RALEIGH -Twenty-three private businesses, public agencies, and public and private universities will receive $5.6 million to create 400 jobs and internships to give students hands-on experience and training in North Carolina’s energy economy, the North Carolina Energy Office announced today. The federal funds will be combined with other private and public dollars to create an internship program worth nearly $8.7 million.
The N.C. Energy Office created the program with money from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide green-energy-related internship and fellowship programs for talented North Carolina undergraduate and graduate students. The program seeks to provide on-the-job experiences for current or recently-graduated students to enhance their education and encourage them to consider employment in green-energy related fields in North Carolina.
The following are summaries of the programs receiving funding:
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Charlotte city government, Mecklenburg County -The city of Charlotte will use up to 13 interns and four fellows in partnership with Davidson College, Johnson C. Smith University, and UNC-Charlotte to recruit candidates for internships and fellowships assigned to work in one of six departments and be involved in: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant implementation, tracking, and reporting; neighborhood-level energy solutions; developing policies for sustainable city facilities; developing a green preferable purchasing policy; assess energy use and develop energy savings at Charlotte Douglas International Airport projects; and reduce energy demand in operation of treatment of wastewater. Grant amount: $425,359; Total project cost: $771,112.
Guilford County government, Greensboro – Guilford County government will use one sustainability fellow to assist with energy audits of county buildings, analyze energy audits and recommend savings, perform energy surveys of county buildings, provide training on energy usage for employees, review billing rates of each energy provider, develop training and protocols for facilities employees and write energy-related grants. Grant amount: $40,000; Total project cost: $47,662.
Raleigh city government, Wake County – the City of Raleigh will use a fellow to: conduct policy research on energy efficiency/renewable and green initiatives; assist in outreach and education opportunities applicable to social media outlets and web portal publications pertaining to sustainability; serve as a liaison for the local governments for sustainability organization and a coalition to educate federal policymakers about the role of local governments in addressing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions; assist other sustainability staff with greenhouse gases reduction plans; assist staff with policy development; and serve as the main developer and educator of sustainability curriculum for the City of Raleigh Employee Awareness Training. Grant amount: $104,864; Total project cost: $166,316.
Wake County government, Raleigh, — Wake County will hire two recent college graduates with technical and building knowledge as sustainability fellows to focus on internal Wake County operations, evaluating the effectiveness of the county’s adopted “Energy Design Guidelines” and then make recommendations for any needed improvements. Grant amount: $164,575; Total project cost: $238,209.
Washington city government, Beaufort County — The city of Washington will use two interns from East Carolina University to work with city staff and the staff of Martin County Community Action Agency which provides weatherization services locally. The analysis will establish the most effective weatherization measures. Grant amount: $30,000; Total project cost: $49,960.
Winston-Salem city government, Forsyth County – The city of Winston-Salem will use six interns to focus on one of three areas: sustainable architecture, environmental studies and science, or education through a public awareness program. Materials prepared by the interns will become reference materials in the city’s new sustainability resource center and used to respond to questions from the various public sectors. Grant amount: $115,085; Total project cost: $226,285.
COMMUNITY COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Alamance Community College, Graham, Alamance County- Alamance Community College (ACC) proposes to place 40 interns both inside and outside of ACC. These positions offer real-world practice of classroom knowledge and support for the Green Technology Certificate Program, a 12 credit-hour program to train a green workforce. Grant amount: $339,276; Total project cost: $438,240.
Appalachian State University, Boone, Watauga County- Appalachian State will have 32 interns and 10 fellows who will provide experiences in energy-related businesses or organizations. Grant amount: $485,857; Total project cost: $ 606,982.
Catawba College Center for the Environment, Salisbury, Rowan County- Catawba College plans to place 17 interns/fellows with 11 partnering green energy related businesses and organizations. Grant amount: $184,270; Total project cost: $241,600.
Davidson College, Davidson, Mecklenburg County- Davidson College will place one intern at Lowe’s corporate headquarters in Iredell County during the summer of 2011. The intern will likely be a rising Davidson junior with course-related experience in the green energy field. Grant amount: $7,200; Total project cost: $7,200.
Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, Durham County- Duke University will use 18 interns and four fellows. The interns will be placed with, and work to improve, the energy efficiency of existing businesses in North Carolina and receive hands-on experience in energy management. The fellows will launch new green energy ventures in North Carolina and work on the launch of a new clean energy business based in the state; commit to lead the new venture for at least a year; participate in the Duke EntreMentoring program and engage with the clean energy industry community in North Carolina. Grant amount: $345,239; Total project cost: $368,933.
Meredith College, Raleigh, Wake County- Meredith College will use one fellow to work with staff to cut energy consumption and develop a campus-wide energy management and conservation program. Grant amount: $30,586; Total project cost: $ 53,924.
North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, Guilford County – North Carolina A&T State University will have 13 internships and seven fellowships that will provide experiences in energy-related businesses, industries and agencies in the Piedmont Triad area. Grant amount: $149,074; Total project cost:
$ 164,913.
N.C. State University Aerospace & Engineering, Raleigh, Wake County – The N.C. State Aerospace and Engineering program will use 48 full and part-time interns to work with outside partners active in conducting energy assessments and studies, or work on campus in the Industrial Assessment Center or Energy Management Program. Grant amount: $464,801; Total project cost: $ 634,640.
N.C. State University College of Natural Resources, Raleigh, Wake County – The N.C. State University College of Natural Resources will use 45 interns and three fellows with Master’s degrees. An internship experience is a course requirement for completion of a degree in several majors within this department. Student interns may be drawn from several curricula areas: environmental technology, forest management, natural resources, paper science and engineering, or wood products. Grant amount: $435,481; Total project cost: $501,212.
N.C. State University Solar Center, Raleigh, Wake County – The N.C. State University Solar Center plans to use six internships and four fellowships to share research or projects and provide estimates of greenhouse gas reductions from their work. Possible positions and job experiences for participants include bioenergy feedstock breeding and genomics, feedstock growth, cultivation and harvesting techniques, analysis of novel energy crops, feedstock chemical analysis, biofuel chemical analysis, biomass conversion systems, biofuel refineries, economic modeling and lifecycle analyses. Grant amount: $373,469; Total project cost: $415,805.
N.C. State University Utilities and Engineering Services/Department of Energy Management, Raleigh, Wake County – N.C. State Utilities and Engineering Services proposes to place six fellows with internal organizations including the N.C. State Office of Energy Management, the Solar Center, the Sustainability Office, the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management Systems Center, and Advanced Energy. Grant amount: $475,488; Total project cost: $475,488.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Orange County – UNC-Chapel Hill will provide: one fellowship for a recent graduate of a graduate program; two fellowships for recent graduates of undergraduate programs; 12 summer internships for current graduate students; 10 summer internships for current undergraduate students; eight regular session/semester internships for current graduate students; and 28 regular session/semester internships for current graduate students. Grant amount: $324,736; Total project cost: $459,647.
OTHER AGENCIES
Clean Energy Durham, Durham County- Clean Energy Durham will use two student interns from N.C. Central University to work with the agency’s community outreach staff to organize and train volunteers who work with their neighbors to educate them on energy savings, do-it-yourself energy-saving techniques and cost effectiveness of retrofits and group motivation. Grant amount: $85,945; Total project cost: $160,104.
N.C. Arboretum Society, Asheville, Buncombe County — The Arboretum will use four interns to conduct a campus energy assessment, evaluate the results and provide recommendations for energy savings and improvements. The team will also design and prepare a model “sustainability report card” based on their findings and existing sustainable practices. Grant amount: $89,600; Total project cost: $ 96,590.
AdvantageWest Economic Development Group, Fletcher, Henderson County– AdvantageWest will place nine interns in private sector, full-time, clean-energy businesses providing experiential learning. Three fellows will be placed in the public sector council of governments or at AdvantageWest. Grant amount: $479,259; Total project cost: $1,842,709.
Environmental Defense Fund, Raleigh, Wake County- The Environmental Defense Fund will place 24 masters-level graduate students at approximately 18 host outside-the-agency organizations, either full time during the summer or part-time during the academic year. Grant amount: $269,209; Total project cost: $364,117.
Sustainable Sandhills, Fayetteville, Cumberland County – Sustainable Sandhills will use eight interns for 42 weeks as follows: two with the City of Fayetteville Environmental Services Department; two with Cumberland County Schools; two with Alternative Energy Concepts, a local green energy company; and two with Sustainable Sandhills. Grant amount: $165,200; Total project cost: $220,000.