Carter School Professor Receives $500,000 Sloan Grant to Study Renewable Energy Workforce

Posted May 11, 2026

Michelle Graff, an assistant professor in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy, has received a $500,000 Aldred P. Sloan Foundation grant to lead a multi-university investigation of barriers to employment in the renewable energy sector. 

The 3-year project will examine how obstacles, such as training and certification requirements, geographic issues, awareness gaps, and shifts in federal policy, may affect employment in the sector. 

"It’s a good time for a project like this because the renewable energy industry continues to grow and it’s at a point at which it needs to take charge of its own future. This study will help them start making some of those decisions,” said Graff. 

Graff is in her first year on campus at Georgia Tech, and is now the principal investigator on a project that spans 13 states and includes researchers from the University of Massachusetts Boston, Northwestern University, and colleagues at Georgia Tech. 

The main goal of the project is to understand issues that may complicate employment options for aspirants interested in jobs in the renewable energy sector, which continues to see employment gains despite project cancelations and headwinds due in part to policy shifts by the federal government. 

For instance, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in September that it expects wind turbine service technician and solar photovoltaic installer will be the nation’s fastest growing occupations through 2034.  

In Georgia, the clean energy advocacy organization E2 reported that jobs in Georgia grew at five times the rate as the rest of the state’s economy in 2025. 

The researchers want to first understand how familiar job searchers are with clean energy jobs and what barriers stand in the way for them to be able to find jobs in the sector, including application hurdles, language skills, and location. Part of the work will include in-depth case studies across the country, a virtual workshop, and other outputs. 

They then plan to produce policy recommendations. 

“The goal is to not only to identify these burdens, but also think of ways to creatively reduce them without sacrificing rigor or training while recruiting the most talented people possible,” Graff said. 

Graff’s Carter School colleague Professor Dan Matisoff will act as a connection with the clean energy industry and help craft the policy recommendations. 

She expects the study, which is called “Investigating Administrative Burdens in the Renewable Energy Workforce,” will be completed in 2030.