When Lakiesha Lloyd thinks about iconic American experiences, such as a Friday-night football games, she thinks about renewable energy, which can both provide tax dollars to build a stadium and electricity to power the lights.
And when she thinks about iconic American heroes—veterans—she thinks about their next tour of duty in the clean-energy industry.
“Those Friday Night Lights can be powered by renewable energy,” says Lloyd, an Army veteran who is currently the deputy director of Veterans Power America. “This is how we can serve our country again, by bringing the benefits [of renewable energy] into our communities where we live.”
Lloyd enlisted in the Army at age 17, serving from 2001 to 2010.
She later became an organizer for Veterans Power America, a program of the grassroots Common Defense Education Fund, in 2022, eventually rising to deputy director.
Photo Courtesy Common Defense
Veterans Power America aims to mobilize veterans to advocate for renewable-energy projects in their communities, and to communicate the benefits of renewable energy to their neighbors.
Lloyd knows that importance firsthand, having served nearly two decades as a military police officer. She says the culture of training and discipline in the military makes veterans an especially good fit for jobs in renewable energy.
“I feel that veterans could make a larger impact [than others] when telling this story about clean energy because they’ve experienced it,” Lloyd said. “Anyone who’s been downrange knows that the only reason why they were able to have power on their forward operating base was because of solar microgrid technology.”
She says the field offers a variety of benefits to veterans transitioning from active duty to the civilian world who are looking for a stable job in a growing field.
“The renewable energy industry most definitely can be military personnels’ next tour of duty,” she says. “You are giving back and serving your country when you are investing and working within renewable energy. And veterans are stepping into good-paying union jobs when they come out of the service.”
Lloyd says the benefits of renewable energy are myriad, and range from increased tax revenue for small towns to bolstered national security.
“When we’re looking at national security, being able to create a resilient and sustainable grid system within the United States, and being able to remove some of our reliance on fossil fuels, renewable energy creates an environment where we are more self-sustainable,” Lloyd said.
