For Immediate Release

Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: August 17, 2022

Southwest Tech eyes future with renewable energy

Seeboth-Wilson continues work with RENEW Wisconsin

Fennimore -

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is prioritizing renewable energies in its three-year Strategic Directions plan. Using one-time funding sources, the college’s operating expenses will be reduced through investments in renewable energies. In addition, student learning opportunities will be created through a partnership between academics and facility operations.

Goals for the next three years as part of the innovation priority:

• Reduce the college’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20-percent by 2025.
• Reduce the college’s heat and electric costs 20-percent by 2025.
• Graduate at least 20 students to serve renewable energy and energy efficiency needs of the region by 2025 through the college’s new Renewable Energy Associate Degree.

According to Dan Imhoff, executive director of facilities at Southwest Tech, college officials are working with Ameresco, a consultant, to create a 10-year sustainability plan that will work closely with the college’s facilities master plan to help campus reach its goals. “We have set some ambitious, but attainable goals,” said Imhoff. “We feel confident these two plans will help us meet or even exceed those goals.”

Operational costs saved through this investment in renewable energy will be re-invested in supporting student success. “Renewable energy offers us an opportunity to better manage our facilities, while at the same time support our students and their future success,” said Dr. Jason Wood,” Southwest Tech president. “We have seen the increased benefits of renewable energy over the years and we believe, with careful planning and implementation, we can take advantage of the resources these alternatives offer our campus.”

One of the people leading the renewable energy charge on campus is Amy Seeboth-Wilson, director of grants. She was recently elected president of RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization that promotes renewable energy in the state, after previously serving as secretary. She was first elected to the board in 2019 while she was serving as sustainability coordinator at UW-Platteville. “Renewable energy is going to be very important to make our future more sustainable,” said Seeboth-Wilson. “Wisconsin has a lot of opportunity to increase our renewable energy, so it’s fun to be a part of an organization that’s truly making that happen across the state.”

According to Seeboth-Wilson, Wisconsin has some of the most restrictive policies for renewable energy in the country, while at the same time, the state boasts some of the best resources. “In our part of the state, in particular, you are seeing these really large solar and wind projects despite some policy constraints,” she said. “Living in Southwest Wisconsin we are in the hotbed of renewable energy right now. RENEW Wisconsin would like to assist the average consumer to benefit from renewable energy resources in the state. Right now, policies favor large utility-scale projects, not ‘you and me’”

“I think we have an opportunity here to positively impact our future, rather than have our future dictated to us from outside forces,” added Seeboth-Wilson. “I’d like to be a part of helping our region capitalize on the ownership of those conversations.”

Seeboth-Wilson and her peers at RENEW Wisconsin are working on initiatives across the state to promote renewable energy in higher education. That includes working with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to have renewable energy considered a career pathway.

At Southwest Tech, college officials are working to create an associate degree in Renewable Energy, which was approved recently at the state level, and will first be offered in the Fall of 2023. “We will soon be graduating students who can make great careers in this industry,” said Seeboth-Wilson.

Looking to the future, Seeboth-Wilson is hopeful uses can be found for all the resources. For example, putting up solar panels and allowing cattle to graze underneath them. “There are ways we can farm and produce electricity off the same land,” she said. “I’d love to see our part of the state become a leader in that and show the rest of the country how it can be done.”

• RENEW Wisconsin works on policies and programs that expands solar power, wind power, biogas, local hydropower, geothermal energy and electrical vehicles.

 

| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, a finalist for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |