Introduction

1.  Introduction

Renewable energy systems (RESs) are the new power generation technologies which are widely used as alternative power solutions for residential and industrial sectors. Compared to traditional fossil generators, RESs are more efficient and environmental friendly. Due to the relatively young age of these technologies, there is still a big gap between the relevant job market and educational programs, which call for engineers and technicians specifically trained to meet the new market demands of these new technologies. The global investment in RESs has gone through a mostly increasing trend in the past ten years [1], which implies that RESs will own a major share of the power generation and distribution market in a near future as compared to fossil fuel, large hydro, and nuclear generators. This multi-billion dollar market requires a significant number of engineers and technicians specifically trained to handle the technical challenges of these alternative energies.

In this proposed project, a renewable energy systems training laboratory and the associated curriculum will be developed for training, workshop, and education purposes in the Engineering Technology (ET) Department at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and County College of Morris (CCM), in collaboration with the industrial partners in order to meet the standards established by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) for certified solar photovoltaic system installer. The objective of this proposal is to provide user friendly RES equipment and experimental materials for the college students and faculties in engineering technology programs to develop the required expertise in this domain. The students and faculties will get exposure to the relevant theoretical knowledge and will get hands-on skills through the practice of RES installation, troubleshooting, and commissioning. This proposal aims to boost RES training in STEM education by developing the state-of-the-art laboratory and curriculum that match well with the relevant industry needs. Moreover, an online multimedia package will be developed to include RES lecture notes, course materials, and laboratory and classroom videos. This package will be made freely available to the public for use by remote educational institutions specifically those who cannot afford paying for the laboratory equipment. 

3.  Motivation

The renewable energy share in the U.S. energy production market is growing rapidly, while the fossil energy share is declining [2], [3]. These trends are depicted in Figure 1 for the time span of 1998-2017. The percentage of renewable energy production (out of the total energy) has risen from 7.7% in 2001 to 17.12% in 2017. Due to the advancement of relevant technologies, it is expected that these trends will continue with steeper slopes in the following decades. 

In 2018, the state of New Jersey has passed two bills that require power companies to generate 35% and 50% of their electricity demand from renewable energy resources by 2025 and 2030, respectively [4]. These legislative goals would pull New Jersey in line with some of the leading states on the issue, like New York and California. To this end, development of renewable energy skills among STEM students is important in today’s economy. Educations and trainings in the realm of renewable energy technologies are central to the growth and well-being of America’s industries and technological sectors. Electrical engineers and technicians require a wide spectrum of knowledge and skills to effectively contribute to this rapidly-growing sector of electricity generation and distribution industries.  

Solar and Wind Energy Generation Growth: Renewable energy resources encompass several technologies mainly including hydroelectricity, wind farms, solar photovoltaics, biomass (wood is the largest biomass energy source), and geothermal power plants. The energy generation growth of these individual renewable energy technologies is depicted in Figure 2 for the time span of 1998-2017 [2], [3]. As indicated in this figure, “hydro” has constituted a major share of the renewable energy generation, but its trend over the years has been almost constant. The same constant trend is observed for “wood”, “other biomass”, and “geothermal”. However, the share of “solar” and “wind” has been considerably growing in the past few years, and the trend is increasing over time. Therefore, it is predicted that in a few years, there is a high demand for technicians and engineers with hands-on skills in installation and commissioning of these two renewable technologies, solar and wind. In this proposal, the focus will be made on the solar photovoltaic technology, by developing the state-of-the-art laboratory and curriculum to train the engineering technology students with the hands-on skills required to fill the gap between the market demand and workforce, and fill the relevant industry positions. 

Solar Energy Industrial Workforce Need: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “solar photovoltaic installer” is the occupation with the highest percentage of employment with the growth rates of 105%, between 2016-2026 [5]. The typical entry-level education requirement is mentioned to be high-school diploma or equivalent, and postsecondary non-degree award. This implies that there will be a significant increase in the job market demand for technicians in this area of engineering technology. Based on the information from the department of energy (DOE) depicted in Figure 3, about 42% (2015), 43% (2016), and 40% (2017) of the job market in electric power generation technology was dedicated to solar technicians, as compared to other technologies including geothermal, bioenergy, hydro, nuclear, fossil (oil, gas, coal), advanced gas, and wind, and all other types of energy resources. These statistical data indicate the importance of curriculum development for solar energy technology to train hands-on students and technicians to meet the future demand of the solar electricity power generation industries. 

Educational Need: The results of a survey conducted in 2016 indicate that 40% of U.S. employers have difficulty hiring well-trained employees for their open positions [7]. The survey indicates that skilled electricians, technicians (production, operations, and maintenance), and electrical engineers are among the ten roles that employers find hardest to fill due to major gaps in critical and essential skill sets in U.S. On average, organizations spent $1,273 and 34.1 hours per employee in 2016 on direct learning, which indicates a $21 and 0.6 hours increase as compared to $1,252 and 33.5 hours per employee in 2015 [8]. The statistics prove the considerable increase in the organizations’ rates of money and time investments per employee training, which is an indication that the U.S. is not preparing sufficient numbers of students, teachers, and professionals in STEM. Moreover, a critically high replacement rate of STEM professionals has been faced recently by the U.S. employers [9]. This proposed project is specifically structured to meet the educational standards of the solar energy generation industries. 

7.  Detailed Project Plan

In this section, the detailed plan of the proposed project is presented by expanding on: the goals and objectives of the project, structure of the new course, faculty and instructor professional development workshops, middle school students outreach, undergraduate research, and senior design projects. 

Goals and Activities: The project goals and activities will include:

References