Energy seminar draws packed house

January 12, 2009

Tired of exorbitant energy bills? Worried about the economy? Wondering where tomorrow’s jobs will come from?

Then at many levels you might have enjoyed the “Advanced Energy Supply Chain’’ seminar co-sponsored by Cincinnati State Thursday, Jan. 8, in Sharonville. The event drew a packed house, primarily regional business executives who wanted to learn more about incentives offered by the state of Ohio and the pioneering energy workforce programs being developed by Cincinnati State.

The underlying theme of the seminar was articulated by Larry Feist, program chair for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at Cincinnati State’s Center for Innovative Technologies.

“We need to manage our resources better in this country,’’ said Feist. “We need to offset fossil fuels with renewables. We need to be stewards of the energy we have. We need to use less. We need to be more efficient.’’

Feist and presenters from the Ohio Department of Development noted that when it comes to energy:

• There isn’t a single technology or silver bullet that will save the day, but rather a multitude of technological and behavioral approaches that can provide significant benefits.

• The potential benefits range from greater energy independence to reduced pollution to lower cost energy to jobs.

• Southwest Ohio is uniquely positioned to capitalize on many of the energy initiatives that are now coming into play.

“We need a new brick and mortar infrastructure’’ for energy and energy efficiency, Feist said. And to build it, he argued, “we’re going to need a new labor force, a re-tooled labor force.’’

But Feist also noted that many of the energy technologies now being developed require an understanding of basics – from machining metal to regulating electricity – that generations of Greater Cincinnatians have long since mastered. That engineering-grounded, manufacturing-oriented workforce, coupled with the region’s geographic and other attributes, positions southwestern Ohio to capitalize on the opportunities now arising in various energy fields, he argued.

Those at the seminar heard presentations about state incentives for such technologies as wind turbines, solar (both for heating water and generating electricity directly), biomass and biofuels, clean coal programs, and for energy conservation programs at industrial, commercial and residential scales.

Nearly all these technologies involve pumps, turbines, electrical switches, computers and the like, Feist noted. Cincinnati State’s ambition, he said, is to provide employers with workers who understand those basics as well as the refinements that are leading to such sights as photovoltaic panels on the roof of Findlay Market or Queen City Metro buses that are running mainly on bio-diesel fuels.

Cincinnati State already has a robust green energy presence. It includes three pioneering degree programs:

• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. This provides instruction in traditional electro-mechanical devices, but couples it with training geared toward fuel cell manufacturing, photovoltaic devices, wind turbines, energy efficiency issues and the like.

• Photovoltaic Installer Certification. Offered through Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center in Evendale, this three-course program is designed for those seeking NABCEP credentials to be certified as solar system installers – capable of dealing with everything from roof mounts to wiring to inverters.

• Sustainable Design and Construction. Cincinnati State is one of only three institutions nationally that work directly with the United States Green Building Council to offer a complete set of training courses in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Feist encouraged those at the seminar to set a goal of making southwest Ohio a center for the manufacturing of wind turbines, by capitalizing on our roots as a machine tool and manufacturing center -- and our ability to ship the huge devices by barge to staging areas near the vast wind farms that are on the drawing boards in a great triangle extending from Ohio to Texas to the Dakotas.

He also said that in addition to wind turbine technology, he hopes to add geothermal, fuel cells and biofuels/biomass to the course offerings at Cincinnati State. 

^{(photo: Larry Feist talks about Cincinnati State's renewable energy major at the recent seminar.)}