Green Times

Helping reduce reliance on fossil fuels is expected to create jobs in the renewable energy sector as well as training opportunities for the state’s technical college system.

With that in mind, the state Technical College System and others will host a three-day Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit beginning Wednesday at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee.

More than 950 people have registered to attend, including 450 students, said George Stone, an instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

“The primary reason for the conference is educational, in support of the business community so they can realize the opportunities in green technology and renewable energy,” Stone said.

Interest in renewable energy is surging because of rising energy costs, with oil above $100 a barrel and gasoline prices up 25% from a year ago, as well as concerns about future oil supplies and global warming.

State law requires that 10% of the state’s power come from renewable sources such as wind turbines, landfill gas systems or solar panels by 2015. An expansion beyond that is under consideration by the state’s global warming task force.

The research group Center on Wisconsin Strategy will present a report on job creation and economic development opportunities created by expansion of renewable energy.

The group’s report provides information on job opportunities in the clean-energy sector as well as skills needed to fill those jobs. The report also will discuss “how existing plants and their workers - especially those in the beleaguered industrial heartland - can move to the center of the clean energy economy.”

The conference is an expanded version of summits held in recent years at MATC, one of several technical colleges across the state that offers courses on renewable energy.

This year’s summit is expanded beyond students, but organizers offered free admission to students this year to encourage them to attend.

“It’s great for the students because they are the ones who are going to be living in a new era when it comes to energy,” Stone said.

Speakers include Cliff Wilder, co-author of “The Clean Tech Revolution,” and representatives of the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence, Manitowoc-based Broadwind Energy, Johnson Controls Inc. and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Source: Milwakee Journal Sentinel, US