Last week, Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s battery technology for home and business, which will allow consumers to store solar energy so they don’t lose power if the grid goes down, and allow businesses to store and use renewable energy so that they can avoid peak demand charges from utilities or keep operations running in the event of a power outage.
The need for innovative technologies to make the grid smarter has emerged as a major trend as it becomes more difficult for the grid to keep up with an increase in electrical power demand worldwide. If Tesla delivers on its promise, this could represent a major shift in the way we use and reuse energy.
While wind energy, hydropower and electric vehicles are currently making substantial progress within the renewable energy industry, it’s solar energy that has stepped into the limelight recently.
The Administration just last month announced an initiative that aims to train 75,000 people, including veterans, to enter the solar workforce by 2020 and the private sector is creating new jobs every day too.
In order to ensure the workforce that will fill these jobs are adequately educated, renewable energy training programs need to incorporate training and curriculum that aligns with new innovative technologies, like Tesla’s battery systems, into their existing training programs.
Fortunately, we’re already seeing this at many local technical training schools.
Students should start with a basic understanding of topics related to the field of electrical energy, such as AC and DC power circuits, power transformers, rotating machines, AC power transmission lines, industrial controls, and power electronics.
Specialized training in more complex subjects is also needed. Subjects like home energy production from renewable resources, generator technologies, smart-grid technologies (SVC, STATCOM, HVDC transmission, etc.) and storage of electrical energy in batteries will be imperative for folks training to become the technicians who make it possible for consumers with a Tesla Powerwall Home Battery to sell back the energy they don’t use to the smart grid, offsetting their costs while ensuring utilities can meet demand.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, last year the solar industry installed 6,201 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics and 767 MW of concentrating solar power in the United States – enough to power the equivalent of about 1.4 million homes. This number is only expected to increase, which likely means great promise for the renewable energy job market.
As the industry continues to evolve and innovate, educators will need to incorporate teaching tools that accommodate the advances made.
What else do you think is necessary for today’s renewable energy engineering and training programs?
