For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: September 10, 2024
Southwest Tech to lead $3 million DOE grant
Energy assessments for manufacturers the focus
Fennimore -
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, along with partners, has been awarded a $3 million U.S. Department of Energy grant. The college will be the lead on the grant, partnering with Madison College, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, and UW-Stevens Point’s K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP). This project, the Wisconsin Energy Partnership, is supported by a grant from the U.S Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) program.
According to Ashley Wojtalewicz, Sustainable Energy Management instructor/ITAC director at Southwest Tech, the primary goal of the grant is to bolster small and mid-sized manufacturers in Wisconsin by reducing energy costs and making use of new technologies. “We’re going to try to help those manufacturers save money by being more efficient, which will include technical trainings in various efficiency areas, including advanced manufacturing technologies,” she said.
The grant will also allow for energy assessments at K-12 schools.
Overall, the ITAC initiatives include:
• Innovate Industry. Through hands-on, work-based learning, students will bring the latest innovations and best practices right to the manufacturing floor. Free, course-based energy site assessments will jump-start conversations about energy reduction, electrification, and decarbonization. Over three years, the consortium is expected to conduct 39 energy assessments while also engaging at least 90 students in high-impact learning.
• Empower the Workforce. Energy considerations are increasingly complex as the world electrifies and digitizes. Through upskill training, manufacturers and industries along the supply chain will arm employees with the tools to implement energy decisions. Topics will range from sensors and cybersecurity to energy analytics and HVAC controls. At least 265 incumbent workers will be upskilled with more than 117 trainings.
• Advance Pathways. The biggest concern among Wisconsin employers is the lack of qualified and available workforce with energy expertise. The group will address this by promoting energy career pathways to increase enrollment, with a focus on females and special populations. They will launch the “Clean Energy Careers” campaign and hold 39 recruitment events.
“This grant will have a direct and lasting impact on Wisconsin’s manufacturers,” said Holly Straka, director of Business and Industry Services at Southwest Tech. “We have already been driving advancements in automation and workforce development through the Workforce Innovation Grant and we can continue to build on that foundation by providing manufacturers with cutting-edge energy assessments and upskilling their workforce, better equipping them to become more efficient, reduce costs, and adopt new technologies. This will ensure their workforce is prepared to meet the demands of the future.”
When successful, over three years, the ITAC will identify $4.88 million in energy savings, reduce energy use by at least 19.5 million kilowatt hours, and increase females or special populations enrolled in energy degree programs in the partnering agencies by 25 percent. “It’s really intended to help our manufacturers make the best use possible of their resources, so they can run more efficiently, save money, and adopt new technologies that will help them do those things,” said Amy Seeboth-Wilson, director of grants at Southwest Tech.
This is the first time this federal grant has been extended to technical and community colleges. Southwest Tech will be part of the first nationwide cohort of 17 two-year colleges in the country working with this grant. “We’re at the forefront for the state and the nation with this grant, which is exciting,” said Seeboth-Wilson.
Wisconsin manufacturers, responsible for 31 percent of the state’s energy use, have a big role to play in helping the state and nation achieve the ambitious net zero energy goal – and an opportunity to save money. As energy prices rise, historic financial incentives roll out, and technology breakthroughs lower costs of energy investments, there has rarely been a better moment for the industry to go all in for clean energy. And yet, manufacturers, still recovering from the pandemic and now suffering inflation, automation pressures, and historic population declines, rank energy investments ninth on their list of priorities. “Manufacturing is one of the core industries in southwest Wisconsin,” said Seeboth-Wilson. “It pays high wages. It turns our agriculture products into food that people buy. It’s the backbone of our economy and when our manufacturers do well, southwest Wisconsin does well.”
“Since Southwest Tech exists to help our employers and our economy thrive, and our students get high-wage jobs, manufacturing checks all the boxes in a really succinct way,” said Seeboth-Wilson. “We have really been leaning in to helping our manufacturers succeed through work with our Workforce Innovation Grant, we’ve been exploring automation degrees, and this grant is a natural continuation of those efforts.”
Anyone interested in moving forward with an energy assessment may contact Wojtalewicz at 608.822.2476 or awojtalewicz@swtc.edu. Manufacturers can be located anywhere in Wisconsin, and are not limited to being in Southwest Tech’s five-county district.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college was recently named a top 10 finalist for the Aspen Prize. 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. |