, and permit and inspect most clean energy installations. Permitting and inspection is usually governed by model national building and electrical codes. In 2022, the SolSmart program, co-lead by IREC and the International City/County Management Association, designated additional communities as “open for solar business.” Thirty-four percent of the U.S. population now lives in a SolSmart-designated community. Through the Sustainable Energy Action Committee, IREC made 28 recommended changes to the International Code Council codes and over 80% received preliminary approval. With IREC leadership, the rural community of Casteñer, Puerto Rico celebrated the completion of one of the first community-led microgrid projects, providing reliable power to small businesses and essential community services.

IREC’s programs advanced clean energy in 2022, continuing to remove these important barriers and set the U.S. on a path to create a 100% clean energy future. In tackling these critical clean energy needs, IREC is building the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency.”

—Larry Sherwood, IREC President & CEO

“2021 was a momentous year in IREC’s 39-year history, marking our merger with The Solar Foundation—another leading clean energy nonprofit with a commitment to independence, rigor, and justice. With the merger, IREC more than doubled its staff size and budget and took charge of additional highly respected programs with strong linkages to our existing work to advance a 100% clean energy future.

IREC emerged from the merger positioned for even greater impact as an independent nonprofit committed to serving the public good. This increased capacity comes at a critical time in the growth of clean energy industries and the fight against climate change.

Around the country, as states begin to incorporate unprecedented levels of distributed energy resources like solar and energy storage on the electric grid, new challenges are emerging and IREC has been there to meet them with technical expertise and practical solutions.

From regulatory leadership to advance state-level policies that help enable more clean energy on the grid, to the hundreds of communities we are supporting in their efforts to expand clean energy access, to our initiatives to strengthen and grow an inclusive clean energy workforce, IREC continued to play a unique and critical role in 2021.

As we enter our 40th year of operations in the year ahead, it’s clear to me that IREC’s commitment to expanding the benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency is stronger than ever. And, as demonstrated by our achievements in 2021—detailed in the coming pages—we are also better positioned than ever to make that a reality.”

—Larry Sherwood, IREC President & CEO

“2020 was a year of many challenges, from the loss of life, jobs, and normalcy as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic to the exposure of major disruptions to the electrical grid.

Yet, as I look back on IREC’s work in 2020, and forward to what lies ahead, I am heartened by the impact we have had and energized by the opportunities in front of us. In 2020, as we have done for nearly 40 years, IREC helped build the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency by tackling regulatory, workforce, and economic barriers—playing a unique role as an independent nonprofit trusted for its technical expertise.

And the future of our work is brighter than ever. A new presidential administration committed to action on climate change and clean energy, and the accelerating growth of clean energy industries, present new opportunities across the country. Internally, IREC also welcomes several notable developments. In 2021, IREC will join forces with The Solar Foundation, doubling in size as we integrate their accomplished staff and acclaimed programs. Meanwhile, the merged organization will benefit from IREC’s largest unrestricted donation to date, 1.2MW solar PV system donated by The Conti Group.”

—Larry Sherwood, IREC President & CEO