EDPR North America (EDPR NA) has opened the doors of its first Technician Training Facility in Illinois, in the US.
The employees who qualify at the Bloomington training hub will be tasked with keeping more than 470 operational utility-scale and distributed generation wind and solar assets running safely and efficiently.
“EDP Renewables’ Technician Training Facility will empower hundreds of aspiring technicians with the knowledge needed to harness the boundless potential of solar and wind energy, reinforcing our commitment to creating jobs that grow our economy and safeguard our planet,” said US Senator Dick Durbin.
“This is the kind of partnership we need to tackle the climate crisis head-on.”
Bloomington serves as a strategic setting for the training centre.
It is located near to EDPR NA’s seven operational Illinois wind farms – Bright Stalk, Harvest Ridge, Rail Splitter, Top Crop (two phases), and Twin Groves (two phases) – and near many of the company’s other major projects.
EDPR NA has been producing more than 1.2GW of clean energy in Illinois since 2007 representing a $2.5bn capital investment and has continued to expand its operations in the state, enabled by the support of the local community.
Given the recent expansion of federal economic incentives, EDPR NA is expected to develop 3GW-4GW of new operating assets every year for the next few years.
“EDPR NA will be focusing on defining excellence in how solar and wind technician training should be performed and on setting the standard for the quality of technicians that graduate from the program,” said EDPR NA chief executive Sandhya Ganapathy.
Ganapathy added: “We’re excited to be giving this vital workforce a space for ideas to flourish, skills to be honed, and for our collective transition to a sustainable future to gain even more momentum.”