Hello Civil and Environmental Engineers!

My name is George Fennell, and I’m the lead officer of Global Renewables Infrastructure Development (GRID). GRID is a registered student organization that works on designing, optimizing, installing, financing and assessing the societal impacts of renewable energy systems, with a specific focus on projects that advance equitable access to electricity.

We’re recruiting new members! On Friday, October 7th at 9:00am, we’ll host an on-boarding meeting to provide an overview of GRID,  discuss the projects mentioned below in greater detail, and answer questions. If you’re interested in joining, please fill out this short (~1 min) form [forms.gle] so we can send you the zoom link. Even if you can’t make the meeting, we’ll send you a follow-up email with a recording, more details about current projects, and a link to our slack page so that you can get started.

We have five project groups ready to expand:

• The Test Bed Team is working on establishing a testbed solar system to allow students to practice installing solar panels. GRID has permission from the Clean Energy Institute to install on their rooftop.
  • We are looking for a Power System Installation Lead! The position will involve project management, ordering and installing hardware, and
• The Sizing and Optimization Team is working on a sizing software to calculate what kind of solar systems are needed for different communities. No prior coding experience is required, only an interest in renewable energy technology.
  • We are looking for students interested in participating in the Department of Energy Solar District Cup! This will involve taking a detailed description of a building which could benefit from solar energy, and delivering a conceptual system design, an impact summary, and a financial model.
• The Business Team networks with the renewable energy community. They have organized a GRID mixer for this October to give several renewable energy organizations at the UW an opportunity to mingle. They also create cost estimates and identify revenue sources for projects.
• The Social Impacts Team is working to establish and ensure effective and ethical communication with partner communities. They are currently updating our solar kit user manuals for improved accessibility and self-sustainable troubleshooting, and writing about survey systems used during past projects.
  • We are looking for a social scientist to help design and improve surveys!
• The GRID Medium Team writes articles and publishes them to the GRID medium page. Check out some articles the team has published here! [medium.com]
  • This winter we will elect a new GRID Medium Officer! We are actively recruiting new writers and editors for our Medium publication.

We are also very interested in new projects, research, and partnerships. We are trying to recruit members to help a Puerto Rican agricultural producer or small business apply for a USDA REAP grant [rd.usda.gov], and to help explore opportunities to cooperate with the NWIC’s engineering program. If you have an interest in renewable energy and an idea for how your background or connections may be applicable, we’d love to hear from you!