During Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) Midwest, Digital Editor Krista Simicich spoke with Brent Buchberger, Vice President of Project Development at Summit Ridge Energy, about the company’s growth, its approach to workforce development, and his take on the challenges currently shaping the industry.

Buchberger laid out two main reasons Summit Ridge showed up to this conference, and the first one had nothing to do with pipeline numbers or new partnerships. It was about people.

As a private company building projects in Illinois communities, he doesn’t think the responsibility ends once construction wraps.

“If we’re not building a sustainable long-term pipeline of talent and providing a long-term career path here in the state, I feel like we’ll have failed,” he said. “The goal is not to just come in, build a project, and disappear. The goal is to establish something more sustaining.”

Read more: IESNA Midwest, by Krista Simicich