7/15/09

LRCC’s Energy and Services Technology Program Receives $190,000 Federal Grant

Photo: Pinkham Solar Services, Owner, Christopher Pinkham, installs a solar hot water system on a southern New Hampshire home. Pinkham taught LRCC’s new “Solar Thermal Installation Training” class at LRCC last fall that filled quickly. LRCC has just been awarded a $190,000 congressionally- directed grant to further develop the College’s Energy Services and Technology Associate Degree and Certificate programs. This is LRCC’s first-ever EST program grant.

Lakes Region Community College (LRCC) has just been awarded a $190,000 (one hundred ninety thousand dollar) congressionally- directed grant through the 2009 federal budget, the first grant of its type ever received by the Laconia college. The new grant will be used to bolster LRCC’s newest Associate Degree Program, Energy Services and Technology (EST), by providing a state-of- the-art energy efficiency laboratory, equipment, supplies, software and hardware, and the creation of a regional library of reference materials, books, and digital media open to the public.

"The new EST grant allows LRCC to further develop its leadership position in energy education and training," says LRCC President, Dr. Mark Edelstein (Laconia), a long-term advocate for alternative energy and energy conservation himself. "College personnel are pleased to have been chosen to receive such a significant grant. The funds will be used judiciously and the benefits to New Hampshire business and industry will be substantial over the years."

Graduates of LRCC’s EST Program, the first of its type in New England, prepares individuals to move into positions such as energy auditors, analysts, building operators, resource conservation managers, technical service representatives, measurement and verification technicians, and many other related professions. Transfer opportunities are also available for graduates to continue for a Bachelor’s Degree in environmental science, engineering, and industrial and municipal planning.

One year ago LRCC EST Department Coordinator, Wes Golomb (Deerfield), and Prescott Farm Audubon Center Executive Director, Scott Fitzpatrick (Concord), created a partnership where Golomb’s students installed solar panels at the Prescott Farm environmental education center on White Oaks Road in Laconia as part of LRCC’s Solar Photovoltaic’s Installers course. "By having the College’s students install the solar panels and learn about renewable energy, it is a win-win situation for everyone, a great partnership," says Fitzpatrick. "Future classes will have a laboratory to experience at Prescott Farm." Fitzpatrick anticipates that the installed solar panels reduce the Farm’s energy usage by 50%.

In November 2008 UNH professors, Ross Gittell and James Carter presented a study of the promise of "Green" jobs in the New Hampshire economy. Key findings were:

• "Green" jobs are projected to grow over the next 10 years to account for about 8% of all New Hampshire jobs
• The average annual earnings in “Green” industries in New Hampshire is $54,400, 23% above the average annual wage in the State

Gittell concluded, "What’s needed to make this happen is a change in mind-set, coupled with changes in community college curriculums that train –and retrain – people to work in the coming green economy."