Job Description
About Us
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) is the leading voice of today’s multi-tech clean energy industry, representing energy storage, wind, utility-scale solar, clean hydrogen, and transmission companies. ACP is committed to meeting America’s energy and national security goals and building our economy with fast-growing, low-cost, and reliable domestic power. Learn more at cleanpower.org.
ACP is proud to offer a summer internship program which runs for approximately 8 weeks from Tuesday, June 16 – Thursday, August 6, 2026. These positions are required to work on a hybrid office schedule out of our Washington, DC headquarters and, as such, applicants must be local to the DC area or able to relocate to DC for the 8-week period. Internships are paid $20/hour on a semi-monthly pay schedule.
Position Overview
The State Policy & Advocacy Intern contributes to ACP’s state-level policy and political engagement efforts by supporting research, coordination, and partner engagement related to clean energy advocacy across the states. This role provides exposure to how state legislative activity, campaigns, and bipartisan partnerships support ACP’s advocacy priorities.
Working closely with the State Affairs team, the intern will contribute to policy research, partner coordination, and development of materials used to support member engagement and state-level advocacy initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable an individual with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned to meet business needs.
- Track and summarize political and policy developments in key state legislative and gubernatorial races.
- Contribute to coordination and engagement with external partner organizations, including bipartisan advocacy and campaign-related partners.
- Review and help revise fact sheets, briefing materials, and reports used for member and candidate education.
- Participate in research related to state policy initiatives and political engagement strategies.
- Help maintain internal trackers and documentation related to state policy and advocacy efforts.
- Contribute to preparation of materials and communications supporting state-level advocacy initiatives.
- Support administrative and coordination tasks as needed to meet team priorities.
Summer Project & Professional Development
Over the course of the summer, the intern will complete a defined project related to state policy, political engagement, or advocacy partnerships. The scope of this project will be refined during the first week of the internship based on team priorities and the intern’s interests.
Through this work and day-to-day contributions, the intern will have the opportunity to:
- Build an understanding of how state-level policy and political engagement influence clean energy outcomes.
- Develop skills in policy research, political analysis, and issue tracking.
- Gain experience supporting bipartisan advocacy partnerships and campaign-related engagement.
- Strengthen written communication and synthesis skills through policy and briefing materials.
- Learn how trade associations engage with policymakers, campaigns, and external partners at the state level.
Qualifications
Required:
- Current undergraduate or graduate student, or recent graduate, with an interest in renewable energy, public policy, political science, business, communications, law, or a related field.
- Strong interest in clean energy and state-level policy or advocacy.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities with guidance and work collaboratively across teams.
Preferred (but not required):
- Coursework or experience related to public policy, advocacy, political campaigns, or state government.
- Comfort conducting research and synthesizing complex policy or political information.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Interest in state legislative processes or political engagement.
Job Conditions
ACP operates in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with an ambitious agenda and a highly motivated staff. Interns will be supported by their manager and team as they learn and contribute to work with real deadlines and priorities.
This role may involve working across multiple tasks and adapting to shifting timelines with guidance. Occasional travel or event-related work outside standard business hours may be available depending on team needs.
Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. ACP will not sponsor applicants for work visas. ACP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. For more information, visit www.cleanpower.org.
This privacy notice applies to the processing of personal information that ACP collects about candidates for employment. Throughout the application process, ACP may collect some or all of the following categories of personal information: name and address; email address; age or date of birth; race or other demographic information; occupation and employment history; phone number; education; and/or social security number or other identification data.
ACP provides this information to third-party service providers to store and process this data on our behalf, for background checks, and for regulatory compliance. ACP does not sell any applicant personal information.