At a glance
Dr. Skip Sullivan, president of Alfred State, said, “Our students will benefit from this project by gaining hands-on experience and developing skills and knowledge related to renewable energy components of sustainable advance manufacturing. We are grateful to the Appalachian Regional Commission for providing us this grant.”
The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded Alfred State a grant in the amount of $143,457, which will be used to bring renewable energy to the Advanced Manufacturing Center on the School of Applied Technology campus in Wellsville.
The grant funds will allow for a project that involves training and educating electrical, welding, and machine tool students in the monitoring and management of renewable energy aspects of sustainable advanced manufacturing through installation of a commercial-grade photovoltaic system and energy monitoring of all energy systems in the center. Students, who will install the photovoltaic system, will gain an understanding of energy costs related to the sustainable operations of a commercial facility by implementing an energy-management system.
“The project will also allow us to work toward making the new Advanced Manufacturing Center a zero-energy facility,” said Dr. Craig Clark, executive director and dean of the School of Applied Technology.
Dr. Skip Sullivan, president of Alfred State, said, “Our students will benefit from this project by gaining hands-on experience and developing skills and knowledge related to renewable energy components of sustainable advance manufacturing. We are grateful to the Appalachian Regional Commission for providing us this grant.”
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), according to its website, www.arc.gov, is a regional economic development agency that represents a partnership of federal, state, and local government. ARC provides funding each year for several hundred projects in the Appalachian Region, in areas such as business development, education and job training, telecommunications, infrastructure, community development, housing, and transportation.
In June, Alfred State broke ground on the center, which will be used to train and educate welding technology and machine tool technology students in state-of-the-art sustainable practices in advanced manufacturing through efficient processes. Other uses for the facility include prototyping and assisting manufacturers in the development of new products and systems.
The building will house freshman and senior welding students and senior machine tool technology students, and includes classrooms, a computer lab, a welding fabrication shop, material handling and preparation space, a CNC machine shop, and metrology and inspection space. It is expected to be in use by the fall 2016 semester.