Students doing lab work on small equipment.

The field of "green technology" encompasses a continuously evolving group of methods and materials that will lead to innovation and changes in daily life-changes comparable to the information technology explosion. SCC's Advanced Technology Department, with the support of Los Rios Community College District, is assuming the challenge of educating a "green technology" workforce.

"Community Colleges are a major source of preparation for the workforce," said Advanced Technology Dean Donnetta Webb. "Green Technology is where the jobs are going to be and we're going to have skilled labor shortages at the same time we're bringing on new technologies."

Los Rios Community College District is launching the "Greenforce Initiative" to create new programs of study that prepare students to work in such growing fields as solar technology, energy efficient building design and construction, biofuels, and alternative energy.

Outdoor Thermal Energy Storage System.

SCC faculty in the Advanced Technology Division are moving forward in revising curriculum to promote clean/green methods for sustainability. Advanced Technology programs, such as Electronics, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Aerodynamics, and Mechanical Electrical Technology (MET) are being re-aligned to meet current industry standards and needs.

"Green Technology means shifting emphasis from petroleum to planet-friendly alternatives which require the same technology and skill as the older technology," said Electronics Technology Professor Mel Duvall, who teaches a Photovoltaic (solar) panels class. "The steps remain the same, but we have a different active ingredient."

Photovoltaic panels line the roof of one of SCC's largest buildings. This site provides SCC electronics students the opportunity to learn about photovoltaics on a working solar system. These solar panels generate enough energy to keep the lights on in one of the campus's largest buildings, or to provide energy to three large homes.

According to SCC HVAC Professor Tom Kalber, teaching to energy-efficient standards is not reinventing the wheel; what he and the other department professors are teaching their students are skills needed in old, new and upgraded buildings. Many upgraded facilities are much the same as the old but new computer monitoring systems allow peak efficiency by adjusting energy levels according to the needs of the building.

 
High Efficiency Chiller.

Students in the HVAC Program are learning how these new computer systems interface with both old and new facilities. They also learn how to install the new systems as well as maintain and fix the facilities. According to Kalber, SCC is the only community college training at this level with a full-blown operating system.

The SCC building that houses the HVAC program is heated and cooled by an energy-saving computerized system that saves on manpower and reduces labor costs, benefitting the college's bottom-line while giving the students an opportunity for hands-on operating system training in a state-of-the art facility. According to Kalber, a large building can cut its costs in half just by having a tune-up that includes an energy efficient system.

The Aeronautics Department offers a course on how to manufacture Bio-Diesel from waste cooking oil that has been collected from such places as the campus cafeteria. Students learn the theory and then actually make 40 gallons of Bio-Diesel that can be burned in any vehicle that has a diesel or a jet engine. Aeronautics is also looking at the components of wind energy (windmills), which uses the same apparatus as an airplane propeller and requires many of the same skills for use and maintenance.

Students looking at Energy Management
A/C Control Systems Simulator.

The Mechanical Engineering Technology Department (MET) is working on a certificate in building commissioning and re-commissioning (going into existing buildings and making sure they meet current standards). This program will draw new students as well as be an intensive re-training for technicians already in the workforce. They are also developing major changes and expansion of the current Water and Wastewater Treatment Career Certificate to meet current and future workforce needs.

"For this green revolution to continue, departments cannot stand alone but must work as a team in order to create a marriage between intellectual and practical skills," said Duvall. And that's exactly what's happening all over campus-formally and informally.

The MET department is collaborating with the Bio-Chemistry Department to develop courses that are part of the MET program. These MET courses will have more information on biodiversity, ecological diversity, and other issues of environmental awareness that underlie our efforts to provide clean energy.

Students working on small refrigeration unit.

CRC's Institute of Architecture and Construction Technology and SCC's MET Department collaborate on programs and courses to ensure a full spectrum of curriculum to be offered to support green technologies. SCC and CRC will reach out to middle and high school students to promote Building Trades-Clean technologies.

When it comes down to it, though, said Duvall, "It takes a lifestyle change. It's not just having the right "stuff" but an ethic of wanting to be environmentally aware that's applied appropriately." It's that underlying ethic-that shift in consciousness-for which education aims to be a catalyst. This will be a shift that remains long after energy prices level off and the gas pump has lost its shock value.