UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Gabriel Schaefer’s professional journey began in the third grade with his desire to get out of school early and be outside in nature. Schaefer described watching with envy as his best friend left for Scouting America outings — he had to join in. The experience set into motion a lifelong love for the environment and a passion for protecting the natural world.
Schaefer was born and raised in Effort, Pennsylvania, located in the Pocono Mountains about two hours north of Philadelphia, and his interest in the sciences and engineering continued to grow leading him to attend Penn State.
In 2021, he earned his degree in energy engineering from the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering and since then has been employed by Blattner Energy as a field engineer helping build solar plants from the Eastern to the Midwestern United States.
“I've always had a fascination for the sciences, said Schaefer. “I loved watching ‘Mythbusters,’ taking apart toys and putting them back together, so I naturally became curious about engineering. But it wasn’t until I became involved with an ecology conservation competition in high school that I understood that energy engineering could be a career option for me.”
At Penn State, Schaefer said, he credits his participation in The GREEN program, a short-term study abroad opportunity through the College of Earth and Mineral Science, which took him to Iceland, as one of his most formative experiences.
“We had a glacier hike that traced where the glacier had receded over the past 15 years,” said Schaefer. “We all hear about climate change, but seeing the actual impacts from that global perspective was very powerful. It helped me truly understand how important this work is.”
Another significant influence, he said, was his time as the sustainability director for the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments. For two years, he worked on student concerns, from food waste in the dining halls to ways to add more renewable energy at the University. Working through various student perspectives and properties was an invaluable experience, according to Schaefer.
“Everyone has ideas, and it’s important to listen with an open mind because that’s how you find solutions,” said Schaefer. “Being able to collaborate and critically think through problems in that environment has been a big leg up for me. I work with crews that fly in from across the U.S., and we constantly need to share ideas and quickly resolve any issue that pops up so we can stay on schedule.”
As an electrical field engineer at Blattner Energy, he often works 10 to 12-hour days on location as a go-between the central engineer team who designed the plant and the location crew. Depending on the size of the project, it can include several years-long phases, such as preliminary site preparation and construction. Usually, team members are assigned a trade — either civil, electrical or mechanical — and stay on-site until their phase is complete before moving their separate ways. Schaefer primarily works on the construction phase, ensuring the farm meets engineering specifications and is ready for commissioning.
His current project in Indiana is a 200-megawatt solar plant, which Schaefer estimates will include approximately 470,000 panels. It’s his third project after working on two 20-megawatt plants at his previous position. According to Schaefer, the industry considers 20 megawatts small scale, but it’s still enough to power over 15,000 average homes. A 200-megawatt solar plant could power approximately 150,000 homes.
Large or small, the jobs involve managing many details, timelines and people. Even something as small as zip-ties used for cable management can slow down the project.
“Every day, we have production numbers that we should be hitting, like how many panels per day or how many feet of cable we have to put in the ground,” said Schaefer. “In a perfect world, we would just follow the original blueprint, but something always comes up. So, every day I’m problem-solving and supporting the guys on the ground to take the client’s vision and make it a reality.”
Schaefer said that the days may be long and hot, but seeing the power turn on is worth it.
“When it comes to the point where we start putting power to the grid, actually see those production numbers and have nothing go wrong, that's pretty satisfying,” said Schaefer. “To know that I’m helping both that local community and the entire world by phasing out harmful, old power systems is special. It’s hard to put into words how rewarding it is to know I’m making a positive impact towards a healthier, more renewable future.”
With three solar farms built and an internship analyzing solar facilities production data under his belt, Schaefer said he his growing into his career and is excited about the future as more solar plants come online across the United States.