Program Design & Delivery

Columbia Gorge Community College Leads Nation in Wind Training

A small rural school located in north-central Oregon, Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) has emerged as the lead training provider for wind energy manufacturers and technicians across two states. In fact, the national wind industry recognizes the college as one of three premier workforce development programs in the country. Certainly a location in a top wind-producing region helps, but CGCC’s outreach to industry and leading-edge work in skill standards design have positioned the college as a true model in the field.

The rapid development of CGCC’s renewable energy technology program began in 2006, when the college saw the need for trained wind technicians as local and international renewable energy companies shipped truckload after truckload of turbine and tower parts to the region. Dr. Susan Wolf, CGCC’s chief academic officer, remembers asking herself, “Who’s installing that equipment and taking care of it once it’s in?” Local companies had significant projects underway and not nearly enough trained employees to meet the increasing demands for tower construction and power generation.

Partnerships and Funding

CGCC convened a broad spectrum of companies, seeking their expertise in identifying needed skill sets and capitalizing on the staff time, scholarship funding, classroom instruction, and equipment that wind energy and electrical utility companies could provide. The college also spearheaded a regional workforce development cohort, including the Oregon Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (which provided initial seed funding for a two-state planning project), and the regional Workforce Investment Boards in both Washington and Oregon, which designated additional funding to execute the plan.

To meet the immediate need for trained technicians, CGCC initiated a non-credit, six-month training project to turn out entry-level workers while testing the curriculum and forming the larger group of stakeholders. After the pilot project, 22 of the 24 students enrolled immediately found jobs paying $20–$24 an hour. In fall 2008, CGCC phased in its renewable energy technology program, which forges a career path through a nine-month credit certificate option as the first building block toward a two-year degree:

Renewable Energy Technology Certificate Program – nine months, provides a basic level of knowledge and skills in hydropower generation, wind generation, automated manufacturing, and electronics along with computer applications, math, and writing.

Renewable Energy Technology Associate of Applied Science – two-year degree, includes more in-depth skills in technologies including programmable logic controllers, industrial control systems, and semiconductor devices/circuits and higher levels of math and writing.

With $237,875 awarded from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Congressional Directed Projects program, CGCC has purchased a wind turbine nacelle for hands-on training. And the U.S. Department of Labor recently provided $1.67 million to expand the training to three times its initial enrollment, with an annual capacity of about 106 and student cohorts beginning in the 2010 spring and fall terms.

Wind energy companies in the bi-state region report employing 471 technicians, with a target of employing 741 over the next five or more years to meet anticipated growth in production capacity—which is expected to increase from 1,920 to 5,808 megawatts, enough electricity to power 1.4 million homes.

Community College as Economic Developer

In addition to orchestrating workforce consortium arrangements between Oregon and Washington state agencies and funders, CGCC was the leader in founding the Columbia Gorge Bi-State Renewable Energy Zone (CGBREZ) to promote and coordinate economic development opportunities across five Oregon and Washington counties—positioning the region to maintain its industry stronghold. This partnership also establishes formal agreements to permit Washington students to pay local CGCC tuition and fees rather than incur the usual out-of-state costs, a critical selling point for both students and companies in the area.

In a primarily agricultural area, this local wind energy industry push also has sparked interest in developing co-development options, creating a new revenue stream for farmers and ranchers whose livelihood once solely depended on soil, weather, and market demand for their products. The open spaces of north-central Oregon and south-central Washington are now dual-use regions that increase agricultural profits through wind turbine leases on acreage still in production.

To learn more about the CGCC model and its impact on rural economic opportunity, check out the following links and contacts for program information and curriculum design:

 

• http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Academics/RETCurriculumMap.cfm
• http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Academics/documents/RETProgramInfoPacketsSpring2011.pdf
• http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Academics/documents/RenewableEnergyIndustryNeedsAssessment2009FinalReport.pdf
• http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Academics/documents/DeliveryofVestasHub6-16-09.pdf
• www.cgbrez.org

Dr. Susan Wolff, Chief Academic Officer, Columbia Gorge Community College, the Dalles, OR
swolff@cgcc.cc.or.us

Mr. Dan Spatz, Executive Director of Resource Development
dspatz@cgcc.cc.or.us