Clean Energy Innovator Fellows will gain work experience at critical energy organizations with projects to decarbonize the electricity sector and enhance grid resilience
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
October 12, 2023
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Clean Energy Innovator Fellows in 17 States, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Will Gain Work Experience at Critical Regional, State, Utility, and Tribal Energy Organizations with Projects to Decarbonize the Electricity Sector and Enhance Grid Resilience
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that 29 recent graduates and early career energy professionals have been matched with critical energy organizations across 17 states, as well as D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to support efforts to advance clean energy solutions. They are the latest cohort in the Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship, a unique workforce development program that provides fellows with on-the-job training and professional development opportunities while their hosts receive support to accelerate the transition to clean electricity and improve grid resiliency. Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and will support a wide range of projects covering topics including clean energy integration, expanding electric vehicle charging, Tribal energy sovereignty, distribution-level grid services, and grid resilience and energy planning in Puerto Rico.
“This innovative fellowship program gives emerging energy professionals hands-on experience developing tangible solutions to the climate challenge,” said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “The organizations announced today as hosts are on the front line of implementing President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and crucial to ensuring communities across the country have access to affordable, reliable, and resilient power. We’re proud to support their efforts while building a skilled, diverse clean energy workforce.”
“Expanding and modernizing our country’s electric infrastructure is critical to achieving our clean energy goals,” said Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office. “To support these activities, we need a skilled clean energy workforce. Opportunities like the Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship program allow us to develop the next generation of transmission planners, engineers, analysts, environmental scientists, and more to ensure we’re on the path to good-paying jobs, a stronger grid, and our collective clean energy future.”
The competitively selected fellows, who will start in Fall 2023, have a wide range of backgrounds in the energy and environmental sectors. For instance, they include analysts of wholesale and retail electricity markets and distributed energy resources; interns with utility companies and clean energy organizations; arborists; and city planners, as well as professionals with environmental and natural resources agencies. Of the 29 fellows in the class of 2023, 15 have earned a bachelor’s degree, 9 hold master's degrees and 5 have a Ph.D. or JD. Most fellows completed degree requirements in environmental studies or engineering, while others represent fields including political science, business, and law; several fellows pursued interdisciplinary programs in the physical and social sciences. The fellows will receive a stipend and an educational allowance, as well peer-to-peer learning opportunities and professional development support.
2023 Host Institutions include 14 public utility commissions, 3 municipal utilities, 3 rural electric cooperatives, 5 Tribal entities, and 2 essential energy organizations in Puerto Rico. These organizations were selected for diversity across programmatic areas, geography, and the impact of their projects and will host fellows for one to two years.
The 2023 host institutions are:
- Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians | Oregon
- Austin Energy | Texas
- Blackfeet Community College | Montana
- Blue Lake Rancheria | California
- Colorado Public Utilities Commission
- Cooperativa Hidroeléctrica de la Montaña | Puerto Rico
- District of Columbia Public Service Commission
- Great Lakes Energy | Michigan
- Illinois Commerce Commission
- Lansing Board of Water & Light | Michigan
- Longmont Power & Communications | Colorado
- Louisiana Public Service Commission
- LUMA Energy | Puerto Rico
- Maryland Public Service Commission
- Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
- Michigan Public Service Commission
- Migizi EDC/Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
- Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
- New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
- New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
- Public Service Commission of South Carolina
- Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
- San Carlos Apache Tribe | Arizona
- Trico Electric Cooperative, Inc. | Arizona
- Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. | Colorado
- U.S. Virgin Islands Public Services Commission I St. Croix
The Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship is supported by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Grid Deployment Office and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE).
Learn more about the Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship and the 2023 hosts and projects.
Learn more about DOE fellowship and internship opportunities.