At left, Pedro Azarga, CEO of Avangrid, stands in front of an Avangrid Turbine, which will be used in technician training; at right, Azarga speaking at the opening ceremony June 25. The natioanl training facility is located in Sherman County.
At left, Pedro Azarga, CEO of Avangrid, stands in front of an Avangrid Turbine, which will be used in technician training; at right, Azarga speaking at the opening ceremony June 25. The natioanl training facility is located in Sherman County.
MORO — The grand opening of the Avangrid National Training Center (NTC) in Sherman County signifies a growing investment in renewable energy in the Northern Oregon region. Avangrid, a global leader in renewable energy and a member of the Iberdrola Group, developed, owns and operates 14 wind farms in Sherman, Gilliam and Klickitat counties and currently has more than 60 full-time technicians and employees. The NTC is one of two globally and will attract employees and wind farm technicians from around the world.
The state-of-the-art training facility is expected to train more than 200 wind farm technicians annually, creating opportunities for standardized training in a simulation environment.
“This new facility will be key to executing our commitment to accelerating a clean energy transition,” says Pedro Azarga, CEO of Avangrid. “It will help us bring new wind and solar technicians up to speed quickly and efficiently, and empower the hundreds of technicians currently operating our onshore fleet to become experts in their field.”
The cornerstone of the NTC is the 30-foot-tall rescue tower, which allows technicians to practice techniques required in an emergency in a controlled environment. During the grand opening, head technician Brian Schmuck demonstrated an emergency rappel. “What we just did on there, we can’t do right now [off a turbine],” says Schmuck. In his 18 years with Avangrid, Schmuck has never had to use the techniques demonstrated, but the establishment of the NTC shows Avangrid’s continued commitment to the safety of its employees and long-term investment in Sherman County.
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