MYGreen Education and Career » Hydrogen

Los Angeles Trade-Technical College Offers Range of Green Degrees and Courses

SBurke — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:33:35 +0000

The Los Angeles Trade-Technical College has a range of green-related courses and programs that range from alternative fuels and emissions reduction in the Diesel Technology Program to a Supply Water Technology AS degree with an emphasis in water purification. Currently the college has 52 green-integrated courses and four green-related degree and certificate programs in career-technical, science, health, and liberal arts programs.

In the summer of 2007, the college launched several green-related workforce development initiatives through its Regional Economic Development Institute (REDI). To date as a result of these initiatives, the college has: convened a two-day Sustainability Industry and Educators Forum to define green industry sector trends and needs including career and academic pathways, occupations, and skills/competencies; completed research on the demand/supply side of green construction, transportation and energy sectors in the Los Angeles Region; identified and prioritized industry sectors and occupations for developing green workforce training programs; is currently developing curriculum for Alternative Fuels and Solar Technician program(s); is currently in research and development phase for developing a fuel cell technician program; and is planning for the implementation of a Green Business Certification Program.

Included in the College’s green Associates degrees are two which focus on Water Technology:

Supply Water Technology AS Degree with an Emphasis in Water Purification

The Water Systems Technology program at Trade-Tech offers includes a Supply Water option in which courses are focused on the operation and design of water systems, wells, pumps and meters; water treatment for potable water; water purification, and technical phases of automatic controls, including power and code considerations.

The Associate in Science degree in Supply Water Technology may be earned by completing the required courses listed below, along with 30 units of general education courses listed in Graduation Plan A, and 8 additional units of elective courses to meet the 60 unit requirement. Upon successful completion students will be prepared for certification by the AWWA as well as the State Department of Health. Students will also have the background to advance in the Supply Water Industry including water purification. The degree requires completion of Water Supply 4 and 5 (6 units total), water purification courses.

Core courses directly related to green technology include:

WATER 4 Water Purification I (Potable)
WATER 5 Water Purification II (Potable)
WASTE 15 Wastewater Operations IV (Basic Laboratory Analyses)
WASTE 18 Water and Wastewater Mathematics

Wastewater Technology AS Degree

The Water Systems Technology program at Trade-Tech offers students a choice of two concentrations within water systems industry. The Wastewater option offers courses focusing on preliminary, primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment systems as well as disinfection methods, solids treatment, and solids and effluent disposal practices.

The Associate in Science degree in Wastewater Technology may be earned by completing the required courses listed below, 30 units of general education courses listed in Graduation Plan A, and 9 additional units of elective courses to meet the 60 unit requirement. In the State of California, there are five operator grade levels of profession in operating and maintaining publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities. Each grade level requires passing an examination administered by the State, after meeting qualifying experience and educational requirements. An Associates degree and 6 years of performance of an operator duty while holding a certificate, qualifies a person to be promoted to grade five level. Upon completion of the degree, students will have the potential for securing high-paying jobs.

Core courses directly related to green technology are listed below. These courses have been approved by the California State Water Resource Control Board and are eligible for eight (8) educational points, for each 3 unit course completed, toward the Wastewater Treatment Plat Operators Certification educational requirements.

WASTE 12 Wastewater Operations I
WASTE 13 Wastewater Operations II
WASTE 14 Wastewater Operations III
WASTE 15 Wastewater Operations IV (Basic Laboratory Analyses)
WASTE 16 Wastewater Operations V (Mechanics, Fluids, Electricity)
WASTE 17 Wastewater Operations VI (Public Health, Environment, and Management)
WASTE 18 Water and Wastewater Mathematics

For more information on the College and its programs, please visit http://www.lattc.edu/dept/lattc/WED/GCIPrograms.html

2010 Photovoltaics World Conference Program Finalized

SBurke — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:35:25 +0000

NASHUA, N.H., — The conference program for the Photovoltaics World Conference & Expo, to be held February 23-25, 2010 in Austin, Texas, has been finalized. Recent advances in photovoltaics technology and manufacturing processes will be addressed, as well as emerging applications for photovoltaic-based solar power generation systems. Information will be presented in two different tracks and seven sessions over a three-day program. The conference will be held in conjunction with PennWell’s Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America, which covers all forms of renewable energy, including the wind, solar, biomass, hydro, geothermal, ocean/tidal/wave, bio-power, bio-fuels hydrogen and energy sectors. Nearly 4,000 renewable energy power professionals attended the 2009 conference, and strong growth in 2010 is expected.

”I’m delighted that we are able to present such a strong conference program on photovoltaics that covers not only new manufacturing technologies, but strategic market and policy concerns,” said Pete Singer, Editor-in-Chief of Photovoltaics World and program committee chair. Photovoltaics World, launched in 2009, is the newest member of PennWell’s Electronics Media Group and the Renewable Energy World Network. Through its magazine, website and e-newsletters, Photovoltaics World covers photovoltaics manufacturing and solar power generation.

Opportunities in the photovoltaics (PV) market in 2010 remain strong according to analysts. “Utilities and home-owners are increasingly interested in PV systems and large utility ecosystem partners, such as construction and merchant power generation firms, are looking into photovoltaics,” said Alfonso Velosa, Research Director, Semiconductors, Gartner, Tucson, AZ. Dave Cavanaugh, Senior Analyst, Pike Research, Boulder, CO, is also positive: “Led by a strong recovery of demand in Germany and burgeoning growth in Italy, Japan and the United States, we are forecasting that demand for solar modules in 2010 will grow by 43% to reach almost 6.8GW. This offers great news to a solar industry whose market demand as little as two quarters ago was looking dismal.”

Still, there is some degree of uncertainty about how the PV market will be impacted by the stability of the global economy, the fate of government incentives, feed-in-tariff (FIT) restructuring, and overall sliding module prices. Another uncertainty is which of the many different types of competing photovoltaic technologies will emerge as the winner. Conventional crystalline silicon PV technology remains the market leader, but thin-film technologies are rapidly improving and are poised to gain in market share, particularly in the U.S. Organic photovoltaics (PV on plastic substrates) have also shown dramatic improvements of late, and are an ideal choice for some applications.

These and other critical issues will be addressed at the Photovoltaics World Conference. Conference sessions include:New Frontiers in Photovoltaics Manufacturing: A variety of competing technologies are now being investigated or deployed for photovoltaics/solar cell manufacturing. This session looks at some of the recent advances in these technologies, ranging from simple silicon, to III-V and IV materials. Challenges of photovoltaic cell reliability will be addressed, including that of thin films, crystalline silicon and concentrator PV technologies. New developments in holographic solar concentrators will also be presented, as will new developments in integrated photovoltaic combined thermal systems.

Advances in Photovoltaic Materials: The range of candidate biomass feedstocks (e.g. algae) which have the attributes for success is expanding and many of these will be compared and contrasted. Recent, high-impact innovations that enable the use of these feedstocks will be presented.

PV Manufacturing Process Technologies: Photovoltaics manufacturing technology has moved into high volume, with throughput reaching 3000 substrates per hour or more. Development of new processes continues, however, in order to obtain higher cell efficiency, higher tool throughput and reduced cost-of-ownership. This session will examine a variety of new process techniques, including surface texturing, atmospheric surface modification, bulk analysis of trace impurities and dopants, and fluorinated elastomer seals.

Photovoltaics – The Quest for Grid Parity Track: One of the main drivers in photovoltaic solar cell technology is the goal of reducing the cost of the power generated to be equivalent to or less than that provided by conventional technologies. This so-called grid parity is usually considered to be about $1/Watt at peak times. This session will take a broad look at what can impact the cost of PV.

Photovoltaics in Practice: Photovoltaic systems have been in use for more than 20 years but are now being implemented in a wide variety of configurations, from building-integrated PV to solar farms and rooftop installations on homes and businesses. This session will look at PV’s role in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) efforts, provide an engineering and financial analysis of installing a solar power system on a residential house, a sizing method for security PV systems, a report on the new Net Zero neighborhoods plans, and recent progress in PV sun tracking systems.

Panel Discussion on DC-DC Optimization: This panel session will consist of representatives of two manufacturers of optimizer products, a non-panel manufacturing integrator/operator, and a major panel manufacturer. Likely discussion topics include: the technology itself; the factors behind the proposed economic feasibility of the technology; likely context of use and scale; and factors concerning the eventual marriage of the technology with other components, most notably the panels.

Solar-oriented solar sessions are also scheduled as part of the general Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America, including PV case studies and applications, solar energy market trends and CSP near-term solutions.

More details on the conference, including speakers, registration information, keynote talks, technical tours, networking breakfasts, and conference hours, can be found at http://www.pvworldevent.com.

4.5 Million Net New Green Jobs Predicted in US

SBurke — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:18:37 +0000

A new report suggests that tackling climate change will be a major net job creator for the U.S. economy. According to the report, aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency can net up to 4.5 million new U.S. jobs by 2030 and provide the greenhouse gas emission reductions necessary to tackle climate change.
The report entitled, Estimating the Jobs Impact of Tackling Climate Change, was released today during a news conference in Washington, D.C. The study was released by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) based in Boulder and Management Information Services, Inc. (MISI) based in Washington, D.C.

According to the analysis, renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment costs would be revenue neutral (or better), as costs to implement the technologies are offset by savings from lower energy bills, making total net costs near zero.

“The twin challenges of climate change and economic stagnation can be solved by the same action—broad, aggressive, sustained deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Brad Collins, ASES’ Executive Director, “the solution for one is the solution for the other.”

This jobs report offers the most detailed analysis yet on the potential role of the new energy economy in tackling climate change.

Report findings show that:

Aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency can net 4.5 million new jobs by 2030. These jobs are not limited to certain regions or sectors – they are widely dispersed throughout the U.S. in virtually all industries and occupations.
Hot jobs spurred by this new economic growth span a diverse range of skills and experience and include: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, administrative assistants, machinists, cashiers, management analysts, civil engineers, and sheet metal workers.
Renewable energy and energy efficient technologies could displace approximately 1.2 billion tons of carbon emissions annually by 2030 – the amount scientists believe is necessary to prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change.
Approximately 57% of carbon emissions reductions would be from energy efficiency and 43% would be from renewable energy.
Energy efficiency measures can allow U.S. carbon emissions to remain about level through 2030, while renewable technologies can provide large reductions in carbon emissions below current levels
Industries showing the largest job gains include: construction, farming, professional services, public sector, retail, truck transportation, fabricated metals and electrical equipment.

The construction industry directly benefits from almost all the growing renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors as well as from improvements in overall economic growth due to energy savings. Farming directly benefits from biomass and biofuel technology growth.

Many of these jobs can not be easily outsourced due to the on-site nature required by these roles.

The greatest numbers of renewable energy jobs are generated by solar photovoltaics, biofuels, biomass, and concentrating solar power sectors.

The report suggests that policy can play a significant role in both generating jobs and mitigating carbon emissions.

“For job growth the status quo is no match for innovation,” said Mr. Collins. “Congress can help get the economy back on track with smart energy policy – reduce energy consumption in buildings by 50%; adopt an aggressive national renewable portfolio standard; commit to end dependence on foreign oil by 2025; and implement an upstream cap and auction system to manage greenhouse gases at the points where they first enter the energy economy.”

This report analyzed the job potential of improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry, and assessed six renewable energy technologies: concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, wind power, biomass, biofuels, and geothermal power. Estimates in this report refer to net jobs since advancing new energy technologies can both create new jobs and displace jobs from less efficient industries. This report suggests that, in total, more than 4.5 million more jobs can be created by tackling climate change than would be lost.

This new report builds on the findings of ASES’ groundbreaking report Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions From Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030 edited by Chuck Kutscher.
Tackling Climate Change: Jobs Report Summary

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT:

3M and Plug Power Sign Strategic Supply Agreement for Fuel Cells

SBurke — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:15:36 +0000

Press Release – LATHAM, NY – October 8, 2009 – 3M (NYSE:3M)and Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, today announced that they have entered into an exclusive commercial supply agreement for 3M membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), to be used as a critical component in Plug Power’s GenSys proprietary proton exchange membrane (PEM) reformate stacks. The continuous run GenSys^® prime power fuel cell systems are being deployed into rural India and will replace diesel generators at remote telecommunication sites.

The design of the reformate stack allows customers to realize the economic and environmental benefits of fuel cells, while avoiding the logistics involved in transporting pure hydrogen to their remote cell sites. GenSys reforms Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) into a hydrogen-rich reformate that is converted into electricity in the fuel cell stack. The GenSys reformer design is also proprietary to Plug Power. With minor adjustments, Plug Power’s system can process a variety of hydrocarbon based fuel stocks such as natural gas.

In May 2009, WTTIL, the cell tower arm of Tata Teleservices Limited, placed an order for 200 units to provide power at cell towers with no or extremely unreliable electric grid service. The initial 200 GenSys systems will be installed by the end of March, 2010 and the Company expects to install approximately 1,000 systems by the end of the same year. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) will provide LPG fuel for the initial 200 installations. Plug Power and HPCL entered into a five-year fuel supply agreement in September of 2009.

Through several years of collaboration between 3M and Plug Power, and research and development support from the United States Department of Energy, Plug Power has successfully developed a robust stack designed to meet and exceed customer requirements. To date, Plug Power’s reformate stack designs have accumulated more than 200,000 in-application operating hours in hundreds of units at customer sites. As a result of this extensive in-application testing, the Company has extended the stack life by 70 percent.

Plug Power’s reformate stack improves upon similar commercially available fuel cell stacks with a five percent increase in system efficiency. 3M and Plug Power will use the data and learning from field deployments to drive further improvements in MEA, fuel cell stack and system lifetime. In just five years, Plug Power has reduced the cost of its reformate fuel cell by approximately 70 percent, while increasing the power output by 20 percent. Plug Power has also streamlined its design and manufacturing processes, reducing assembly and test time by 60 percent.

Greater stack reliability results in minimized service costs and a faster customer payback. “Plug Power understands the importance of meeting our customers’ needs,” said Mark Sperry, General Manager of Plug Power’s Continuous Power Division. “And, the best way to do that is to provide them with the most reliable and lowest-cost alternative energy solution in the market. 3M is a key partner in achieving this goal, as we are able to leverage its industry leading membrane technology. Through this strong collaborative effort, Plug Power is able to continuously grow its business and increase fuel cell product placement into the market.”

An established industry leader in the manufacture of reformate fuel cell stacks, Plug Power has been designing PEM fuel cell stacks since 1997 and has implemented its technology into several of its previous product offerings.

“3M is delighted to be the MEA supplier for this exciting opportunity,” said Dr. Eric Funkenbusch, program director of 3M’s Fuel Cell Components Program. “Plug Power and 3M have collaborated closely for many years, and 3M has supplied MEAs for many of the Plug Power systems in field deployment.” He continued, “Given the interrelated nature of the MEA, fuel cell stack and system, close cooperation, openness, and trust are critical to success. We feel very fortunate to have this type of relationship with Plug Power.”

3M is a leading developer and manufacturer of membrane electrode assemblies for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. 3M MEAs are based on a number of core 3M technology platforms, including fluoropolymers, nanotechnology and precision processing. The company’s dedicated fuel cell team is focused on addressing MEA related barriers to wide spread fuel cell commercialization including cost, durability and consistency. The MEAs developed for the GenSys stack incorporate a number of significant improvements over the previous generation of 3M MEAs. The U.S. Department of Energy has strongly supported 3M in its development efforts through a number of cost sharing projects and by providing common direction and targets to fuel cell component and system developers.

About 3M
A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M’s core strength is applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms – often in combination – to a wide array of customer needs. With $25 billion in sales, 3M employs 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 60 countries.

About Plug Power Inc.

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), an established leader in the development and deployment of clean, reliable energy solutions, integrates fuel cell technology into motive and continuous power products. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the world. For more information about how to join Plug Power’s energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit www.plugpower.com.

University of Texas Granted $2.5 Million to Research Splitting Water in Hydrogen with Sunlight

Tracey A. Smith — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:30:08 +0000

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have received about $2.5 million to identify new materials that will efficiently absorb sunlight and split water (H2O) into clean hydrogen fuel, which could power cars and be used to generate electricity.

For the next three years, chemical engineering Professor Charles Mullins, chemistry Professor Allen Bard and mathematics Professor Irene M. Gamba will collaborate on the endeavor, which encompasses two grants from the National Science Foundation ($1.4 million) and the U.S. Department of Energy (about $1.1 million). Bard and Mullins are affiliated with the Center for Electrochemistry at the university.

The center is a multi-faculty collaboration devoted to research on fundamental and applied aspects of electrochemistry, which has already received research support for work on electrochemical energy sources such as batteries and fuel cells, solar energy research and new materials.

“Sustainable energy ultimately will involve the conversion of solar energy economically and efficiently to chemical fuels and electricity,” Bard said. “Our work focuses on discovering new materials for this and obtaining a better understanding of how their composition and structure govern their behavior.”

Mullins added, “The grants will fund us to explore finding new materials that will efficiently absorb sunlight and drive chemical reactions to break water into hydrogen (a fuel) and oxygen. These materials also need to be cheap and composed of elements that are abundant.”

The researchers will be examining novel metal oxides (variations of more common ones like titanium dioxide and iron oxide), which can act as semiconductors.

Mullins said because sunlight and water are relatively inexpensive and plentiful starting points, the hydrogen fuel produced by an efficient process would also be cheap.

“Plus, it would be a sustainable form of energy,” he said. “And energy, of course, is a terribly important problem that we are currently facing.”

Mullins said that researchers have studied water splitting using photoelectrochemistry for the past 40 years and progress has been made. However, efficient, cheap and abundant materials have yet to be discovered to make solar water splitting a viable process.

He said Bard will use a “combinatorial” approach for rapidly making complex compositions of metal oxides and testing them for their promise as photoelectrocatalysts, the material that facilitates the split.

“Once promising materials have been identified, we’ll research how to create nano-scale structures of that material that enhance the intrinsic properties of the material for light-absorption and water-splitting chemistry,” Mullins said.

Gamba’s past work in the mathematical treatment of electron and hole transport in semiconductors makes her essential to establishing useful theoretical models for these systems.

Mullins holds the Z.D. Bonner Professorship in Chemical Engineering, Bard holds the Hackerman-Welch Chair in Chemistry, and Gamba holds the Joe B. and Louise Cook Professorship in Mathematics.

MYGreen Education and Career » Hydrogen

Los Angeles Trade-Technical College Offers Range of Green Degrees and Courses

Related posts

2010 Photovoltaics World Conference Program Finalized

Related posts

4.5 Million Net New Green Jobs Predicted in US

Related posts

3M and Plug Power Sign Strategic Supply Agreement for Fuel Cells

Related posts

University of Texas Granted $2.5 Million to Research Splitting Water in Hydrogen with Sunlight

Related posts