Eden Exchange Program: Jennifer's visit to the UK

Earlier this year, I took my first flight across the Atlantic Ocean to the UK where I visited our lovely office in the heart of London. Though I have never taken this trip before, the last three and a half years have prepared me for every step of the way.

The Duke Street office was my home base during my 14-day trip. Each morning, I ate English breakfast at my hotel and either walked the mile to work or took the tube two stops.

At the end of each day, my colleague Jack asked what my lesson of the day was. I learned so many things from this trip and from my colleagues in London. Here are my top 10:

1. Eden UK solar farms are bigger than Eden US solar farms. Because of differences in planning policy and project economics, our solar farms in the UK are up to ten times the size of our community solar farms in New York.

2. Cross-continental coworkers are not a small screen in real life. In the last three and a half years, I’d only ever seen most of my international coworkers via a small box on Zoom. It was a wonderful experience to meet them in person.

3. The UK postal system is similar enough to the US one that it makes sense yet different enough to get confused. As it turns out, London has first-class and second-class stamps. One first-class stamp got my letter all the way to my grandma's house in only three weeks.

4. Although the UK is a much smaller country than the US, Eden’s UK projects can be a long way from the office. It took my colleague George a 16-hour train ride to get to Bettyhill wind farm. In comparison, our current projects in Upstate New York are mostly within an hour's drive of our office in Troy.

5. The London office uses a sophisticated mapping tool to layout projects. The tool allowed me to put virtual solar panels in fields and buildings to determine how much capacity could go in one location.

6. Presentations need careful preparation. I assisted George in selecting questions for his upcoming school presentation while preparing myself to give a similar virtual presentation to students in a nearby school.

7. When talking to students for the first time, make sure you know all of the ins and outs of the project in their area. They are smart cookies with an assortment of intelligent questions.

8. Dim Sum is delicious! Growing up in the middle of New York State, I had never had dim sum but there was a place across the street from the office that I went to twice during my visit.

9. The London office likes to play musical desks.

10. Knowledge is power. As the most senior member of the coordinating team, I was able to work through processes with the team and explain how certain processes came to be over the years.

After work, my coworkers showed me around London’s architecture and historic landmarks including Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Shard. Together, we won a game of Life-Sized Monopoly, saw Phantom of the Opera at the West End, and ate at the most authentic restaurants.

Though now I am back to only seeing my international colleagues on little Zoom squares, I am so excited to visit again in the near future.