Yusef Orest is the new Member Services director at Arrowhead Electric Cooperative. Orest will oversee load management activities as well as the cooperative’s conservation and energy efficiency programs.
Yusef Orest is Arrowhead Electric Cooperative’s new Member Services director. As Member Services director Yusef will oversee load management activities and the cooperative’s conservation and energy efficiency programs.
He has an interesting and varied past, and he was happy to share some of it with the Cook County News-Herald.
“I was born in California, but raised in Starbuck and Morris, Minnesota. My family and I recently returned to the West Central area after spending the last eight years in the Twin Cities metro area where I worked at the local electric cooperative there. Now we have made a move north – and we are especially glad to be here on the North Shore. My family and I are looking forward to both the great social and outdoor adventures to be had here in Cook County!”
“During my career in the energy industry, I have primarily dealt with biomass, solar, and wind energy projects. I have some experience with coal, gas turbines, and co-gen plants as well. I started my energy career at the West Central Research and Outreach Center working on the biomass plant and wind power project – all as an undergrad economics student at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM).
“After graduating from UMM in 2006, I went to work for a wind energy resource consulting firm called WindLogics (Saint Paul, MN). At WindLogics I was tasked with overseeing the Customer Service and Sales Support teams; bridging the gap between customers, the sales team, and the engineering and consulting teams. While WindLogics was most known for conducting wind resource assessment work (computer modeling the predictable wind speed and pattern at remote locations anywhere in the world), I also collaborated with some of the biggest wind development and utility organizations in the world on energy generation projects and real-time energy market pricing and hedging projects.
“In 2010 I left WindLogics to go to work for Juhl Energy Inc. (Pipestone, MN, and Minneapolis, MN). Juhl Energy has been around since the early 1980s working on Community Wind projects. Local members own those types of developments; primarily the landowners involved in the plan’s footprint, but also community members from the local area. This novel and now industry standard development and ownership model paved the way for many successful non-utility owned energy projects in Minnesota and nationally.
“While at Juhl Energy, I served as a project manager and worked on projects across the country. Most notable are Grant County Wind near Hoffman, MN; GL Wind for Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI., and Community Wind of Winona, both near Lewiston, MN; and RP Wind for Honda Transmission Company in Russell’s Point, OH.
“Before coming to Arrowhead Cooperative I served as the Member Services Manager at Agralite Electric Cooperative in Benson, MN. That position was focused on energy management, load management, and conservation activities much like the position here at Arrowhead Cooeprative.
“I am excited and grateful to join the team here at Arrowhead Cooperative, and I am looking forward to using my experience in the energy industry to help the cooperative to continue its history of excellent service and community involvement.”
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