Sustainable Technologies at Central Carolina Community College

In addition to the sustainable Ag at CCCC, I also visited the sustainable technologies program. Students choose from currently two, and in the future from three, tracks: Alternative Energy , Green Building, and Biofuels. The biofuel is currently its own degree program but will become a track. The programs are housed in a LEED certified building. Unfortunately, the faculty had almost no input in the design of the building. It still turned out well and includes a green roof, solar hot water, radiant heat, chilled water HVAC, natural light optimized classrooms and a most impressive gray water recycling system. The water recycling system saves the college 100,000 gal each month and will be used for outdoor irrigation, indoor cooling, and toilet flushing. Unfortunately the green roof died in the extreme heat this summer (60 consecutive days over 95 F) and has to be replanted. The radiant heat in the concrete floor is only installed on the north side of the building while the south is just heated with passive solar. The natural light capture allows teaching without any additional light during the day. Various LCD monitors show energy and water use for different time intervals.

The technical courses of the sustainable technology program fill quickly without much marketing. They focus on weatherization, zero energy houses, residential photovoltaic and geothermal . Students also take several courses on the general concepts of sustainability.

I was very interested in the biofuel progam because LBCC Mechatronics and Ag/Horticulture are currently developing a biofuels program. CCCC biofuels has a great lab space and has $400.000 worth of various pieces of equipment. The main instructor, Bob Armantrout, felt that some of that equipment is not necessarily the best for teaching. What really is needed are small parts (such as pumps, gauges, etc.) that students can use to built larger. Bob used to manage a biofuel plant and has a wealth of real world experience. He focuses his program on biodiesel and appropriate scale technology. His view is similar to mine in that biofuels, and biodiesel in particular, can make a lot of sense if inputs such as feedstock and labor can be sourced locally and support the local communities.

The visit to the sustainable technologies program gave me a lot of insights into the development of a LBCC biofuels program. We know that we want we want to cover more than just biodiesel. We also decided that a stand alone program may not be viable and both Mechatronics and Agriculture will develop tracks within their programs. Also hearing what equipment is necessary for teaching was extremely valuable and can save the college hundreds of thousands of dollars. After hearing how little the CCCC faculty was able to be part of the teaching/lab building design process I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to be part of a multi-year planning team for the new LBCC Science and Ag/Math buildings.