They got jobs in the growing solar industry – but the reality was less sunny than they expected

Advocates say green jobs represent a path forward for the formerly incarcerated, a staggering 60% of whom are jobless. But working in the solar industry poses its own challenges. Illustration: Rita Liu/The Guardian

As a child, Scott Horton dreamed of becoming a firefighter. “My father worked for the post office,” said Horton. “My mother was a school [bus] driver.” Only natural, then, that Horton would also want to enter public service.

Now, at 55, with salt-and-pepper hair, transition lenses, and a sparkly stud in his left ear, some of Horton’s early longings have materialized. He spends his days climbing ladders, wearing a hardhat, and scrambling around roofs. But Horton is not a firefighter; Denver’s fire department disqualifies applicants with felony convictions. Instead, he is a solar panel installer, one of the few paths available to him after a 19-year stint in prison.