ACORE, NASCAR, Lockheed Martin partner to promote renewable energy technologies, careers
In Virginia, NASCAR, Lockheed Martin and the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) announced a multi-year partnership that designates the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit as NASCAR’s newest Official Green Partner. NASCAR is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States.
Sponsored by Lockheed Martin, ACORE will activate its NASCAR partnership with selected at-track activities in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway in July; Chicagoland Speedway in September; and Kansas Speedway in October. ACORE will provide educational tools about renewable energy and sustainability and an on-site membership registration. ACORE will also play a role in NASCAR’s month-long Race To Green Campaign in April, which will highlight the accomplishments of green programs that NASCAR, the industry and a wide range of partners have in place to help reduce the environmental impact of the sport.
The sponsorship aims to promote careers in the renewable energy community writ large by highlighting the life-long value of studying science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in order to build a strong, secure, economically viable and sustainable future.
ACORE will include technology shared by ACORE members—such as solar panels, biofuel demonstrations and wind turbine models—in the display booth at the NASCAR race tracks to demonstrate how renewable energy technology works, and why the public should be excited about it. By leveraging the expertise and vast knowledge base of ACORE’s members, ACORE will provide fact-based renewable energy education to a new audience and excite youth about pursuing a career in the industry.
In an effort to support college-aged students, Lockheed Martin and ACORE will create a summer fellowship program for students interested in pursuing a career in alternative energy, renewable energy or energy efficiency. The fellowships are in development and are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2015.
On the renewable energy front, NASCAR surpassed five million competition miles last year across its three national series on Sunoco Green E15, a biofuel blended with 15 percent ethanol made from American-grown corn. A study commissioned by NASCAR and conducted by Toluna in 2013 shows avid NASCAR fans are nearly +50% more likely than non-fans to understand ethanol is a renewable resource. NASCAR also has the largest renewable energy stadium project in the world, Pocono Raceway, which powers more than 250 homes in the region.
“America has always thrived on innovation and grit, and the renewable energy industry in particular has had dramatic successes, building up a new energy infrastructure, and bringing down costs in a short period of time,” said ACORE CEO and President, Michael Brower. “Through the educational outreach of this partnership, we want to ensure the next generation of skilled workers in renewable energy is well equipped to create a more prosperous American future built on clean, renewable energy.”
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