Energy Transition For All
The scholar's phrase et al. is no longer exclusively academic. That same denotation (from the Latin meaning 'and others') now embodies the current approach of climate advocates in the energy industry. As part of an extensive energy initiative from the American Clean Power association called ET4All, a number of companies are launching energy platforms and programs designed to further integrate renewable sources.
ET4ALL's mission, as fostered by ACP, reads:
Clean energy is continuing its growth towards becoming the predominant source of electricity in the United States. Our industry should lead in responsibly managing that growth – for our workers, communities, and in the pursuit of a diverse and inclusive sector. This initiative is our Energy Transition for All.
The pillars of the ET4All initiative are:
Expanding opportunity for workers
Creating Value for Communities
Leading in Diversity and Inclusion
The following programs are highlighted on ACP's ET4All page; and they include some heavy hitters of the power industry:
Invenergy's Reactivate, a community solar energy platform to build out solar projects in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities. Pattern Energy's DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusivity) Council, supporting employee-led Affinity Networks, Dominion Energy's annual Careers in Energy Diversity Student Conference to educate women & minorities about career options.
Pattern Energy implemented a range of initiatives focused on enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusivity. Examples include launching a DE&I Council, supporting employee-led Affinity Networks, publishing a Statement of DEI Commitments, hosting a DE&I Month, conducting a staff engagement survey focused on DEI topics, and requiring leadership to take unconscious bias workshops.
Since 2019 Dominion Energy has held an annual Careers in Energy Diversity Student Conference bringing in hundreds of women and minority students from across the country to expose them to and educate them about career options within the energy industry. Students interview and compete for paid summer internships, many of which ultimately lead to full-time job offers upon graduation.
Duke Energy has built a robust pipeline of diverse candidates by setting and publishing goals of growing the share of women in the workforce to 25% and people of color to 20%. To achieve these goals, it has integrated HBCUs into recruiting activities, conducted employee surveys to identify and address DE&I shortcomings, and set supplier diversity targets that have led to a spend increase on diverse suppliers of 10% per year (~$100M).
Clearway Energy’s West Virginia Pilot Apprenticeship Program provides $20,000 to cover wages and education for former coal workers or their family members to get trained as wind technicians.
Enel Green Power has a workforce retraining partnership with Texas State Technical College (TSTC) and Innovation Partnership with AdeptID to focus on (i) workforce retraining programs for oil and gas workers, and (ii) machine learning analytics for inclusive job mobility. Enel is combining its partnership with TSTC and AdeptID to identify non-obvious, high-likelihood transitions such as renewable energy, specifically for roles that don’t require college degrees.
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