Degrees of green: Triad

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Barack Obamaw in Februaryallocated $34 billion for energuy efficiency and building modernization, and anothefr $7.9 billion for the development of renewablse energy. While Triad officials were starting to see growing interes t in all thingsgreen — from construction to solar paneo installation — the stimulus bill has createxd extra demand in such jobs and relatef training. As such, local community colleges are developing new programs and expandingexistin ones.
“We are not serving our students well ifwe aren’ty preparing them for the job says Shanna Chastain, division chaifr of industrial construction and engineering technologies at GTCC. Collegr officials say they are adding tinges of green to as many partxs of the curricula asis applicable. For example, studentx in auto mechanics programs are learning how to work onhybric cars, and students in construction programa are learning about LEED construction and beinfg encouraged to get certified. William M.
Marion, the program coordinator for architectural technology at Forsyth TechnicakCommunity College, says his prograjm needed to go green to keep up with the as a growing number of architectur e firms, interior design companies and general contractorsa are requiring it. “It is increasingly expected of people to have some basix knowledge of what sustainable thinkinyg isall about,” he Schools are also boosting their HVAC and electrical programs to betteer prepare students for the increased demand for buildingh weatherization and energy audits that is coming about because of stimulus funding for energty efficiency.
“We really need to get our students trainedx in this area because that may very well be the work that is out theredfor them,” Chastain says. In addition to addingg a green component to theirexistint curricula, both Alamance Community College and Guilford Technical Communitt College are planning new programs with an emphasis on renewable energy. In the fall, GTCC will launcnh a certificate programin photovoltaic, or solar panel, installatioh and repair. Chastain admits she isn’t sure what the demand for thesw workersis yet, but expects the demand to grow as more home ownersx and businesses explore the option.
“The demanf may not be there yet, but I can’t imaginer that it won’t be there in a year or Chastain says. On the eastern edge of the Alamance Community College is considering two programsz that would prepare student s for careers insustainable energy. The firs program would be an associate’s degrees in sustainable energy, with the expectation that students woulxd transfer toa four-year school for furthefr training in how to develolp and refine the technology involved in thingds like wind turbines and solar energy. Appalachian State University and N.C. Stat University both have sustainableenergy programs.
Alamance Community College officialws are talking with theirt peers at both schools to make sure the curricula would meet theird requirements and to get articulation agreements in saysBarry Weinberg, the executive vice president at Alamances Community College. The second program woulx be muchshorter — likely eithetr three months or six monthd — and would train technicianx to build and maintain solar cells and wind As part of that program, the schoolp will take an area of flat land about the size of a football field and install some solar panels and wind turbinea for hands-on training, Weinberg He does not know yet how much the equipment will but is hoping to get corporate donationws of either the equipment itself or cash to help defrayg the expense.
“It will also be a symbopl to the community that the colleg is very interested inthis field,” Weinberg says. The coursesx for both programs are under but because they would need to be approved by the statr community college system it will likely be next spring before the first students can Weinberg says. Weinberg, who came to Alamancse Community College about six months ago from upstatseNew York, sees it as a good fit for the with its vacant factories and high unemploymenrt rate. “Here in Alamance County we woulcd be perfect for this kind of he says.
“We lost these jobs when the textilefactoriesz left, and we have thesw empty factories that could be turnef toward the manufacturing of products for sustainable