Renewable energy installations generate large amounts of data. In a typical wind or solar farm, each individual turbine and each solar module has its own communications signal. This data is managed through a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which organizes the data so that technicians can analyze the information to inform system operations and maintenance decision making. To put this in perspective, NextEra Energy, the world’s largest renewable energy producer, receives over 20 billion data points from over 4,000 wind and solar installations in a single day! Unfortunately, due to workforce limitations of knowledge and bandwidth for processing this data, the renewable energy industry is challenged to extract the value from this data stream, and to put the information to use in optimizing the management of wind and solar installations. Join presenters from NextEra Energy and the CREATE Energy Center as they discuss a new educational initiative funded by the National Science Foundation to address this important workforce need.  Madison Area Technical College will also share information on the creation of their virtual workshops for high school and community college faculty and the network of 900+ teachers across all 50 states

The presentation will be led by James Auld, Director of External Training Initiatives for NextEra Energy and Florida Power & Light and Dr. Kenneth Walz, Director of the Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education at Madison Area Technical College.

For more information or to register, email staff@cewd.org.

The scope and pace of energy transition in the United States depend on the interplay between technology and workforce. The changes in the workforce may exacerbate existing inequalities, skills shortages, and talent pipeline challenges. They may dramatically impact certain segments and form new ones in a sector that’s already undergoing a broad digital transformation, which the pandemic accelerated. At the same time, these challenges will create opportunities for power companies to develop a new image, operating model, and culture to attract and retain talent. This panel of leaders from Deloitte’s Utilities and Renewables Practice, will explore how the core and broader power sector would grow and the workforce composition would change to meet Biden’s target to decarbonize the power sector by 2035. We will then delve into novel analysis of the growing gaps in the digital skills required in the power sector and what can be done to address them. Finally, we will discuss how power companies could rebrand, retrain the existing talent, and recruit from new talent pools to achieve this transition. CPE credit: This program is CPE-eligible for 2 credits, if you participate in the full session. (Attendance will be tracked by responses to knowledge check questions provided throughout the course. Responses are submitted through the Zoom Meeting platform. All knowledge check questions must be answered in order to receive full credit.) Presenters: Deloitte’s Carolyn Amon, Brad Denny, Jim Thompson

For more information or to register, email staff@cewd.org.

Please join us on August 18^th, 4:00-5:30 PM EST to explore diversity in hiring in the neuro diverse community.  Autism Speaks representatives Valerie Paradiz and David Kearon will educate you on the world of employing those with autism – defining what it is, what it is not, exploring the types of jobs their constituency has seen success in, and learn how they help train and educate not only the candidate, but also the hiring managers and supervisors.

Kathy Hardy from Kelly Discover, will demonstrate the numerous barriers to entry that exist in traditional hiring stages that systematically eliminate even the bravest of Autistic candidates from your group of finalists.  The benefits to having them as employees are many, the barriers to entry are effectively keeping them out.  She will share how adjusting your hiring efforts to include eager candidates on the Autism spectrum can positively affect your company’s success.

And finally, Marji Morris and Jeremy Kelly from Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will discuss firsthand how they have successfully hired and retained an employee with autism.  They will share not only their passion for hiring from this diverse and talented community, but actions they have taken in areas of workplace accommodations, training, coaching for both the employee and staff.

We are also looking forward to hearing from several members of the autistic community.

For information or to register, email staff@cewd.org.