What are your program’s training needs?

During the GLRPPR meeting last month, attendees discussed regional training needs, sector or chemical specific issues, and emerging trends in pollution prevention technical assistance. The following trends emerged:

Training

  • Basic principles of P2 as applied to doing technical P2 assessments; focus must be on hands-on; audience would include students, consultants, businesses, TAPs
  • Green chemistry, particularly product substitution; it’s the right thing to do, and green chemistry and other P2 approaches can help a business avoid regulations
  • Front-line worker P2 training as is done by Purdue – P2 is for everyone!
  • EMS for small businesses; ISO 14000 is out of reach for many businesses wanting to do the right thing

Emerging Trends

  • P2 is getting more complex, including more multi-media  — more direct field support is needed as well as follow-up, longer term commitments by TAPs and inter-organizational partnerships and coordination
  • Recipients of the technical assistance are wearing more hats, particularly in economic down times
  • Work needs to get from the lab to the field and successes defused to other P2 TAPs and industry

Sector-specific issues
We got little agreement on this, and a number of states did not respond.

We want to know: What are the most important training needs for your program? What emerging trends do you see in the pollution prevention technical assistance field? Are there sector or chemical specific issues that you need assistance with? Leave your thoughts in the comments. I’m planning to use this information to develop future GLRPPR sponsored webinars and training opportunities.

DOE Announces Upcoming Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Webinars on Energy Storage Technology for Vehicles, Urban Wind Projects, and More

EERE offers webinars to the public on subjects ranging from how to adopt the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. You can also watch archived webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts.

Upcoming Webinars

September 18: Live Webcast on Accelerating Innovation: Energy Storage

The Energy Department, in partnership with the Battelle Commercialization Council of Labs, will present a live webcast titled Accelerating Innovation: Energy Storage on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. This webcast will highlight several National Laboratory technologies, all of which are energy-focused and can be found on EERE’s Energy Innovation Portal. During this webcast, attendees will hear from J. Raymond Smith about using cryotanks to store hydrogen when used as a vehicle fuel. In addition, Zhuangchun Wu and Chunmei Ban—two researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—will present their research in technologies including: lithium ion batteries, electrochromic windows, the fabrication of nano-architecture electrodes for electrochemical systems, and surface atomic modification of electrode materials to improve performance. Following the presentations, attendees will be able to participate in a live question-and-answer session with the researchers.

Register here to attend webinar.

September 18: Community Renewable Energy Success Stories: Tapping into Wind in Urban Environments

The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled Community Renewable Energy Success Stories: Tapping into Wind in Urban Environments on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The webinar will provide information and lessons learned on urban wind turbine projects in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Hull, Massachusetts.

Register to attend the webinar.

September 27: Live Webcast on the Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) Campaign

The Energy Department, in partnership with BOMA International, the Green Parking Council, and IFMA, will present a live webcast titled Overview of the Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) Campaign on Thursday, September 27, 2012, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. This webinar will provide an overview of the LEEP Campaign and it will highlight two case study examples of businesses that have implemented high efficiency lighting projects in parking facilities. Webinar attendees will learn about the benefits of high efficiency lighting technologies in parking applications and strategies to overcoming barriers to implementation of these projects.

Register to attend the webinar.

Past Webinars:

September 4: 2011-2012 Hydrogen Student Design Contest Winners: On-campus Trigeneration Fuel Cell Systems

The Energy Department presented a live webinar titled 2011-2012 Hydrogen Student Design Contest Winners: On-Campus Tri-Generation Fuel Cell Systems on September 4. This webinar focuses on the winning entries from the University of Maryland, Washington State University, and University of California, Davis. This year, teams created design concepts for a tri-generation system that produces electricity, heat, and hydrogen for their university campus. The first place winner, the University of Maryland’s design, utilizes organic and municipal solid waste via gasification and anaerobic digestion technology. Washington State University placed second and proposed a pyrolysis reactor for straw waste from agriculture in their community. The University of California, Davis won third place for a design that included a hydrogen power and heating system for a residential building complex next to their new solar village. During the webinar, the theme for the 2013 contest was discussed as well.

View the recorded webinar here.