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Saint Francis University Begins Renewable Energy Business Program
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Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa in Cambria County, has begun offering an online Renewable Energy Business Certificate to help professionals who wish to enter or advance careers in the growing renewable energy arena.
Program development was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The curriculum was developed with the assistance of renewable energy manufacturers, project developers, lenders, utilities, and regulators to ensure that it meets employer needs.
A group of students are going through “beta” classes now and the feedback from the students and their employers has been incorporated into class design. The students are from government agencies, utilities, wind farms, renewable energy manufacturers, financers, and non-profits in Asia, Europe, Latin America and throughout the United States. Not only are they learning from an extraordinarily knowledgeable instructor, but they are interacting with other professionals worldwide.
The program is the only online instruction in the business and policy aspects of renewable energy. Most programs address only the technical aspects. The certificate consists of four 10 week courses, two on wind power, one on project management, and one on renewable energy applications. The courses cover technology, resource measurement, finance, interconnection, community relations, and policy.
The classes are open to the public beginning July 19 but class size is limited to allow direct engagement with the instructor and fellow students. The program allows students to work with each other to apply what they are learning during the class and to maintain those connections after the classes conclude. Students can find applications online.
The Renewable Energy Center develops and implements projects to overcome barriers to renewable energy deployment. This includes extensive education, a business directory of renewable energy installers, resource assessment, and assistance in determining financial feasibility.
The REC has a financial analysis tool that helps determine the optimum investment structure for a community wind project from five possible investment structures, the returns to the developer and the tax investor in each of those options, and the impact of various policy measures on the costs of wind power and returns to investors.
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5/16/2011 |
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