dway@heraldsun.com; 419-6654
HILLSBOROUGH -- Credit the sunny disposition on display at Durham Technical Community College's Orange County campus on Saturday to an economic solar flare -- Duke Energy has donated a quarter-million dollars to launch a sustainability technologies certificate program in the fall that will evolve into a diploma-granting venture.
"The green economy has significant support at the federal and state levels and particularly here in Orange County," Bill Ingram, Durham Tech president, said to about 50 onlookers and dignitaries.
"Community colleges must take a leadership role in educating and training" the work force for green technology, Ingram said, and Durham Tech is out front in "preparing workers for these skills." He said the college has "taken many important steps . . . to be competitive and ready" for environmental sustainability.
"We are thrilled that Durham Tech will be leading the way in sustainability education at its Orange County campus with its new sustainability technologies program," said Ken Kernodle, district manager for Duke Energy Carolinas.
"It's so right and so fitting for Orange County," Kernodle told the crowd, which was sipping on -- what else? -- sun-brewed tea.
"We think that Durham Tech's Orange County campus and Orange County will be positioned as a leader in the state" for green initiatives, Kernodle said, just before presenting Ingram with an oversized check for $249,000.
Part of the reason for all the excitement is the looming introduction of innovative classroom instruction, Valarie Evans, Durham Tech's vice president for student learning, development and support, told the audience, which showed its support for the renewable energy mission with bursts of applause.
A 150-square-foot solar array atop the branch campus's roof will enable students to study a residential solar energy configuration. A 450-square-foot solar array on the front lawn will be used to instruct students on an industrial photovoltaic system, Evans said.
A solar photovoltaic installation certificate will be the first step of the new classroom initiatives. Energy use analysis and solar photovoltaic system installation will comprise the course offerings, according to Evans. Electricians or employees working under an electrician's supervision are the likely students for those classes.
A renewable energy diploma and sustainability technologies associate degree will be offered as the program grows in the future, she said.
Getting to this point involved a year and a half of preliminary work, according to Greg Mimmack, Durham Tech's program director for electronics engineering technology. The next step is for solar energy firms to bid on contracts to provide the equipment and materials for the solar systems. Several local companies expected to become bidders had displays set up in the parking lot to educate visitors about their firms and products.
The Duke Energy grant will help the community college to improve employment, wages and sustainability in the area, Mimmack said.
Mimmack led tours through the classrooms where students will be able to work on residential and commercial solar technologies, including installation procedures and monitoring energy efficiencies.
"It's a dual use. It provides some revenue and an educational use," he said. Duke Energy will buy the power generated by the college's solar arrays at 6 cents above its sale price, or manufacturing companies that generate carbon dioxide can purchase the units as an environmental offset.
In addition, the companies that provide the equipment will allow students to get hands-on experience with their field crews for several weeks.
Mimmack said there will be five classes this fall with up to 12 to 15 students per class.
"No projections yet on the numbers," he said, "but a lot of interest. I don't think we'll have any problem filling the classes."
Orange County Commission Chairwoman Valerie Foushee praised the program as a way to complement commissioners' desire to move the county away from "gray technology."
"We have the opportunity and responsibility to embrace" green technology through the college's work force training, Foushee said.
