SHERMAN COUNTY, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, this week welcomed the first class of students at its newly-built National Training Center (NTC) located in Sherman County, Oregon. The state-of-the art facility was built this summer and is located near many of the Company’s existing wind and solar facilities. Ten newly hired Avangrid technicians from five different states make up the first cohort and will go through two-and-a-half weeks of safety and technical training.
“We are thrilled to officially welcome the first students to our National Training Center,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “This is an excellent example of our commitment to the health and safety of the hundreds of women and men working at our renewable energy projects. They are at the forefront of America’s clean energy transition, and a big reason why Avangrid is leading the way.”
The facility will help Avangrid bring new wind and solar technicians up to speed quickly and efficiently, while empowering hundreds of current technicians to become experts in their field.
Students will receive unrivaled access to industry-leading training. For example, they will practice on Avangrid’s 30-foot-tall fall protection tower to learn how to handle emergencies while working at heights, empowering trainees to master proper safety protocols in a safe place before working on a turbine. They will get hands-on training on a variety of components pertaining to a wind farm, solar plant, or high voltage installation, including access to a completely intact nacelle (top of a wind turbine) for practicing maintenance and troubleshooting in a real-world environment.
“I was born and raised working on motors, mechanic stuff,” said Karsen Coats, a new wind technician at Avangrid’s Barton Chapel wind farm in Texas. “Looking to my future, I wanted something that would be a good career path. I saw a lot of opportunities moving into wind and I feel like I was capable of moving up.”
Clean energy jobs grew at double the rate of the rest of the U.S. economy in 2023, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy. With the NTC, Avangrid is well-positioned to address this growing demand for highly skilled renewable energy jobs and expects to train over 100 wind and solar technicians annually.
Avangrid’s training program was developed in accordance with guidelines from the American Clean Power Association. Additionally, Avangrid is seeking certification from the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) to ensure technicians are meeting global industry safety standards.
The NTC is located near many of Avangrid’s 14 existing wind and solar facilities, with a combined operating capacity of about 1.6 GW, and represents additional investment in the region.
Interested media can find b-roll from the NTC and soundbites from wind technicians here.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $45 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens – in 2024 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
