A new amendment to the 2009 energy bill is designed to fund job training at community colleges in renewable and alternative energy fields.

This amendment, sponsored by Senator Wyden (D-Ore.) would authorize $500 million ($100 million per year for five years) to ensure that workers are ready to create, install and maintain wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects. Once passed, the bill authorizes the Department of Energy to fund programs at 1,200 American community colleges, with half of the funds going towards schools who already have strong programs in place. 

A letter sent on Monday by National Wildlife Federation to Senators Bingaman and Murkowski, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, supported the inclusion of provisions for community colleges and stated, "This amendment would establish a community college-based training and education program for sustainable and alternative energy technologies such as wind energy technicians, energy auditors, geothermal energy technicians, and energy efficient construction."

Organizations such as NWF and the American Association of Community Colleges also point out that this amended bill supports education and training for workers in sustainable agriculture and farming. Recent articles in ClimateEdu and the Chronicle of Higher Education have explored the issue of teaching sustainable agriculture, but focused on liberal arts schools like Warren Wilson College and the University of Montana. Community colleges have largely stayed out of the farming arena (Central Carolina Community College being one of a few notable exceptions), but may soon be able to take advantage of federal funds for such projects.

However, such a day is still far off. The New York Times reports that the bill is still in early drafting stages, and due to the inclusion of mandatory limits on carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade market, lacks Republican support.

Our own Xarissa Holdaway has a story at WorldChanging that describes how some California community colleges are experimenting with green-collar training programs.

In many regions, early reports suggest there are not enough workers to meet demand for wind, solar and geothermal projects, while some states find the opposite: that there are more trained professionals than there are jobs. A report from the National Council on Workforce Education states,

"[M]any jobs that are currently, or predicted to be, in demand are ‘middle-skilled’ jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree. It is important to note that although there will be a growing number of new green occupations requiring new knowledge, skills, and abilities, it is expected that the majority will be transformed from existing jobs, requiring a redefinition of skill sets, methods, and occupational profiles."

To more accurately predict when and where workers will be required, not to mention training these workers, she reports that community colleges are turning to local organizations and pioneering a new collaborative model that can "respond to trends in clean and green technology." One such project, the New Energy Workforce (NEW) Initiative, a partnership between Bay Area community colleges and regional workforce investment boards, is able to conduct courses, research employment opportunities, and share successful curricula between schools. 

Kitty O'Doherty, convener of the NEW project, says, "This is a call for new levels of collaboration. We convened the Workforce Investment Boards and the colleges in our region in February, and both groups are extremely committed. They [WIBs] are going to have the funding to place people in these jobs, and we're going to have the training. The common mission of preparing individuals for meaningful careers and creating a well-qualified workforce for our region is a very compelling motivator."

Ball State university, long a leader in climate action (and frequent sustainability conference host), has just approved drilling almost four thousand closed-loop wells to heat and cool the campus. Ground-source heat pumps use constant ground temperature, which is cooler than the surface in summer and warmer in the winter, to save energy and cut carbon emissions. The university hopes to drill the first well after commencement this May.

What's most interesting is how the project will be funded:  The university already had $40 million from the state legislature to replace aging and inefficient boilers, but received no bids for the project, even as the cost of the upgrade rose to $60 million. Now, BSU will ask the state budget committee to re-apportion the money to the ground-source heating project.

The project could eliminate the 85,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by the current boilers. It also has the potential to decrease university operating costs, reduce dependence on coal and natural gas market fluctuations, eliminate other air pollutants, and allow the university to sell carbon credits. BSU also hopes it will create about 870 jobs, though not all will be permanent.

We talk a lot about geothermal, because the paybacks for a properly installed ground-source heating system are bigger than most conservation measures and even some renewable energy sources. The majority of energy consumption on campus buildings goes towards heating and cooling. Richard Stockton college, using a closed-loop system similar to the one that Ball State proposes, cut its electricity consumption by 25% and its natural gas uage by 70%, saving approxiamtely $330,000 in energy costs per year after an initial investment of only $5 million. BSU's plan is much more ambitious, and could lead to the biggest ground-source heating installation yet in the United States.

In case you haven't heard, geothermal and ground-source heat mining are pretty hot right now -- though someone needs to come up with a catchier title for the latter, we think.

In short, geothermal electricity comes from using scalding groundwater to power turbines and generate electricity, and ground-source heat pumps use the temperature of the earth to heat buildings in the winter and cool them in the summer (although electricity from another source is necessary to power these pumps, they are often more efficient than traditional HVAC systems).

Location really determines the potential for using these technologies. Oregon Institute of Technology, geologically-blessed as it is, has identified enough geothermal energy to power its entire campus off superhot groundwater, and is already in the process of doing so. Other colleges, lacking that resource, are experimenting with ground-source heat-pumps, both open- and closed-loop.

We covered both types last fall, with a three-part series on geothermal and ground-source heat. The first piece describes electricity-generating geothermal installations (like the one at OIT), the second explains ground-source heating/cooling, and the final story breaks down some of the most interesting campus examples of ground-source heating, with figures on cost, energy savings, and drawbacks. 

As we were researching these stories, we found that these systems are not only complicated, but also very sensitive to the geology of their region, making a universal, fool-proof process, particularly for ground-source heating, hard to implement.

Bill Johnson notes in an article for Facilities Manager that "the state-of-practice shows high geothermal system failure rates, particularly in large-scale applications. This is especially true for open or standing column well designs, which require specialized geologic and hydrogeologic expertise."

Since a university definitely qualifies as a "large-scale application," what can be done to reduce the failure rate? These installations are hardly cheap.

Johnson recommends a phased approach, in which geothermal engineering experts are brought in for preliminary studies where information on everything from the site footprint, HVAC loads and GHG emissions targets to hydrogeologic data and permitting issues is collected. Then, after the installation of a test well and detailed reports of the well field, construction can move forward, monitored all the while by trained geotechnical engineering experts. Everything from soil structure to aquifer sustainability must be taken into account to ensure the wells continue to function.

When applied correctly, Johnson says, these systems are invaluable. "Proper application of ground source geothermal technology can dramatically impact the efficiency and financial performance of energy utilization (30%+) in a building or on a campus. At the same time, this alternative energy resource can significantly contribute to the institution’s carbon reduction goals. Geothermal applications also offer the possibility of aesthetic and noise abatement benefits (eliminating cooling towers and dry coolers in sensitive locations or on historic structures) and, when combined with “green” or lower cost, on-site electrical power, the benefits are many."