Two Spots Left in Virtual Microgrid Boot Camp!

ACEP will soon host its third annual Microgrid Boot Camp May 10-14, 2021. Previously a hands-on learning experience at ACEP facilities on the UAF campus in Fairbanks, the boot camp this year is held in an online format due to coronavirus restrictions. It remains a collaboration between ACEP and the Laboratory for Energy And Power Solutions at Arizona State University.

The course was originally developed by LEAPS as part of the Naval Enterprise Partnership Teaming with Universities for National Excellence program, an energy research project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, to break new ground in alternative energy employment for student veterans. The original course has been adapted to address challenges in the Alaska energy market with location-specific examples for northern climates and policies. 

ACEP’s intensive five-day training focuses on technical, economic and regulatory basics of microgrids in Alaska. The target audience is undergraduate students enrolled in the ACEP Utility Student Internship program but additional spots are available for utility members, city and tribal councils, housing authorities, trade schools and programs, and industry personnel. The camp has space for up to 15 participants, and interested parties can contact us for enrollment.

ACEP researchers, ASU collaborators and Alaska energy experts are engaging with the participants and sharing their expertise. Sessions include microgrid design activities, a virtual Power Systems Integration Lab tour and demonstration, and an Alaska Energy Authority powerhouse tour. Group collaboration exercises and virtual hands-on learning activities, including an exercise using a game-based microgrid learning tool, will be part of this year’s boot camp.

The boot camp is outfitting participants with the knowledge and skills to prime them for online-based summer internship project work with rural and Railbelt utilities, many of which have started the process of integrating renewable and alternative energy sources into their grids.

The Microgrid Boot Camp is funded by a generous grant from the Office of Naval Research. See camp details at https://ausi.alaska.edu/microgrid-boot-camp/. Check out the boot camp’s “Training Alaska’s Next Energy Workforce” video.

For more information on the ACEP Microgrid Boot Camp, or to register please contact Heike Merkel at hmerkel@alaska.edu.

 

Heike Merkel teaches 2019 Microgrid Boot Camp participants at ACEP’s Solar Photovoltaic Test Site in Fairbanks. Photo by Amanda Byrd.