URI Energy
Fellows focus on green energy
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| Savannah Harik and Max Bliss |
“Energy is extremely important;
nothing can operate without it,” said Bliss, a rising junior majoring in civil
engineering and Spanish. “For developing countries, my vision is to bring
renewables to increase their energy independence.”
The first step toward his goal was
becoming a URI Energy Fellow, which has enabled him to spend a year working for
Wind Energy Development, a North Kingstown-based company that partners with
private landowners to build wind turbines, including at sites in Coventry,
North Kingstown and Portsmouth.
“It’s been a really good introduction to the wind industry,” Bliss said. “I’m learning so much every day about the industry and how these systems work and how they can be better designed and better built. It has cemented in me that the energy industry is where I want to end up.”
A resident of Portsmouth, Bliss spends his days
assessing potential wind and solar energy sites to determine how much energy
could be produced, how nearby shading might affect solar panels, how turbine
sounds might affect residents, and other factors that could affect a potential
installation.
Bliss is one of eight Energy Fellows
working at companies, government agencies and other organizations on a wide
variety of energy issues, from renewables and energy efficiency to green
building design and energy education.
Established in 2007, the program meets
the growing need for experiential learning opportunities for students
interested in addressing real-world energy issues from a sustainability or
efficiency perspective.
“Over the course of a full year
students complete a strategic blend of classroom and experiential training,”
said Kaylyn Keane, who coordinates the program at the URI Extension Outreach
Center.
“Energy Fellows learn key professional and core skills, gain expertise
in the clean energy sector and are given real-world opportunities to test and
solidify what they have learned.”
Savannah Harik, a rising senior majoring
in geology, is a URI Energy Fellow working at Optimal Energy, an energy
consulting firm in Providence.
She is spending her days researching and writing
an educational handbook about energy efficiency for one of the firm’s clients,
the Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council of Rhode Island, whose
members are appointed by the governor to provide oversight to utility-sponsored
energy conservation and efficiency programs.
She said she had little knowledge of
the energy industry prior to becoming an Energy Fellow, but she applied for the
fellowship in an effort to take advantage of every learning opportunity placed
before her. And she’s glad she did.
“I had never had any experience with
energy policy or anything in that realm, so it’s been really interesting to see
how government and energy providers work together,” she said. “It’s been a lot
of work, but I now have a good grasp of the issues, so it’s becoming a bit
easier for me.”
In addition to her time at Optimal
Energy, Harik said she appreciates the additional learning experiences offered
by the Energy Fellows program, including professional development workshops,
periodic field trips and weekly get-togethers with the other fellows.
“It’s been exciting to learn that a
lot of people I’m meeting in the energy industry actually studied geology, so
it’s not far-fetched that I could end up working in the energy world,” she
said. “Grad school will probably come first, but a career in the energy
industry is a possibility.”