A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory finds that while there is likely to be a significant shortage of wind energy workers in the coming decades, impactful opportunities exist to close the wind energy workforce gap. The National Wind Workforce Assessment: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Needs builds on past reports looking at the wind energy workforce gap, which found that wind energy employers had difficulty hiring both entry- and non-entry-level employees, and entry- and non-entry-level job seekers had difficulty landing jobs in wind energy-related careers.
By identifying the potential impacts that collaborative partnerships, adequate training, and other key actions can have on workforce trends, the report outlines steps that will be necessary to bridge the gap.
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DOE announced $12 million available from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to improve planning, siting, and permitting processes for large-scale renewable energy facilities, including wind energy. The Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) program works with state-based entities to develop and expand statewide initiatives that provide expertise, trainings, and technical resources to local governments and communities as they plan for and evaluate large-scale renewable energy and energy storage projects. This second solicitation follows the recent announcement of the first six state collaboratives to receive a total of $10 million under the R-STEP program.
DOE’s Innovation Interconnection e-Xchange (i2X) and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced their intent to fund the Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) for Clean Energy Interconnection and Energization program, which will award $6.5 million to distribution utilities to pilot innovative solutions for managing renewable energy interconnection and electric vehicle charging equipment energization queues. DOE is seeking feedback from distribution utilities on the proposed program structure through a set of market research questions by May 2 at 5 p.m. ET. A request for proposals for the program is expected to open in the coming weeks.
Also hot off the i2X presses is the newly released Transmission Interconnection Roadmap, which explores ways to improve interconnection processes to enable the integration of clean energy sources to the transmission grid.
In other interconnection news, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released their annual report assessing the current state of transmission interconnection of clean energy projects across the United States, including wind energy projects. The report highlights the growing backlog of new power generation and energy storage projects in interconnection queues, challenges faced in speeding up the interconnection process, and potential solutions to help integrate these projects to meet the growing clean energy demand.
The U.S. Department of Energy invites remote and island communities aiming to address their energy resilience challenges to apply to the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP). Communities will create and pursue energy resilience projects defined by their local priorities and goals, using technical assistance from strategic energy analysts at DOE national laboratories and regional partner organizations. Applications are open through July 10. Visit the ETIPP application page to learn more and register for the April 24 webinar.
Megan Culler grew up with a successful aerospace engineer mother who worked full time while raising two children—so, she knew “having it all” was never off the table. Culler, a Power Engineer and Researcher for Idaho National Laboratory, greatly benefited from powerful female influences throughout her scholastic and professional careers, teaching her about career development, education paths, and work-life balance. Learn how she is paying it forward.
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Conference: April 22–25, 2024, New Orleans, LA
Hosted by Oceantic Network, formerly the Business Network for Offshore Wind, this offshore wind energy conference features panels and presentations from DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, Grid Deployment Office, Loan Programs Office, and our national laboratories. Look out for a keynote from Deputy Energy Secretary Turk on Wednesday! And don't forget to stop by DOE’s booth #2001 to meet the team and learn more about DOE's latest research and newest offshore wind initiatives.
Conference: May 6–9, 2024, Minneapolis, MN
The American Clean Power Association’s annual conference will feature panels, presentations, workshops, and poster sessions on the renewable energy industry, including land-based wind energy, offshore wind energy, distributed wind energy, solar power, energy storage, and transmission. Come see us at booth 627, and check out DOE’s Collegiate Wind Competition 2024 final event taking place at the conference in Hall A.
Conference: May 13–15, 2024, Sacramento, CA
Join industry leaders, federal and state officials, and key stakeholders in shaping the future of offshore wind on the West Coast. Speakers will include Offshore Wind Energy Lead for DOE Jocelyn Brown-Saracino.
Conference: May 16, 2024, Sacramento, CA
Join us as the Departments of Energy, Interior, Commerce, and Transportation bring together states, tribes, and offshore wind stakeholders to discuss progress to-date in our second summit for the Floating Offshore Wind Shot—an all-of-government effort to promote a clean energy future by driving U.S. leadership in floating offshore wind design, deployment, and manufacturing.
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