Renewable energy is here to stay. As finite resources live up to their name and attention to conserving our planet intensifies, more resources are being devoted to wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and other alternative energy sources.

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, renewable sources accounted for almost two-thirds (63.85%) of the 16,485 MW of new electrical generation in the U.S. during 2015. That's a new annual record.

Wind power is particularly strong. According to the American Wind Energy Association, approximately 1,000 utility-scale wind projects-which represent 74,512 megawatts (MW) and more than 48,800 wind turbines-are installed across 40 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico and Guam. There are more than 500 wind manufacturing facilities across 43 states.

But what happens when you're no longer the new kid on the block? How can we keep the green movement . . well, moving? A difficult question such as this does not have a simple answer, yet continuously training and replenishing a renewable workforce could provide a valuable piece to the puzzle.

The 2014-24 projected growth rate for wind turbine service technicians is 108%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Currently there are approximately 50,000 domestic workers in wind. The Washington-based American Wind Energy Association projects 500,000 jobs across varied wind technology fields by 2030. The industry is expanding, and technical colleges and specialty programs are popping up across the nation in response.

Redstone College is a proprietary school in Broomfield, Colo., that offers an extensive 15-month wind energy program. It includes technical courses such as d-c and a-c electronics, industrial electronics, motors and generators, wind turbine design, and wind turbine maintenance and troubleshooting, along with softer skills training like business writing and human/ customer relations.

The program was introduced in 2010, after the academic dean and corporate entity the college was under at the time saw the need for wind power technicians, especially in the Colorado area where wind farms are present.

"My whole staff, except for an electrical engineer, came from the wind power field," said
Travis Perko, program chairman at Redstone who oversees the wind program. "We all have at least five years of field experience. So I think that gives us an edge because we've all been there. We've all done the job."

The students are able to apply the real-world knowledge from the program's four teachers to the relevant equipment. They have a Vestas turbine, which is about 20,000 lbs. and a centerpiece of much of the curriculum. It is a very small industrial turbine and was one of the first of its kind out in the field. The turbine is approximately 10 feet wide and 20 feet long.

"The students get to do some troubleshooting on that," said Perko. "They get to perform maintenance on it and do gearbox inspections. We try to get them working on it as much as we can. The different classes kind of have to jockey for time working on it."

Students start out on lab volt trainers on which they learn about components and electrical troubleshooting. These trainers are a good fit for beginners because they are safe from electrical shock and other mechanical related dangers. The instructors then move them into a panelboard type of training system where it is a little more dangerous if they are not careful. Students can get shocked using these 120 volt systems. Eventually the students handle 208 volts, and in the Vestas turbine they will be dealing with 440 volts.

The college has plenty of space to provide hands-on instruction. There are three labs and a classroom that is also set up with lab built into it. High torque is taught in the largest lab with the Vestas turbine. The college also has a hydraulics lab with 10,000 square feet of space. There are electronics in one room, hydraulics in another, mechanical in another, and the remaining room has what Perko calls the "mechtronics" lab, which combines mechanical and electrical.

Safety training is also a large part of the curriculum. Redstone has one of the largest climb training towers in the state. The tower is about 38 feet tall and located outside on campus. The college also has a 28-foot tower in a hangar. Having both indoor and outdoor towers means the instructors can continuously train and not have bad weather halt the program.

All of the college's climb safety training is performed in-house so that when students graduate they have a small learning curve in regard to the climb safety requirements at a specific company. The instructors also incorporate OSHA 10, first aid, and CPR in this training. Here students learn proper safety practices, such as how to do a rescue and what you should do if you fall.

"We hang them from their harness so they can feel what it's like to fall from these towers," said Perko. "This way it will not be a new experience should it happen in the field."

Class size varies from seven to 20, and the students bring an interesting mixture of age and work backgrounds. "I've had students with electrical engineering degrees, mechanical engineering degrees, students who come directly out of high school or directly out of incarceration," Perko said. "Almost half of my student body is from the military. Our youngest student was 18 and our oldest was 57."

There also was a student who had an MBA in finance but realized a desk job wasn't for him. As a fairly new field, wind energy is an enticing opportunity for somebody who is looking to change career paths. But can everyone be successful in wind? Perko says that it's important to have an aptitude for technical knowledge but prior training or skills are not required.

"That's what we do," he said. "An 18-year-old straight out of high school will probably not have the knowledge in hydraulics or small electrical components. We will teach them that."

The only way that age can play a factor is climbing a wind tower. "I started working in wind power when I was 37, so I know that your joints can hurt from the physical labor, and these pains will probably not happen for younger guys," Perko said. "I could still climb a tower in six minutes, but the younger ones can do it in five minutes. They were ready to go at the top, whereas I needed a couple minutes' rest before continuing to work up there."

The wind industry has donated much of Redstone's equipment, and industry figures also give feedback on what subjects should be taught. "The program is constantly improving," said
Nicholas Brown, director of campus operations at Redstone. "Every June we have a professional advisory meeting where we bring in industry partners who have employed our graduates. We talk with them and present details about the program and find out if there's anything we can implement that's changing within the industry to ensure that our technicians are better prepared when they leave school and get out into the field."

Perko and his team also write training programs for large wind companies so their instructors stay relevant and know the latest in wind technologies. They in turn can apply this up-to-date knowledge to the wind power curriculum at Redstone.

Keeping up on the newest and hottest thing out there in the industry is the biggest challenge for program organizers. They try to make sure that their training stays relevant and uses what the majority of the industry is using. According to Perko, that can be tough, because in order to stay cutting-edge and experience what new technologies the industry is using, they have to spend time away from their students.

Graduates, who receive an associates' degree in occupational studies, have served in a number of positions within the wind industry. The numberone job they can expect out of school is a wind technician who climbs and services towers, troubleshoots electrical malfunctions or mechanical issues, replaces parts, and performs structural inspections. Other students have gone on to composite technician positions where they travel to wind farms and inspect blades and repair stress fractures to a structure.

While many graduates have gone on to serve in roles across the country, Colorado is one state with plenty of wind activity. There are multiple wind fields right outside the Denver metro area owned by a variety of companies that take advantage of the strong winds in certain sections of Colorado.

"It's also a liberal state and very approving of alternative energy," said Perko. "The state makes it very easy for a company to come in and set up a wind farm. They removed a lot of the hoops that companies have to jump through in other states, and I've heard of plans for five more wind sites to be built in Colorado."

The wind industry experienced a burst of movement around 2010 when Redstone opened its program but the activity appears to have plateaued in recent years.

"The industry was booming when we started the wind energy program," said Brown. "Then I think there was some apprehension because companies weren't sure if the government subsidies would continue to be provided. It did level out for a little bit before the renewal of this production tax credit. That renewal created a big push for wind companies to go out and recruit directly from schools such as our own. Now we're seeing possible growth opportunities both at our school and the industry as a whole."

In December of last year, both chambers of the U.S. Congress passed a spending bill that included a provision to extend the expired production tax credit for five years. It provides wind developers with a credit of $0.023/kWh for electricity generated to the power grid.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, this tax credit is responsible for more than quadrupling the wind power in the U.S. since 2008-up from 16,702 MW installed at the start of 2008 to 69,470 MW by the third quarter of 2015.

This renewed tax credit is different in that it allows the industry to plan a little farther ahead. In the past it would provide tax subsidy to the industry, but with an expiration date of about a year or two in the future. Now wind companies have a four-year structure they can use to create revenue streams and increase popularity. That security goes a long way.

The wind industry is considered very cyclical in regard to tax credits that are put into place by Congress and make it cost-effective for these wind farms to produce energy. With wind gaining traction once again, Redstone's program organizers are trying to seize this opportunity by strengthening their relationships with industry.

They are also letting students know that four-year universities are not a fit for everyone. Students often go out and acquire large amounts of debt for a degree program that may not be relevant in many industries, but the team at Redstone believes they can provide students with valuable skills that are transferable not only to the wind field but also to solar, oil and gas, and troubleshooting for medical device companies.

This nearly universal skill-set is taught almost entirely through handson instruction. Right now the class is 50% hands-on and 50% book learning, but Perko is pushing his instructors to make it 70%/30% in favor of hands-on.

"When people come to a technical college, they're typically not the type that enjoys sitting and learning theory out of a book," he said. 'They're handson people. That's how they learn. And I think our hands-on philosophy is unique. The school I went to back in the day when they were just starting to come up with wind schools was 90% theory. Other schools in my experience have been mostly theory as well."

Much like the industry as a whole, Redstone sees program growth in its future. "I'd like to expand the curriculum," said
David Poor, career services adviser at Redstone. "We're looking at adding a couple of new programs within the renewable energy spectrum like solar and industrial automation. We want the class sizes to remain the same, because we feel it's an effective ratio."

Another goal is to have a 100% placement rate for graduates. As time goes on, that goal looks more and more achievable with wind-related jobs opening up left and right.

"I do think wind power is growing faster than any of the other alternatives, but they're all growing," said Perko. "People are realizing that we need renewable energy because we're destroying our natural resources by digging up coal, and eventually it's all going to run out."

Renewable University

Ecotech Institute is a school unlike any other. This private college in Aurora, Colo., is devoted entirely to renewable energy. Every program is related to an alternative energy source. There is a wind program, a solar program, an electrical engineering technology program, and a renewable energy technology program. Think of it as Renewable University.

But before diving into a specific program, students take a variety of general education courses. Subjects include business, English, math, geography, physics, and computer programming for PLC computers. Then it gets a little more technical, with classes in renewable energy fundamentals, power generation, a-c and d-c, and commercial and residential electrical codes.

With this basic foundation in place, students can now move into a specific alternative energy program. The wind power program is two years for an associate of applied science degree. Then they get into program-specific courses. For wind there are six classes that cover hydraulics, an overview of the wind in- dustry, the history of turbines, politics and policies, tracking bird and bats, and building a wind farm.

"There's more wind-specific training at Ecotech than any other school I've seen," said
Auston Van Slyke, program director for the wind energy technology program. "Five or six wind classes are considered a lot. I've seen many schools that only teach one or two wind classes."

Van Slyke wants his students to learn every tool that they are going to use and every component that they are going to see on the job.

Students are taught how to take apart bearings and gearboxes and change oil along with the electronic side of the job such as wire repair and testing of sensors.

One class is focused on troubleshooting. Van Slyke has a couple of wind turbines in the classroom on which he can insert fault codes and have his students try to find the faults and repair them.

Van Slyke has served as a wind technician working with warranty and manufacturing defect issues before helping create Ecotech's wind program a little over five years ago. He developed custom textbooks for the curriculum. Currently there are 80 students who are actively taking classes in wind.

"The idea with Ecotech was to build a renewable energy technology school," he said. "First we added the 'big ones' like hydro, solar, and wind. Then we started growing from there. It is the only college in America that is 100% dedicated to renewables.

Education Corp. of America, a forprofit institution, made the decision to build Ecotech after many of its board members became interested in renewables.

"We really live by the green movement because our building is powered by solar and wind," said Van Slyke. "We have seven or eight wind turbines on our roof that actually power the building."

Much like the Redstone program, Ecotech's wind program is primarily hands-on, which Van Slyke believes is the best to train for these kinds of jobs."

"I've been pushed to put these wind power courses online, but it's not going to happen," he said. "All day every day these students use tools at Ecotech to train for wind."

Those tools include equipment for fiber optic repair, laser alignment, vibration analysis, and oil analysis. The most common piece of electrical equipment students use is the digital multimeter. Being able to read electrical schematics is very important in this program. All wind classes also have computers on which students use industry specific software programs.

All of the program's instructors came from a wind farm and have experience in maintenance and installation. A large number of the students work full-time jobs, and almost half of them are in the process of a career change.

"It's a pretty blended demographic- a lot of veterans and people right out of high school," Van Slyke said. "A lot of these people are coming from completely unrelated fields. It's very rare to see an engineer come here. It's usually people with sales or medical service. I saw one of my graduating students this morning who used to be a nurse."

Van Slyke believes that wind power can accommodate a wide range of demographics. The program is a replacement for those who do not have the engineering experience and want to get into renewable, which is incredibly important because when they enter the workforce it will be very technical.

This hodgepodge of technology and skills can add an extra layer of difficulty to both teaching and learning the trade. "You have to know fiberglass and carbon fiber. You have to know gears, oil, grease, and alignments. You have to go from computer programming one minute to greasing a bearing the next," said Van Slyke. "You can be working on something completely different each day, and that's the hardest part when teaching wind. There's no way for one person to be an expert in all of these things. It's like if you merged an airplane, a train, and a power plant together you'd get a wind turbine. It's such a unique combination of technologies."

The industry also has two exclusive challenges that limit its popularity. The first is the physically taxing nature of the wind technician role. In response, Van Slyke turned one of his classrooms into a gym with donated exercise equipment. He then created from scratch certain physical tests that students can do on their own to see if they are able to perform the job.

In the classroom/gym, Van Slyke will have students climb a 30-foot ladder ten times within ten minutes. This is supposed to properly represent that it would be like to climb a wind turbine. He also has them hold 15 lb. weights above their heads for ten minutes. That gives them the feel for holding one of the large torque wrenches above their heads to tighten a bolt, which is a common work activity. "People think their day will be full of having to climb up and down these massive towers," he said. "So they're scared of the heights and of not being physically able to do the work."

One of the wind classes is a climb and rescue class where students are forced to climb a ladder every day in class and rescue dummies. They rappel from ropes and have to carry the dummies down from the top of the ladder.

Location may also pose problems for some. "Wind really stands out versus solar because these wind farms are out in rural areas in Iowa, Texas, and throughout the Midwest," Van Slyke said. "In most cases these students are going to have to relocate to a wind farm. People are cautious about moving to the middle of nowhere to take a job like this."

It is because of these qualities that solar "wins the popularity contest," according to Van Slyke. The solar program at Ecotech, which trains students to install, operate, and repair solar systems, receives the most attention from outsiders. Solar courses include skill development in troubleshooting, maintaining, and repairing photovoltaic equipment like solar panels.

"I think people see those panels on TV and on their neighbor's roof and they get comfortable with it," Van Slyke said. "Whereas with wind I think people are unaware of what it would be like to work in that field, so they're kind of scared of it and don't sign up for it."

These preconceived notions may be unfair to the trade and ultimately detrimental to wind energy, which Van Slyke views as the best alternative to replace coal. "Wind can produce more electricity than any other renewable source when talking about gigawatts of production," he said. "You will not get near as high with solar or hydro."

Why choose? Ecotech has a renewable energy technology degree program in which students can take solar, wind, and other courses and get a blend of knowledge. This popular program gives students the full view of renewables and how they relate to one another.

Even though Van Slyke has seen less interest recently in wind and the other programs-which he attributes to the improving economy and fewer people looking for work-he doesn't think it will stay that way for long.

"Coal is being reduced and people in those power plants are being laid off," he said. "These coal workers are going to need help transitioning into these other fields, and this is one of them. Coal mines and plants are now in wind power territory. In Wyoming, the coal miners are surrounded by wind turbines. It's a convenient career transition for those guys because the wind farms are near where they already work and live."

Van Slyke also believes that the rise of wind is a byproduct of
President Obama's pushing his clean power plan. In the future. Van Slyke hopes to write the definitive wind energy textbook for use at Ecotech. He feels that there are no books that properly blend the material you need for wind turbine instruction.

As program director, he also hopes to improve retention and community outreach. "We're trying to do more events in the local community to raise awareness about what wind energy means and what it does," he said. "Long-term I want to help the industry know what the training standards should be and figure out what the minimum training requirements are for somebody who works in wind. It's never been formulated."

Alternative training

Van Slyke means it when he says solar is taking over. In early May, the U.S. reached the milestone of one million solar system installations. And according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, nearly 784,000 U.S. homes and businesses have now gone solar, and a new solar project was installed every two minutes.

Unsurprisingly, California is leading the solar charge, and one training program there provides a truly offbeat approach to learning the trade. GRID Alternatives is a national nonprofit whose mission is to make renewable energy technology and training available to low-income communities. They perform the solar installations by using a job training model. Anybody and everybody who wants to can come and get on a roof with them.

GRID Alternatives, which is headquartered in Oakland, also partners with job training programs around the country to give students hands-on installation experience to supplement their classroom work.

"When they show up on a day of the installation, it's typically their first hands-on experience with using solar technologies," said
Julian Foley, director of communications at GRID Alternatives. "When we partner with job training programs, some of those people have some classroom experience already, but this is really that actual in-the-field experience where you have to find the rafters and make sure the roof doesn't leak. There are a little higher stakes."

Here's how it all works. First you fill out an application if you own a home in an eligible area. Qualifications include income-it must be 80% or less of your area's median income. You also need to have a suitable roof and an up-to-code electrical system.

Organizers at GRID Alternatives then fill out the necessary paperwork and design the solar system. They recruit a crew of volunteers and job trainees over two days to do the installation with them. The grid supervisors will use those two days as a teaching opportunity with the six to ten trainees who are out on a given day. It is recommended to have the trainees come for both days so they can see the beginning and end of the process.

"Solar is actually a pretty simple technology, and people learn very quickly," said Foley. "The panels are easy to handle and install. The trickiest part is the wiring, and sometimes we will hire an electrician to do it. But in terms of putting the panels up on the roof-it's just a matter of cutting everything to the right size and putting in the footings and the rails."

The program supervisors refer to this installation process as "swapping glass." Additional tasks include bending the conduit, cutting the rails, putting in the footing and the railings, and then installing the panels on the rails and the inverters on the panels.

GRID Alternatives' team leader program is basically a skills checklist for people who want to get more advanced training. Leadership roles include ground team leader, roof team leader, or both. Once they have reached that status, team leaders can work as volunteer team leaders or crew leaders on these installations. This way, when they go to get a job, they can show that they have not only the skills but also the leadership experience.

Before recruits can reach these esteemed positions, program organizers have to find them. They do outreach to community colleges, local job training organizations, and within an affordable housing development region if they are doing work in that community.

The demographics for these recruits are across the board, with 70% being non-white. You have to be 18-yearsold to get on the roof, but volunteers as young as 16 years old can perform ground work. GRID Alternatives also has an active high school program in which students are given the chance to leam the solar installation in the classroom and then take that knowledge out into the field.

Trainees often go on to installation jobs and then can usually move up to crew leader. Some have been hired for sales jobs or designers of systems where they decide how many panels will be used and where they will be put on a specific location. The organization's SolarCorps Program is a one-year fellowship where trainees can leam different aspects of solar work-from the construction side to client outreach to communications and fundraising work.

"We have tons of anecdotal evidence from people sayings things like 'hey, I went to this interview and as soon as I told them I worked at GRID Alternatives they said you're hired.' Or, 'my experience with GA helped me with my sales job because I was able to talk knowledgeably about solar equipment,"' said Foley. "We like to think of ourselves as a big family. We develop very close relationships with the job trainees. Some even come back to work for us. They really do get a lot out of it."

The biggest test for the GA team is educating a community in which there is no solar and the population is unfamiliar with the technology. Getting the word out can create a domino effect. According to Foley, once you install a couple of systems in a neighborhood, suddenly the rest of the neighborhood takes an interest. All it takes is one neighbor saying "hey, check out my bill-it was only 43 cents" for the rest to eventually join in, she said.

There is also opposition at the political level with groups that are not interested in promoting renewable energy development and are actively opposing policies that are favorable to it.

"One of the great things about what we do is serving a population that would otherwise not be participating. It really shows that renewable energy is a technology that can benefit everybody," Foley said. "We're out there saving people money in low-income communities by reducing their energy cost burden and helping people get jobs. I think those are things that nobody can really oppose."

Foley acknowledges that there is concern about whether or not our national investments in these technologies are really being spread equitably-which is all the more reason for them to encourage others to invest in a solution that benefits everyone.

The state is definitely doing its part to help out. The program was added to California's cap-and-trade funding, which supports a lot of their work. "California is definitely a leading solar state, especially in residential adoption," she said. "It made early and significant investments in the growth of solar through the California Solar Initiative which started in 2006."

This initiative is a rebate program that jumpstarted the industry here and promoted job growth. It's success lay in the fact that it was not just general rebates. It also ensured that low-income families were able to participate as well.

While most of their work is in California, GRID Alternatives has expanded to Washington D.C., New York, and Nicaragua. But the GA team is not satisfied. Its longterm goal is to have a truly national low-income solar policy in place.

"Right now we're very limited in where we can work because of the different levels of investment by different states-or the lack of any investment at all," Foley said. "We are also hindered by the difference in solar policies from state to state. We hope to see national long-term investment in solar policy that would allow us to work anywhere."

In the shorter term, GRID Alternatives has been steadily expanding its workforce development program and reaching out to specific sectors such as veterans, women, and people of color. On the installation end, the organization has been developing new models for reaching different types of communities. Exclusively geared towards single-family home owners, the program is now available for multi-family affordable housing and the renting population.

Growth. Opportunities. Expansion. These are nice words to use when discussing the need for a hands-on workforce. The jobs are ripe for taking in renewable energy and the training programs are many to provide preparation for that step.

"Once we can really say that wind turbines and solar panels produce power that's cheaper than coal, then that's going to really accelerate the industry, which is already on an aggressive growth pattern right now," said Van Slyke. "The industry is set to double the size of the wind industry in the next ten years. And eventually we will see wind produce 20% or more of the electricity in the U.S. which I think is a great goal."

A solution to our global energy crisis may not be as simple as eliminating coal-fired power plants, building more wind turbines, or installing more solar panels. Perhaps the problem lies in the idea that there needs to be one solitary solution as opposed to a union of approaches both old and new.

"Coal-fired power plants aren't the answer," said Perko. "Wind isn't the answer either. Solar isn't the answer. Geothermal isn't the answer. But a package that encompasses all of these is the answer. That's how we're going to make our country green."