There's Progress In The Wind

Flanked by Congressman Fred Upton and representatives for Gov. Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow at the dedication and start-up of the newly erected wind turbine recently, DeHaven faced the inevitable question, “What’s next?”

DeHaven is the Vice President for Economic and Business Development at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, where the turbine is located. What’s next, he said, is a 26-week training
academy to create jobs in wind-energy industry.

DeHaven believes this training opportunity will bring people from all over the United States to Kalamazoo County. The KVCC Wind Turbine Academy will be certified by Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerebare Energien (BZEE) the leading trainer for wind-turbine technicians across Europe. In English, that translates to “Renewable Energy Education Center.” According to DeHaven, the community college will be the first institution of higher learning in the United States to obtain BZEE certification credentials.

Governor Granholm has set a goal for Michigan of getting 45 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.

‘Wind power technology is about to explode,” said Jeff Patton, Chairman of KVCC’s Board of Trustees.

Entegrity, the wind systems company that sold the turbine to KVCC, announced that it will be basing most of its sales and manufacturing training in the Kalamazoo area through KVCC. Entegrity’s offices and plants, however, will remain in Colorado and Alberta, Canada.

While the celebration was supposed to conclude outdoors with the start-up of the turbine, light wind and heavy rain forced attendees to watch the 145-foot tall start up manually from the foyer of the building.