ASET Technology Alberta Spring 2018 - 14

Sustainable
Learning
LEVERAGING RDC'S NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY LAB TO BENEFIT ALL ALBERTANS

A POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION located half-way between Edmonton and Calgary is taking a leadership role in
Alberta's alternative energy sector. And it's hoping that by
so doing it will help develop standards benefiting the entire
province, and maybe even Canada as a whole.
But let's back up and start at the beginning.
Several years ago, Red Deer College (RDC) launched its
Green Energy Master Plan. Included was the Four Centres
building, a then-new, 200,000 square-foot facility that included the Trades and Technologies learning spaces and
was designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. In short, the Four Centres
building was constructed with sustainability in mind.
However, the Green Energy Master Plan is far more
than simply one building, as impressive as that structure
may be (Which it is; trust us; we've been on a tour. - Ed.). This
environmental initiative is a totally integrated approach
that features everything from automated light switching
to LED bulbs to implementing a comprehensive recycling
program to facilitating ride sharing. But by far the most
impressive element of the Green Energy Master Plan is
RDC's industry-leading $9.3M Alternative Energy Initiative
(AEI), made possible by a $4.65M Government of Canada
Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund
(SIF) grant matched by the College.
One of the AEI's three pillars will be a state-of-the-art
Alternative Energy Lab. Construction, which began in August 2017, is expected to wrap up in late spring 2018 with
an official opening scheduled for early fall. When complete, the facility will benefit various stakeholders, including students from a range of faculties, industry, and the
broader Alberta community. This sounds ambitious but it
all makes sense when explained by Joel Gingrich, Dean of
RDC's School of Trades and Technologies.
"The obvious tie-in is with the engineering technology
and apprentice programs. But other disciplines will also
have interesting opportunities. For example, a business
student writing a feasibility study on the benefits of switching to solar, wind, or geothermal power. He or she can now

14 | SPRING 2018 | TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA

conduct applied research to determine potential return on
investment. And that's just one possible scenario."
What about the industry and community advantages? "Those are limited only by our imagination," he assures us. "The lab won't be operational for several more
weeks [as of early May 2018] and already we have an
agreement in place to use the facility to demonstrate
the cutting-edge technology of a Canadian solar-panel
supplier whose product is just now reaching Alberta.
It's really cool stuff. There will also be opportunities to
conduct alt-energy applied research that will benefit all
Albertans. And we've started conversations with other
post-secondary institutions on standardizing training
and certification for different levels and kinds of design,
installation, and maintenance expertise for solar power
technicians and technologists. That alone might have
national implications. It'll be a long process but the project could be very important."
Sounds like a lot is going on. "Would you believe it," he
smiles. "That's literally just the tip of our sustainability

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Spring 2018