Sustainable Energy Applied Research Centre

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St. Lawrence College will expand its applied research activity in sustainable energy technologies over the next five years, creating a Sustainable Energy Applied Research Centre. Applied research will draw upon faculty expertise in the college's Energy Systems Engineering Technology Program, as well as Wind Turbine Technology, Civil Engineering, Instrumentation Control Engineering, and other programs, and will involve highly motivated college students. Partners will come from eastern Ontario's fast-growing sustainable energy industries and local university researchers. Projects will assist prototype development and field testing, improve efficiencies in new and existing technologies, and develop integrations of the variety of emerging technologies concerned with solar, geothermal, wind, and biomass energy with one another and with the existing power grid. Typically, small and medium enterprises (SME's) in the field have focused upon a single technology (just solar, just wind, etc) as have researchers. Sustainable energy technology adoption will be greatly aided if 1) basic performance can be enhanced, 2) it can dovetail with conventional technology including the public power grid, and 3) multiple new or old technologies can be integrated into a supple and effective system. Most SME's do not have research resources. St. Lawrence College can leverage its comprehensive energy system programming with regional SME's and universities by facilitating collaborative applied research to improve and integrate the technologies. SEARC and its research network are ready to launch almost 20 research projects in the first two years, with resources in place to promote the research enterprise, completing 60 projects in five years, and to commercialize results, while directly involving over 500 college students. SEARC will greatly enrich the college teaching and learning platform, producing superb Highly Qualified Personnel significantly supporting the sustainable energy sector, locally and nationally.