ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

RESA proposes wind turbines

as training sites for new program

Wind turbines and solar panels to be built in several locations in
St. Clair County will train St. Clair County Technical Education Center (TEC) electronics students in sustainable, alternative energy sources, said TEC Director Pat Yanik.

The board of trustees at the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), which operates TEC, approved on Nov. 17 a proposal that would construct three wind turbines and solar collection devices at different locations. The RESA expects to spend about $455,000 on the project, although it expects to recoup a good share of the cost through grants and other outside funding sources, Yanik said.

The electronics program would be revamped under the name Energy Technologies and Services, Yanik said. He expects the shift in emphasis to attract more than double the current 22 students in the two-year electronics program.

The RESA will explore locating the wind turbines, solar panels and weather stations on the RESA campus in Marysville, along the St. Clair River on the Acheson Ventures property in Port Huron, and at the Pine River Nature Center near Goodells in Wales Township. "All three sites would be connected to the RESA Web site, allowing anyone to monitor each site's energy production and the weather at the same time," Yanik said.

RESA Superintendent Dan DeGrow said RESA also hopes to include a small hydroelectric turbine that would be installed in a portion of the Pine River at the nature center. Ultimately, he said, the RESA hopes to make the 90-acre nature center self-sustaining in terms of energy use.

"It's clear that renewable, alternative energy sources will be an increasingly important part of the future for St. Clair County, the state of Michigan and the nation," DeGrow said. "This program will mean jobs for our students and, ultimately, a cleaner, safer environment for all of us."

This project also would include smaller-scale portable laboratories in each of the county's public middle schools that would allow students to integrate wind and solar technology into their science courses, Yanik said.