To meet growing marketplace demand, Sunnyvale-based Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) and the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District Workforce Institute have launched FutureFit Fundamentals, a new online course focused on all-electric building practices.

The training is designed to familiarize local contractors and apprentices with the latest in all-electric building systems and appliances, as well as building policies that are rapidly evolving as communities transition to clean energy.

Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Los Gatos-based Cinnamon Energy Systems, is among the green energy providers who stand to benefit from FutureFit Fundamentals.

“As a residential solar installer and electrician serving the region for more than two decades, I know that there is tremendous opportunity for local contractors to learn about new electric technologies that customers are now requesting more often,” Cinnamon said in a statement. “This training helps prepare installers to be able to guide customers toward technologies that will help them save energy, money and the climate.”

Eligible participants will receive a $500 stipend for course completion and may qualify to receive up to $5,000 for installing selected electric appliances in their home or business. Training includes all-electric HVAC, heat pump water heating, high-efficiency electric appliances and home solar battery storage.

Besides meeting the demand for green energy, FutureFit Fundamentals is meant to help close the gap in education for building professionals trying to keep up with the new technologies.

The creators of the course argue that closing this gap is especially important as the California Energy Commission recently adopted building codes requiring new construction to include solar and battery storage, as well as pre-wiring that prepares for the transition to green energy. The changes outlined in SB 100 are due to take effect in 2023.

“As we make major investments in clean energy and move toward meeting our climate goals as set forth in SB 100 … we must invest in workforce training and education to ensure that we create a just clean energy transition,” said SVCE board chair Margaret Abe-Koga, a Mountain View city councilmember.

Mountain View is among 13 Santa Clara County jurisdictions that receive clean electricity from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, as do Los Gatos and Monte Sereno.

“We are very pleased to be able to partner with Silicon Valley Clean Energy on the FutureFit Fundamentals program,” said Dr. Alexandra Duran, San Jose-Evergreen Community College District’s interim executive director of strategic partnerships and workforce innovation. “This training will not only benefit those individuals who go through the program … but will benefit the entire state as we transition to an all-electric future.”

FutureFit Fundamentals is a part of SVCE’s COVID-19 relief plan, intended to support local businesses.

To sign up for the course, visit www.svcleanenergy.org/FutureFit-Fundamentals.