Summer students learning the ropes at OPG

This summer, Alex Dallas has been busy putting classroom theory to practice while assisting with a proposed renewable energy project to be located in a First Nations community.

Dallas, who is heading into his second year in the Sustainable Energy and Building Technologies program at Toronto’s Humber College, lent his fledgling expertise to a proposed microgrid project that seeks to ease a remote community’s dependence on diesel generation.

The initiative will look to reduce fossil fuel use through the installation of solar panels and energy storage. Should the project proceed, construction would begin in mid-2018.

“As I’m going to school for sustainable energy, it was really cool to see how that works,” said Dallas, who is a member of the Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island.

Dallas is one of five Indigenous students working at OPG this summer, gaining valuable skills and making a real difference. Working in OPG’s Indigenous Relations department, Dallas says helping Indigenous communities while laying the foundation for his future career has been a rewarding experience.

“It’s definitely more work than I expected, but it’s been very interesting,” he said. “I have gotten to see how OPG is actually involved in Indigenous communities.”

In addition to his work on the microgrid project, Dallas has assisted with many different files, including doing extensive research into federal and provincial funding opportunities. He has also helped organize OPG events for National Aboriginal Day and the John Wesley Beaver Memorial Awards, which are given to two exceptional Indigenous students each year.

His ultimate dream? To work full-time in the energy sector, putting his education in sustainable building and renewable energy technologies to good use.

Meanwhile, at R.H. Saunders Generating Station, fellow summer student Amanda Jacobs is already living her dream.

Last fall, the welding student at St. Lawrence College was walking a trail in Cornwall with a friend when they came upon the sprawling hydroelectric station on the St. Lawrence River.

“One day, I’ll be working there,” she recalls telling her friend. Just a few short months later, Jacobs began her placement at the Saunders facility just as she promised.

Jacobs, who is from the nearby Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne, will be heading into the second year of her two-year welding program in September. The hours she is racking up at Saunders GS will count toward her apprenticeship.

Aside from practising welding, Jacobs has learned a lot while working with a crew of experienced mechanical technicians at the station. She’s directed a crane operator to help clear river debris, diagnosed and serviced air conditioning units, and helped maintain the station’s eel ladder. She has also travelled to the Iroquois dam west of the Saunders station to help with lifting gates.

“I have my hands in everything and I like that because it’s opening my eyes to other possibilities.”

With many of her family members working in the construction field, Jacobs says they would all be ecstatic if she landed a full-time job at Saunders GS after graduation, particularly “because it’s so close to home.”

“I really love it here so far,” she said. “Once you get your foot in the door, you can go in many different directions."