Educating Educators

	Michelle Dreier

Submitted by Michelle Dreier, Director of Member Engagement & Government Affairs

Electrical Association recently participated in Minnesota State Energy Center of Excellence’s Energy CTE Conference called E3 Energy Education for Educators. Educators had a phenomenal experience learning about careers in energy.

On day 1, we started off the day with an introduction to energy provided by Logan Schrader. Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) then provided a great presentation on generation, distribution and transmission. Educators learned about the changing sources of generation and the movement towards a cleaner, reliable interconnected grid. Minnesota happens to be part of the largest electric transmission system by land mass in the nation. MISO connects 15 states from Louisiana to the Dakotas and also the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Then the group hopped on a bus for a whirlwind of tours including Great River Energy for a discussion on wind energy, lunch at TruNorth Solar, and Xcel’s hydro plant at St. Anthony Falls. Did you know our sole Minnesota hydro facility was built in 1908 originally to power the street cars in the Twin Cities?

Day 2, we toured University of St. Thomas’ Microgrid research center and Hennepin County’s HERC where solid waste is converted to energy prior to receiving an incredibly in depth look at electric vehicles from MN State Transportation Center of Excellence. Did you know that electric vehicles have been around since the early 1900s? MN CERT also walked educators through the variety of information available on their website.

Schools from Wadena, Osakis, and St. Paul were represented. Besides the knowledge that was shared as part of the two day event, educators walked away with several hands on kits to use in their classrooms. The entire group was energized as a result of the great work presented by Minnesota State Energy Center of Excellence and Logan Schrader!