Degrees of green: Triad

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by Presideng Barack Obama in Februaryallocated $34 billion for energy efficiency and buildingf modernization, and another $7.9 billion for the developmentg of renewable energy. While Triad officiales were starting to see growing interest in all thingsxgreen — from construction to solar panel installation — the stimulusd bill has created extra demand in such jobs and relatedx training. As such, local community colleges are developing new programs and expandingexistingb ones.
“We are not serving our students well ifwe aren’t preparing them for the job market,” says Shanns Chastain, division chair of industrial construction and engineering technologiees at GTCC. College officials say they are adding tingesd of green to as many parts of the curricula as is For example, students in auto mechanics programs are learniny how to work on hybrid and students in construction programs are learning abouyt LEED construction and being encouragefd to get certified. William M.
Marion, the program coordinator for architecturall technology at Forsyth TechnicalCommunity College, says his programk needed to go green to keep up with the as a growing number of architecturw firms, interior design companies and general contractorsx are requiring it. “It is increasingly expectee of people to have some basic knowledge of what sustainablee thinking isall about,” he says. Schoolse are also boosting their HVAC and electrical programs to better prepare students for the increasedr demand for building weatherization and energyt audits that is coming about because of stimulusa funding forenergy efficiency.
“We really need to get our studentas trained in this area because that may very well be the work that is out therewfor them,” Chastain says. In addition to addinb a green component to theidrexisting curricula, both Alamancer Community College and Guilford Technical Communit College are planning new programs with an emphasis on renewables energy. In the fall, GTCC will launcyh a certificate programin photovoltaic, or solar panel, installation and Chastain admits she isn’t sure what the demande for these workers is yet, but expects the demand to grow as more home ownerzs and businesses explore the option.
“Thw demand may not be there yet, but I can’tg imagine that it won’t be there in a year or two,” Chastainj says. On the eastern edge of the Triad, Alamance Community College is considering two programx that would prepare students for careers insustainable energy. The firsrt program would be an associate’s degree in sustainablre energy, with the expectation that students would transfer toa four-yearr school for further trainin g in how to develop and refine the technology involved in thingas like wind turbines and solar energy. Appalachian State University and N.C.
Stat e University both have sustainable energy Alamance Community College officials are talking with their peers at both schools to make sure the curricula would meet theidr requirements and to get articulation agreementszin place, says Barry the executive vice president at Alamance Communitg College. The second program woulcd be muchshorter — likely either three month s or six months — and wouldx train technicians to build and maintain solar cell and wind turbines. As part of that the school will take an area of flat land abour the size of a football field and install some solar panels and wind turbinesfor hands-on Weinberg says.
He does not know yet how much the equipmengtwill cost, but is hoping to get corporate donations of either the equipment itself or cash to help defra the expense. “It will also be a symbol to the communitty that the college is very interested inthis field,” Weinbertg says. The courses for both programs areunder development, but becausd they would need to be approved by the state communitu college system it will likel y be next spring before the first students can enroll, Weinbert says. Weinberg, who came to Alamance Communityt College about six month ago from upstate New sees it as a good fit for the with its vacant factories and highunemploymenty rate.
“Here in Alamance Countgy we would be perfect for this kind of he says. “We lost these jobs when the textile factories and we have these empty factories that could be turnef toward the manufacturing of products forsustainablwe energy.”