The announcement last week that a third wind farm is planned for Vermilion County is welcome news for the wind program at Danville Area Community College. Bill Pickett has more…
Greg Hansbraugh, Alternative Energy Instructor at DACC, says Danville is among a handful of schools in the nation offering an Associate Degree in Wind Technology….
{‘’There are some schools that offer some certificate programs, but I can tell you from my experience and the feedback that we get, that employers are looking for people with experience – especially a degree,’’ said Hansbraugh, ‘’And we focus mainly on hands-on learning here. So a lot of employers count that as, sort of, two years of on-the-job training.’’}
And Hansbraugh says students who graduate from the wind program at DACC are in high demand….
{‘’I have people calling me every month, literally, looking for graduates or people to work. So there’s no shortage of jobs,’’ says Hansbraugh. ‘’Back in 2016 the U.S. Department of Labor said the fastest-growing field was Wind Tech. So that’s the first time in a long time that anything has been more popular than nursing or truck driving.’’}
(Hansbraugh watches as one of his students during class on Friday.)
Hansbraugh also noted the wind program has been undergoing change…
{‘’The new idea in renewable energy is combined renewable. That’s incorporating other aspects besides just wind or strictly like solar having a combination of both feeding grids. So here at DACC last semester we started to incorporate some solar training as well into the Alternative Energy Program. So our technicians get the best of both worlds now, and it makes them extremely valuable in the field,’’ added Hansbraugh.
A Dallas, Texas-based company – Tri Global Energy – recently announced its working to acquire land for what would be Vermilion County’s largest wind farm. It is proposed for an area stretching from near Georgetown to the Ridge Farm Area.
(Students in the class practice a lot of climbing. Hansbraugh says the modern wind structures are 275 to 325 feet tall.)
