NC Electric Cooperatives Nominated for CleanTech Innovation Award

Watch students from Athens Drive Magnet High School STEM Academy during their visit to North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives.

A partnership between North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives and Athens Drive Magnet High School’s STEM Academy was recently nominated for the first-ever Cleantech Talent Initiative Award from the Research Triangle CleanTech Cluster. The award is meant to recognize and honor individuals and organizations driving cleantech innovation in the Triangle region.

North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives established the ongoing partnership with the Raleigh academy in fall 2018 as a long-term workforce development initiative to build student awareness of career opportunities in the energy industry and at electric co-ops.

By partnering with the academy, we are preparing students for successful careers and making an investment in the future of our industry

About 50 seniors from the academy visited the Raleigh office of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives in 2019 to learn firsthand about technology concepts applied at electric co-ops, including solar arrays, electric vehicle charging and microgrids. Employees of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives have also visited classrooms to give an overview of electric cooperatives and their work to provide power to communities throughout the state.

“By partnering with the academy, we are preparing students for successful careers and making an investment in the future of our industry,” said Lauren Liles, human resource specialist for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, who also serves as a member of the STEM academy’s advisory board and RTCC’s Talent Action Committee. “We’re honored to receive this recognition and proud to continue supporting STEM education, clean tech and our local community.”