The New York Power Authority has partnered with the Energy Storage and Microgrid Training and Certification Program to establish New York State as a major training hub for workforce development.
The Power Authority is providing ESAMTAC with $75,000 “so that it can deploy a groundbreaking virtual reality experience to train New York energy sector workers in rapidly advancing clean energy technology,” NYPA said on May 17.
NYPA, the first public power utility in the country to participate, will be offering enrollment into the groundbreaking virtual reality training exercise to its qualified union technicians and electricians.
The Power Authority’s partnership with ESAMTAC follows legislation enacted by New York Governor Kathleen Hochul in the 2023-24 State Budget, which includes authority for NYPA to contribute up to $25 million annually to the Department of Labor for workforce development in the renewable energy sector.
“As interest in energy storage and microgrids continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, New York needs to fully implement a dedicated and technology-savvy workforce training and certification program to meet the demand,” NYPA said.
ESAMTAC is expanding from physical labs to now include a virtual reality lab experience that will enable trainees to participate in the course and certification exam completely online.
The Power Authority will join with ESAMTAC in its ongoing collaboration among market-leading companies, governmental agencies, academic institutions and organized industry.
ESAMTAC has been providing advanced training and certification in the safe and effective installation and maintenance of energy storage and microgrid systems to licensed electricians since 2017.
