Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2010)
2 the clackamas print new! Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 Wind technology blows thru carnpu By Johii Hurlburt Co-Editor in Chief Hidden three miles in from Oregon’s scenic Columbia River Gorge, more than250 wind turbines capture the power of truly renew able energy and create a skyline that would make Don Quixote’s courage dissolve. The wind turbines are a part of Portland General Electric’s Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, a site where future students going through Columbia Gorge Community College’s Renewable Energy Technology program will be trained. Due to a partnership forged between Clackamas Community College and CGCC, students can take the first year of classes in order to get a Renewable Energies Technologies degree with a focus on wind technologies at CCC before drifting to Columbia Gorge to finish their training and joining Oregon’s exploding green industry. The pay for a trained technician starts at about $18 to $20 in the field, a fortune to someone fresh out of high school and more than many people can hope for even after receiving a four-year degree. Dale Coyle, Biglow Canyon plant manager, reminds, however, there are some strings attached to making the pay. Most importantly is techni cians cannot be afraid of heights. Soon students will go out to the Biglow site early in the training in so that they can scale the energy creating monoliths. Experiencing this early on is important for new students, according to Coyle. “It’d be wrong to go through two years of college and then get out here and try to climb a tower and realize you’re scared of towers, scared of heights and not want to do the job,” Coyle said. Climb training at Biglow will start once liability issues have been sorted out because regardless of, how safe the turbines are, there will always be an element of danger surrounding them. Currently at Coyle’s site, there have not been any accidents in the three years it has been run ning; however, at a nearby site named Klondike, a worker fell to his death from a turbine in August 2007, becoming the first and only employee killed working on a tur bine in Oregon. In the Oregon Occupational Safely and Health Administration report on the accident, it was found that those working in the tower were not properly instructed or supervised for the operations they were performing, and they had not been properly trained in how to escape from “the hub,” the top part of the tower containing the equip ment to harness wind and convert it into electricity. The report went on to state that nothing was structurally wrong with the tower and it would not have fallen if it would have been oper- ated correctly. Those who are afraid of heights aren’t the only people who would have a hard time working on tow ers; claustrophobes can toss their applications into the trash as well. Work conditions are tight. In order to get to the top of the tower, technicians are required to climb ladders up the entire height of the tower in an area not wide enough to stretch his or her arms. The light purr produced by a turbine farm is reminiscent of the sound a bee makes in the distance. Even standing under the 84 meter giants, one doesn’t here more than a whisper, unless the day happens to be savage and cruel. During the winter .the turbines can turn into catapults; Chunks of ice accumulated on the blades up to four pounds can be hurled off when the wind blows hard enough turn ing the farm into a v potential hot zone of iced > L artillery. Hard hats must be worn on site at all times because the white behe moths may forge clean, I renewable energy, / but they demand respect. For every 8 to 10 power creat ing giants, there is one technician constantly servicing his wind tur bines, making sure they continue work too safely and support elec tricity f°r over 100 houses. The constant maintenance explains why no creaks escape from any poorly lubricated friction points. A quiet operation is important when 141 turbines, with the small est blades at 83 meters, are spinning simultaneously. Currently these turbines are providing six or seven percent of PGE’s electrical output, but by 2025 the company plans to have 25 percent of its power com ing from renewable energy. The money for creating the tur bines comes to consumers in the form of utility bills. Scott Giltz, dean of Clackamas’ technical career education division, says it’s a good opportunity, for those who can deal with the job “It’s a big emerging field, with something like 600 jobs projected over the next] years,” Giltz said about tha energy industry .adding, “th J in Oregon.” Giltz was one of the movl shakers that have made then] ship with CGCC possible, 1 is currently one of the indil working to get Clackamas] Renewable Energy Techa Degree, which is currently] approved by the state of Ora To Giltz th] of renewable I is extremely I tant because hl the future despi needing to beat er place. “We’ve got! using as much] as we do and sto] natural resources.! where this techl comes in,” Giltz col ed. “This kind ofj ogy is really I and essentiall lutely essa . Eat your way into organic foo at Farmer-Chef Connection By Abigail Neet News Editor Janet Grosz Clackamas Print The hoop house has vegetable rows named after native tribes in Oregon. The produce grows through the winter with no heating source. r~ staff the clackamas print 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 503-594-6266 Clackamas Community College is co-hosting Farmer-Chef Connection 2010. This will be the second year for the event to be held at CCC and the 10th year overall. According to Elizabeth Howley, department chair for horticulure, the Farmer-Chef Connection is a great way for farmers and chefs to net work. Farmer-Chef Connection is on Monday, March 8 from 8 am. to 3 p.m. in Gregory Forum. “It is pretty amazing,” Howley said. “It’s a great opportunity for those who love to grow food to get together with stares and chefs.” Howley said stores such as a New Seasons come to the event to purchase food. New Seasons also has a chef come, too. There are workshops for fanners and chefs as well as fanner and chef speed dating. Howley explained that farmers bring in their best food and the chefs cook it Horticulture student Katyn Bassett went to last year’s Farmer-Chef Connection as a student volunteer and food consumer and said the event was very successfill. “It was worth it just for the food,” Basset said. “The lunch is amazing.” Howley agreed that the food was probably the best she had had all year. The food is brought by farmers and prepared by chefs. Basset also noticed that it was a good way for people to make con nections. Bruce Nelson, a horticulture instructor, said he has seen a change in what is wanted from the program as more and more students are interested in food production. “We are struggling with it inter nally,” he said, of how to accom modate the demand and give people job skills. Nelson believes it has a lot to do with current times and people wanting to fann and buy locally. Nelsd goes with the nationwide inten Nelson agreed that Fami Connection is a good way for meet local growers. There are 56 horticultura covering a variety of material from organic farming to pesta ment and landscaping. Nels that although there are not ta food production classes, then of overlap. For example fan! learn a lot from pest mana classes. Nelson, himself teaches an ic gardening class which ga soil prep, tools to use, oiganil rials, cold weather procedí when to plant. The college was donated] house,z which is basically I house to garden through tha that Howley’s class takes cara hoop house uses no heating I successñil plant growth. Nelson said it is used to I students on the possibilities of 1 through the winter. X Co-Editors in Chief: Ad Manager: Staff Writers/Photographers Production Assistants Kayla Berge, John Hurlburt Meredith James Joshua Baird, Michael Bonn, Chyanne Escalante, Sean The News Editor: Copy Editor: Hillary Cole, Jaime Dunkle, Jes Huggins, Abigail Neet Kayla Calloway sica Foster, Janet Grosz, Travis Robert Morrison, aims to report the ffl in an honest, unbiffl Associate News Editor: Design Editor: Hardin, Shambre Lund, Javierh Romick, Erik Andersen Kelsey Schneider Montero, Matthew Ostergren, Emily Vaterlaus Sports Editor: Photo Editor: Steven Riley, John Simmons, Mark Foster John Shufelt Mark Sunderland, Art Volodko Associate Sports Editor: Web Editor: Steven Weldon Brian Steele Arts & Culture Editor: Annemarie Schulte Lundin, Neil Kitty Corey Suydam, Journalism Adviser: Goals Clackamas I professional maffl Content published ini Print is not screen« subject to censorship! Melissa Jones E-mail comment! chiefed@clackamas.|
