An electricity distribution company and Red Deer College have begun a unique partnership.
On Thursday morning, FortisAlberta signed a memorandum of understanding outlining collaboration that will include using RDC’s Alternative Energy Lab as a potential demonstration site for new and emerging energy sources being developed by the company.
The company does not have such a partnership with any other post-secondary institution in Alberta.
“Who knows what it’s going to hold for us. I think the industry is only in its infancy and we’re really excited in the investment that we’ve seen here in Red Deer College to get ahead of it and prepare students for future needs in the industry,” said Todd Dettling, vice-president of customer service with FortisAlberta.
“We’re really looking to focus our energy with one partner that we think really fits with our need in servicing rural Alberta.”
Students will be able to participate in practical, hands-on training at FortisAlberta’s state-of-the-art Employee Development Centre located west of the city in Red Deer County.
Together, they will also advance the college’s alternative energy initiative that promotes environmental stewardship through use of energy-efficient technologies. The goal is to become a carbon-neutral campus in the years to come.
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RDC president Joel Ward said the college is serious about alternative energy, helping small and medium enterprises convert, and providing good research and data to show that new technology will provide a strong return on investment.
“I’m very much interested in working with the city, the county, and others to find a way we can get together and take a look at how we distribute electricity in central Alberta and find ways to lower the cost per kilowatt and find ways to incorporate all of this new technology into the grid,” Ward said.
The college has 4,200 solar panels and will be looking at directly connecting to FortisAlberta’s grid.
“If you can’t put it into the grid, and you don’t use it yourself, it just evaporates. So we need to be able to store it and distribute it, and we think working with Fortis will give us that experience and enable us to do that right here at RDC,” Ward said.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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