Utah school offers hands-on training for wind, solar energy

SALT LAKE CITY — A small brown wind turbine and a handful of solar power arrays peek through the gray and black rooftops of factories and warehouses in the manufacturing zone near 2100 South and 3400 West.

The new "green" machines aren't particularly well-suited for that particular locale — it's only windy in the area now and again, and the best time for gathering photovoltaic energy is midwinter — but the machines are perfectly arranged to teach electricians about green technology.

The building is home to the Utah Electrical Joint Applied Training Center, or UEJATC, which works with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to train journeymen electricians.

The school offers state and federal licensing and teaches everything from traffic light operation to solar panel and intercom installation.

The hands-on academy has been offering training in "green" technology since 1998 and is still the only place in Utah that does so as part of a full licensing program. Specialization in the renewable resources energy field is getting more popular for employees and contractors alike, said UEJATC training director Carl Brailsford.

During a Deseret News tour of the facility Thursday, journeyman Jim Rosenauer sat in a cubicle studying. He's interested in photovoltaic and wind energy, and he sees the field as one that will grow over coming decades and one that could provide him a high-paying job.

UEJATC Chairman Shawn Murphy agrees. As the division manager of commercial and industrial projects with Wasatch Electric, Murphy said "green" training has many benefits.

The public needs to be aware that photovoltaic power is high-voltage and dangerous for the inexperienced, he said. Installation and management can be dangerous if not done correctly.

Murphy also said contractors get more work if the journeymen who work for them are trained.

The green power trend is "definitely expanding," he said, adding that specialized training will get more important over the next few decades.

Already, Utah is considering specific licensing standards for photovoltaic and wind power, Brailsford said. State and federal governments also are offering incentives aimed at making green power products more popular.

However, the power of the sun and wind can only be harnessed for a price. All four of the solar panels at the school cost about $190,000, and the 40-foot wind turbine cost around $15,000, plus about $8,000 in tests required by city hall.