Cyberguardians Training: Introduction to Distributed Energy Resources in the Electrical Grid

Course Cost: $895 (scholarships available for qualifying military veterans)

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Course Format [27 Course Hours / 9 Weeks]: This is an online course with pre-recorded weekly lectures. Other learning activities include reading assignments, quizzes, videos of narrated PowerPoint presentations, discussion forums, and an individual project.

Course Description: The nation’s electrical energy generation sources are rapidly transitioning from large central generation plants that burn fossil fuels to distributed generation systems (often located on rooftops) that use renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaic. Important standards and regulation, like IEEE 1547-2018 at the federal level or California Rule 21 or Hawaii Rule 14H at the state level, are driving development agenda.

This course is an introduction to Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in the electrical grid and the standards that inform DER deployment. The course requires no prior knowledge of the topic and is intended for students who are interested in exploring technical (e.g. engineering, chemistry, software), professional (e.g. architecture, marketing, finance), and operational (e.g. accounting, logistics) careers in the rapidly growing distributed energy industry. Students will acquire a foundation in the basic electrical concepts that are needed to understand the more detailed considerations associated with DER in the grid. The course will also provide detailed insights into topics concerning DER interconnection standards and regulations, DER networking standards like IEEE 2030.5, and cybersecurity. Key DER technologies such as solar, wind, energy storage, and electric vehicles are also covered in more depth.