Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., has secured $350,000 to develop the Wind Turbine Technician Academy at the M-TEC at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC).
Upton secured the funding in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill, H.R.3293, which recently passed the House. The measure is expected to be considered by the Senate in September.
‘This funding will help KVCC develop the curriculum necessary to train local residents to fill the jobs that will be created as we harness the power of the wind,’ says Upton. ‘The potential for renewable wind energy in southwest Michigan is great – not only for our local energy supply, but for our local economy, as well.’
The training uses established curriculum based on BZEE utility-grade wind turbine technician standards and will include training on a decommissioned utility-grade turbine in a lab on campus.
According to KVCC, the Wind Turbine Technician Academy course can be completed in less than six months, making the program viable for retraining. The program will provide graduates with multi-craft credentials, which are highly sought after by the wind power industry for the construction, operation and maintenance of utility-size wind turbines.
Among the chief instructional tools will be the 145-foot, 50 kW, commercial-sized wind turbine at the college's technical wing on the Texas Township Campus, and a 1.8 kW model designed for residential purposes. A wind turbine lab in the M-TEC will also be part of the academy.
Through courses in applied electricity; electrical machines; programmable logic controllers; fluid power; the operations; maintenance and repair of wind turbines; the mechanical systems in these turbines; and the generation and distribution of power, students will be introduced to the technical standards in the industry.
The Wind Turbine Technician Academy will include three integrated segments: pre-employment electrical apprenticeship, wind turbine technology education and field experience.
SOURCE: Office of Rep. Fred Upton
