EPRI, others receive funds to develop future solar grid workforce initiatives
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently received a $6 million grant for a project to train electric utility workers in the data science and analytics skills needed to manage an integrated solar grid.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is providing the award as part of its SETO FY2018 funding program.
EPRI’s Grid-Ready Energy Analytics Training (GREAT) with Data initiative will provide training for engineers and computer scientists related to power system operations and technology (OT) and information technology (IT) tools used for an advanced electrical power system. The program will also develop standards, certifications, credentials, and qualifications for the training and education necessary for the electric utility industry.
The program will specifically address workforce skills in data science, information and communication technologies, cybersecurity and the integration of distributed energy resources.
“The engineers of today and tomorrow need to understand the tools and analytics necessary to make sense of the intersection of OT and IT that is transforming the grid,” EPRI Principal Technical Executive and GREAT project lead Tom Reddoch said. “This project is about growing and supporting that workforce with the skills they need to be successful.”
The project will also include the establishment of five strategic regional training hubs across the United States. These hubs will prioritize, guide and customize content development, feedback and training to support regional workforce needs.
Utility participants on the project development team include: American Electric Power, Austin Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Con Edison, Duke Energy, Entergy, FirstEnergy, Lincoln Electric System, Portland General Electric, Riverside Public Utilities, Salt River Project, Snohomish Public Utility District, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Western Area Power Administration.
Collaborating universities include Stony Brook University; University of California, Riverside; Virginia Tech; and Washington State University.
EPRI plans to launch the GREAT initiative by the end of the year. The five-year program will build upon the existing GridEd program, which helps train and recruit power systems workers and develop university curricula for engineers and computer scientists.
The grant received by EPRI is the largest of seven awards for workforce initiatives provided by DOE for the SETO FY2018 funding program. The projects aim to prepare the solar industry for the digital grid of the future and increase the number of veterans and other talent tools participating in the solar industry.
The other workforce initiative grants include $800,000 for the Midwest Renewable Energy Association; $600,000 for Blue Lake Rancheria; $800,000 for Safer Foundation; $1,250,000 for Illinois Green Economy Network; $2 million for the Solar Foundation; and $46,500 for the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA).
The Solar Foundation will launch a new program to create solar industry apprenticeships for veterans and develop a scalable model to enable future training. PEA will use its funding for its Find Your Power initiative, a solar training program for Philadelphia youth, and will establish a three-year Clean Energy Program of Study for high school students.
“The Philadelphia Energy Campaign has already created hundreds of jobs for Philadelphians through programs like Solarize Philly,” Philadelphia City Council President Darrell L. Clarke said. “This $1.25 million award will prepare Philadelphia’s young people to be first in line for family-sustaining, in-demand clean energy jobs.”
In total, DOE provided $53 million in funding for 53 projects through the SETO FY2018 funding program for projects in three areas: Improving and Expanding the Solar Industry through Workforce Initiatives; Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development; and Photovoltaics Research and Development. The projects span 21 states and the District of Columbia and include research to increase grid resiliency in Puerto Rico.
“Innovation is key to solar’s continued growth in our nation’s energy portfolio,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said. “It increases our energy diversity and reinforces our ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy. Developing new skills through workforce training is critical to expanding job opportunities in the renewable sector, which is why we are following through on our program to reach out to military veterans with new projects that will target this committed workforce.”
