Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: County Government
Policy Areas: Economic and Community Development/Environment
This summer I interned at the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change (OECC.) As a Climate Data Assistant, I am working on transferring utility bills to EnergyCAP software, troubleshooting the data issues to maximize the data accuracy. With the high-quality data, I could utilize the Portfolio Manager Program to benchmark the Dane county buildings at national levels and to provide more solid evidence for applying for more funds/grants in implementing Climate Action Plan. Another main task is to follow the county solar panel accounts and figure out approaches for the public to access the real-time generation data in daily life. I also researched the difference among local, state, and federal governments’ policies on renewable energy deployment. Our office also has weekly meetings to check in the progress and bi-weekly deep discussion about the current issues in deploying climate change solutions. These regular tasks and meetings enhanced my patience and carefulness, formulated my priority, and combined both quantitative analysis of utility bills and qualitative analysis of current decarbonization strategies. In terms of technical skills, I am more familiar with the two software after working with OECC. In terms of interpersonal skills, I am more confident in talking with different stakeholders and staffers at different levels. Even though most of my tasks are tackling problematic bills, I improved my communication skills and policy understanding by addressing questions from my tasks shortly and researching the policy differences at different administrative levels.