LCC Renewable Energy and Kiowa County Team Up for Energy Efficient Project

This summer, the LCC Renewable Energy Program was given an excellent opportunity to showcase their acquired skills.  They were approached by the county commissioners of Kiowa County to help develop a solar lighting system for the Veteran’s Memorial at the roadside park in Eads.

LCC’s program was asked to assist in developing a solar lighting system to be used in place of traditional electric grid power. Specifically, the solar array and system would contain equipment to light the flag on a 40 foot flag pole and two lights to illuminate the front and back of the memorial on an elevated cement pad.

After several phone calls and site visits, the two organizations were able to develop a plan that the commissioners approved.  LCC staff and students developed and installed the system, while the county was responsible for purchasing equipment and supplies along with completing cement and underground work.  This phase of the project was completed in late Fall 2014.

LCC’s energy students traveled to Eads October 6^th and 8^th to do the actual installation as part of their ongoing education. Part of this group was made up of new students from the Fort Lyon campus in Bent County. These students not only did much of the work, but were also able to utilize their past work experiences in doing a professional installation of the lighting system. The Fort Lyon students are part of an ongoing cooperative effort between the State of Colorado and LCC.  This partnership offers Fort Lyon residents ways to improve on new and existing skills to be better prepared to meet the challenges of today’s workforce.

The students estimated that by using solar powered lights and not installing a traditional electrically powered grid that, between installation costs and power usage, Kiowa County will save an average of $700.00 a year over the next 10 years.

Students of the Renewable Energy program will return to Eads twice in the Spring 2015 semester to perform additional testing and see how well the lighting and panels are performing.  These trips offer new students and returning students to revisit the project to make observations and adjustments as necessary.  This kind of long term project offers students hands-on experience and access to continue to monitor the results of their efforts in a lasting and meaningful way.

For more information regarding LCC’s Renewable Energy programs, please contact Kelli Gaines at 719.336.1523 or by email atkelli.gaines@lamarcc.edu.

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