Renewable energy reshaping utilities
Solar energy, particularly distributed photovoltaic (PV) generation, drives more full-time utility employment than any other renewable generating resource, according to research conducted by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and ScottMadden Inc., which looked at how renewable energy is reshaping utilities' organizational structures across 14 utilities.
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As increasing levels of solar, wind, geothermal and biomass are integrated onto the grid, utility hiring is impacted. In fact, the 14 utilities surveyed averaged 41 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees per 100 MW of PV interconnections vs. 12 FTEs per 100 MW of total renewable capacity.
With renewable energy affecting the way utilities are structured, utilities must address three states of internal reorganization in order to meet the technical challenges of renewables integration, according to SEPA, developing new areas of expertise and departmental structures, often working across traditional groups and job functions.
The first stage, according to the research, is a reactive one in which the utility has a limited number of distributed solar interconnections or is beginning to meet a state-mandated renewable energy targets. The utility reacts to changing situations and needs as they arise while maintaining traditional organizational structures.
Stage two is when the utility becomes more proactive in its internal restructuring as its number of renewable interconnections increases. Dedicated renewable energy groups are formed with staff from existing groups, and renewables are integrated into strategic planning and business development.
Finally, with high numbers of interconnections, both distributed and utility-scale, in stage three renewables are no longer a niche, but a core organizational component seen as a source of business opportunities with very little differentiation from that of other resource procurement.
"Utilities are finding that they must have the same willingness to innovate and collaborate on internal restructuring as they are applying to the technical challenges triggered by solar and other renewables," said Julia Hamm, SEPA's president and CEO. "These changes also underline the critical need for a well-trained workforce combining top technical and business skills."
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http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/renewable-energy-reshaping-utilities/2014-09-26