Energy program opens their doors to the public

Amarillo College’s renewable energy-wind technology program hosted an open house March 17 to give the public an opportunity to see its inner workings.

Jack Stanley, chairman of the Sciences and Engineering Division, began the open house with words of assurance and hope for the Texas Panhandle’s involvement in the transition to wind energy.

Stanley also spoke of the opportunities that are being made available to AC and the surrounding area through use of the PLC Simulator.

“We are trying to make it better and easier to have a trained wind energy work force in the area,” he said.

While the program offers many opportunities, it is not cheap and, according to the AC Web site, “The program has recently received contributions of currency and equipment worth nearly a quarter-million dollars that will bolster scholarship opportunities and hands-on wind technology learning.”

However, according to Jeff Hale, an instructor in electronics technology, the $1 million to $3 million turbines are not simply drains on the budget.

“In an area like this, the turbines can pay for themselves in three to eight years,” Hale said.

A big part of the program is the use and manufacturing of PLCs, which are programmable logic controllers.

PLCs can be used for everything from etching designs to telling the turbines when to start and stop and what to do with the energy.

“Just about everything that is mass-produced uses PLCs,” said Anthony Thorpe, an assistant professor of electronics technology.

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