The Energy Divide | Why Clean Energy Still Misses Marginalized Communities

Clean energy promises healthier air, lower costs, and economic growth. But for many Black, Brown, and low-income communities, those promises remain out of reach. The same groups that live closest to coal plants, landfills, and toxic corridors are also the ones least likely to access clean energy opportunities.

The divide is real:

• Proximity to Pollution. 78% of Black Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired plant, compared to 56% of white Americans. That proximity multiplies health risks—from asthma to cardiovascular disease.

• Workforce Representation. 61% of U.S. clean energy workers are white non-Hispanic. Black and Latino professionals are dramatically underrepresented in the very sector positioned to close equity gaps.

• Funding Allocation. Between 2007–2009, only 15% of environmental grants reached marginalized communities, leaving the majority of clean energy resources flowing elsewhere.

  
  

This is both unjust and unsustainable. Clean energy will never achieve its full potential if it bypasses the communities most harmed by dirty energy.

So what’s the way forward?

• Redirect Investment. Ensure grants and subsidies intentionally reach the neighborhoods most impacted by environmental harm.

• Expand Workforce Access. Build pathways for underrepresented groups into clean energy careers, from technician training to leadership roles.

• Foster Trust. Past discriminatory practices created skepticism. Local partnerships and authentic engagement are essential to closing the trust gap.

The energy divide can be closed; but only if equity is engineered into every clean energy strategy, not tacked on as an afterthought.

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