From certificates of proficiency to master’s degrees in science, students across Delmarva are plugging into a new field of technology – renewable energy.
As the demand for green energy solutions rises, the need for education in related systems and practices grows, as well, and local colleges and universities are responding.
Salisbury University, Delaware Technical Community College, the University of Delaware, Wor-Wic Community College and many other establishments of higher education are training a generation of students to respond to and reduce the country’s energy crisis.
“Our nation is experiencing intercontinental heat waves, crop debilitation, depleting water supplies,” explained Donald Nicholson, technology department head at Wor-Wic. “We’re trying to reduce our dependence on coal, oil and gas, and we’re not going to make any progress on reducing emissions ... until we learn to produce renewable resources and sustainable energy.”
Education in the production of these resources and energy types commenced at Delaware Technical Community College during the fall of 2010, in light of a new and rapidly growing demand for solar and wind power, and other green technologies.
“There has been a need for a while to meet the energy demands of the local industry, so it’s a community response,” said David LaFazia, department chair of energy technologies at DTCC near Georgetown, Del., of the institute’s energy programs. “The need ... was growing to the point where we had, really, a responsibility to start the program.”
To meet two very different needs in the community, DTCC now offers two full associate’s degrees – in energy management and renewable energy/solar.
The energy management program, which began in the fall of 2010, includes courses in sustainability, lighting, alternative energy technologies and energy efficiency, which prepare students for positions in energy auditing, program coordination and facility management.
Skills acquired during day, evening and hybrid courses in the field are often put to practice in commercial auditing, or the monitoring and assessment of efficiency in buildings and complexes.
“[You’re] basically saying, ‘You can save money here,’ ‘This technology is worth investigating for your situation,’ or ‘This technology is not worth investigating,’” said LaFazia, explaining how commercial auditing works.
Knowing which technologies will be most beneficial to various clients comes easily to DTCC students, due to their experience with an on-campus wind turbine and energy house. The four-faced house, which displays numerous technologies for energy efficiency, illustrates low- and high-cost green changes that can be made to a home or business.
DTCC’s other energy program focuses on solar energy and targets students interested in becoming solar installers or technicians. Electrical, construction and solar classes, partnered with hands-on experience in solar labs and on-campus solar installations, serve as preparation for entry to a growing job market.
Internships and interviews also assist those studying renewable energy in acquiring a job following graduation, if not prior to it.
“Businesses come to us and say, ‘Who do you have?’ We’ve had them do interviews with students and choose the students that they think are the best suited for particular jobs,” said LaFazia. “[The interviews] prepare students very early on, not only for who they might want an internship with, but also build up their portfolio and interviewing skills.”
Just a few solar panels and wind turbines south of DTCC, Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Md., also offers two green associate’s degrees, in environmental technology and environmental science transfer.
During the programs’ beginning in September 2010, 56 different courses were intertwined to constitute six different disciplines and 11 degrees and certificates of proficiency within the department of environmental technology.
“We did a search of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and we found out that there are many two- and four-year programs that are environmental science, but they’re all science-based programs, and what we found out is that there was an opportunity for a technology-based program,” said Nicholson, explaining his department’s origins.
The curriculum, which is based on analog and digital electronics, combines courses in construction, electricity, wind turbine studies, geographic information systems and solar power to help students build a strong foundation in renewable energy systems and installation.
Nicholson highlighted a great interest in reducing emissions among the public.
“These skills already exist in a lot of other occupations,” he said. “The different components of renewable installations are going to have to use technology that already exists. They are things we work on all over Delmarva all the time.”
The interest in green courses proved to be equally expansive. According to Nicholson, the wind turbine class for the fall 2011 semester filled up in just eight days, and second sections of other classes had to be added entering the third semester of the program.
Depending on the amount of time they can dedicate to their education, partnered with their career goals, Wor-Wic students can employ the letter of recognition, certificate of proficiency or associate’s degree they earn in the design, installation, operation and repair of renewable energy systems.
Despite the current lull in job openings across most sectors of the economy, Nicholson was optimistic about position availability in the energy field.
“Pretty soon, senators and delegates are going to come to our door and say, ‘Where’s your product? What have you been doing? We better get moving!’” he said. “There’s a gigantic employment market. ... Each wind turbine has 8,000 parts in the head – how many jobs is that?”
Each of the colleges and universities that offer energy training programs on Delmarva is dedicated to practicing what they teach on their campuses. A part-time consultant hired at Wor-Wic instituted energy-reducing practices that saved the university $209,431 in electricity and natural gas costs between February 2010 and April 2011, according to Nicholson.
Salisbury University and the University of Delaware are among several other institutions that offer similar renewable energy training programs. Salisbury’s environmental studies program has an additional focus on stewardship and can be taken as a major or minor. Courses include environmental responsibility, environmental and natural resource economics, and a hands-on internship.
The University of Delaware hosts similar courses in their bio-resources engineering program, which contains a four-year undergraduate program in engineering technology and a graduate program that offers a master’s degree in bio-resource engineering.
So, what’s the takeaway from all of this? People can invest in a brighter, cleaner tomorrow by pursuing an education in renewable energy today.
