Energy industry expanding, demand for skilled workers is high
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rkansas’s energy industries – in both traditional and newer forms—are expanding, and that growth is providing additional opportunities for workers with the right skills. Bill Halter, CEO of Scenic Hill Solar in Little Rock, said future growth in the industry will come from individual consumers and from commercial accounts, such as cities and businesses turning to solar power to help cut their energy costs. “There are residential deployments in Arkansas and they are growing, but they are growing from a relatively modest base,” he said. “Costs of the systems have come down dramatically; we can deploy a solar power plant today for 20 percent of the cost of what it was seven years ago.” In just three years, Scenic Hill has developed two of the largest commercial solar projects in the state. One, a solar farm in Clarksville, Arkansas, includes 20,000 solar panels over 42 acres to help power the city and the other, 4,000 panels on eight acres, helps power the L’Oreal plant in North Little Rock. “These are multi-million-dollar projects and you can certainly expect to see a lot more of these in the future,” Halter said. Solar programs are also being deployed by traditional utilities companies as a way to broaden their reach to customers. Michael Henderson, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas is also president and CEO of Today’s Power, ECA’s solar subsidiary. He said the opportunities for growth in the alternative energy market are considerable, provided the proper expertise is available to staff it. Henderson said electricians are in particularly high demand in the solar industry, as the sun’s rays are being captured and converted to electrical power. “Over half of our employees are licensed electricians, because we want people who know electricity, who know wiring, who can help troubleshoot when we are commissioning the system,” he said. “As for the people putting the racking up, we don’t require electricians for that, we require people who can operate machinery to put pilings in the ground and people who are used to using leveling equipment. On a 10-acre farm, you can’t be more than two inches off of what it’s supposed to be, or the whole system is off. Precision is really critical.” Even while alternative energy sources grow, it won’t be enough to derail traditional electrical companies anytime soon. In fact, Entergy is doubling down on technology in Arkansas, swapping out all of its residential meters for new, smart meters that will provide customers an amazing range of functions. “Entergy, as a corporation, is investing billions of dollars into grid modernization,” said Michael Considine, director of distribution operations. “Over the next three years, we are going to be replacing the meters on all 720,000 customers we have in the state. [The new equipment is] going to be a two-way communication device that will allow us to read the meter a lot more than we currently do.” Recruitment of employees never stops, and Entergy is helping create custom “boot camps” to help ensure new workers get off on the right foot. In partnership with area colleges and other electrical companies, these boot camps will lead to in-house apprenticeship programs that typically last four years.
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BLUEPRINT | 2018 | ARKANSAS TIMES