Welcome to the 2026 fellowship application portal
THE 2026 FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION IS OPEN
Early Bird ($0) Application Deadline: February 18
Regular ($25) Application Deadline: March 16
Late ($100) Application Deadline: March 18
APPLY
CELI’s application process consists of 4 - 6 steps, including a written application, the submission of an application fee, submission of a financial assistance application (optional), and the interview (if the candidate’s application is moved forward for an interview).
Be sure to read the Who Should Apply and FAQs before applying!
If you need an accommodation or have questions about accessibility, contact applications@cleanenergyleaders.org.
If you’re unsure about which cohort to apply to (e.g. moving for work or grad school during the fellowship, or if you live close to but not within one of these metro areas) please email us to determine the best fit. Applicants may apply to one cohort only, based on where they will be physically located during the fellowship. If you live in a city with an in-person option, you may rank your preference for an in-person or virtual cohort, if you’d like to be considered for both.
We estimate the total application will take you 15 minutes, with additional time required to craft your essay responses.
STEP 1) Prepare: Prepare your essay questions and resume in a single PDF Document (see below)
STEP 2) Application Form: Click on “CELI 2026 FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION FORM” to be taken to a form to fill out the Application Form (10 min).
STEP 3) Upload: Upload your PDF with resume and essay questions, and hit Submit.
STEP 4) Submit Application Fee if applying after February 18: Once you submit your application, you’ll be redirected to the Application Fee page to complete your submission.
STEP 5) Financial Assistance: If you indicate that you will be applying for financial assistance, you will be redirected to the Financial Assistance Application that is within the Fellowship Application. Note - Your responses will not be submitted until you complete both forms.
STEP 6) Interview: Interviews will be offered to select candidates in mid-April, 2026. At this time, all applicants will receive a notification of the first-round decision and whether they will be offered an interview spot.
Once you submit your application you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your response, please check your spam folder if you do not see it. If you cannot find your confirmation please email celi@cleanenergyleaders.org to ensure we received your application.
Required materials:
Prepare resume and essay questions in advance: We ask for information about your learning goals, your work and community-building experience, and clean energy expertise. A resume/CV submission that highlights the 3+ years of clean energy experience or 5+ years of professional experience in a related field is required at the time of the application. In addition, you are asked to upload a short answer to the five mini-essay questions below. Please only upload one PDF file with resume and essay responses and use the title format "FirstName_LastName".
Essays (200 words or less for each essay):
Community Prompt: Why do you want to be a CELI Fellow? What would you look to receive from a community of clean energy professionals?
Perspective Prompt: What distinct perspective would you bring to a fellowship class as a result of your professional insight and experience?
Leadership Prompt: Describe a time when you took on a leadership role in a community setting - professional, social, or otherwise. What did you learn from that experience? How do you hope this fellowship will support your growth as a leader?
Learning Prompt: What energy technology, policy, or market trend most excites you and why? How have you pursued a deeper understanding of this topic or other clean energy opportunities?
DEIB Prompt: Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are core values of CELI. How have you worked to advance these values in your personal or professional life? If you’re still early in your understanding of systems-level exclusion, why are you excited to learn more about how to contribute to energy justice within the clean energy ecosystem?
To ensure a fair evaluation process we will only read and review up to 200 words for each essay.
Direct link to the application form is above, or please copy and paste this link to a new window: https://bit.ly/CELI2026App
Which Cohort to Apply To?
The 2026 Fellowship offers two participation options:
Fully Virtual Cohorts: Organized by time zone (PT, CT/MT, and ET). Applicants in the Mountain Time zone are encouraged to join the CT/MT cohort. Virtual cohorts are open to anyone in the U.S., including those who prefer the flexibility of an online program.
In-Person Cohorts: Available in the Bay Area (most sessions take place in San Francisco), Chicago, New York City (sessions take place in Manhattan), and Washington, DC. Individuals living within commuting distance of these cities are encouraged to apply to the in-person fellowships if they are able to commit to participating in person on these dates: 7/29, 8/5, 8/12, 8/26, 9/2, Saturday 9/12, 9/16, 9/30, 10/7, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/18, 12/2, Thursday 12/3. These dates are subject to change with advance notice from CELI.
Virtual Cohorts
2026 Virtual Cohorts encourage any individual meeting eligibility requirements for fellowship, who lives and works in the United States, to apply. This fellowship is ideal for individuals living and working outside of CELI’s city hubs (anyplace other than the Bay Area, Chicago, Washington DC, or New York City). This fellowship is great for individuals who operate with tight time constraints, and who are self-motivated to build relationships online.
2026 Fellowship virtual cohorts meet predominantly on Wednesdays, plus a few optional Tuesday sessions, and some Saturdays — over Zoom:
Tuesday evenings (varying dates):
Virtual PT Cohort: 5-6 pm PT
Virtual CT/MT Cohort: 7-8 pm CT / 6-7pm MT
Virtual ET Cohort: 6-7 pm ET
Wednesday evenings (required dates):
Virtual PT Cohort: 6-8 pm PT
Virtual CT/MT Cohort: 6-8 pm CT / 5-7 pm MT
Virtual ET Cohort: 6-8 pm ET
In-Person Cohorts
2026 In-Person Cohorts are open to applicants living in the following metro-areas: Bay Area, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC, and those who can commit to attending sessions in-person approximately once per week (see Curriculum-At-A-Glance for the tentative listing of dates).
For the majority of the 26 total sessions, participants will be in-person with approximately 25 cohort peers (for 15 out of 19 required sessions), including all activities and discussions. There will also be 7 optional sessions which are fully virtual and may include other cohorts. For these sessions where all fellows across the country are pooled together, the “in-person” participants will join the programming via Zoom.
2026 Fellowship Information Sessions & Coffee Chats:
Join us for a virtual session to learn more about CELI’s program and talk to CELI alumni and staff directly. In-person info sessions in select cities will be added to the Event page, please stay tuned for more details.
30-min Coffee Chat with program staff
60-min Info Session with alumni and staff
For more information, check out our:
Email applications@cleanenergyleaders.org with any questions.