The growing popularity of a green economy has caused a rise in demands for trained energy-efficiency experts and technicians. Skyline College is taking a step forward with a new Environmental Science and Technology Program becoming more hands-on with the recently built Solar and Building Science Learning Center.

The center celebrated its grand opening last March and is one of just a few laboratories of its kind in the Bay Area. According to the program’s directors, Skyline worked for most of 2011 on developing the class with the County of San Mateo’s Workforce Investment Board as part of a $2.5 million Department of Labor grant program called Home Energy Retrofit Occupations.

“It’s almost impossible to learn these things in a classroom,” said Environmental Technology Program Coordinator Aaron Wilcher. “A lot of employers want to hire people with field training and value hands on experience, and the new building will allow that.”

Looking into the center, it would seem that there is a just a partially built structure that could resemble a house. But do not be fooled. It has all the basic necessities to fulfill students’ needs, including classroom space, lab space for solar installation, and a model home for instructional classes. The lab itself includes all the basic elements of a home to teach retrofitting techniques for a more energy efficient house.

A few classes have been piloted and tested by local heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians; electricians; carpenters and a few union business development representatives, contractors and directors. The program and its facilities needed to be tested before making courses available to Skyline students.

“It will be used to teach Skyline College students about the importance of energy efficiency in an age when we are using more electricity than ever,” said Environmental Club Adviser Lindsey Virdeh. “The center really allows students to experience hands-on learning on campus, which I believe is highly valuable to their education experience.”

Located in the Pacific Heights building, the center will be the focus for the upcoming program that will be made available to students next year. The Solar and Building Science Learning Center will also be a resource for other academic programs, schools and the PG&E Pacific Energy Center.

The center is set up for the program courses, specifically for energy testing and for conducting retrofits. It was designed mainly for two parts of the program, which are solar and energy efficiency. Skyline’s Environmental and Technology Program will be offering a four-course solar technology program certificate.

“We offer unique programs. Very few in the Bay Area are as strong as ours,” Wilcher said. “We also have energy connections, internship programs (and) new connections to utilities and regulators.”

Environmental and technology students will investigate the different facets of energy efficiency and the details of solar technology. These include how to properly retrofit a residential house and install solar panels. The program can also help with job placement and internships for students. It is a member of the PG&E PowerPathway training network, which offers career pathways connected to the energy industry.

“I think that this is a good program to learn from,” said Skyline student Alan Liang. “It would really (be) cost efficient for anyone that would decide to make these changes to their house.”

The State of California has mandated that 33 percent of its energy come from renewable resources. Currently they are running on 15 percent from renewable resources, and although they have a long way to go, programs like Skyline’s as well as a community effort help make the goal attainable.