(February 2010) Clean Technology

In his January State of The Union address, President Barack Obama reiterated his call for clean energy jobs as a step in meeting climate and economic challenges. He cited California in particular for its job creation in this sector. In the Federal government's 2009 stimulus package, tens of billions dollars were earmarked for clean technology and environmental sustainability.

Why would an engineer working in Silicon Valley’s high tech industry take interest in these announcements? The same question could have been asked in the early 90’s when then-Vice President Al Gore started talking about a new “information highway” (a.k.a. the Internet). The coming surge in funding from both government and private ventures will drive the transformation of our energy infrastructure. Savvy local companies have already started new businesses in smart meter, home appliance control, high efficiency DC-AC conversion, and energy monitoring software, to name a few. In fact, a large portion of the funding surge is expected to land in Silicon Valley- not surprising given the concentration of technical talent here.

At UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, we will be introducting new courses related to clean tech in the coming quarters to help our students prepare for emerging job opportunities. Knowledge is an edge in the job market. Current courses include: Renewable Energy, which covers the technologies behind each of the renewable energy sources, and Clean Technology: Smart Grid, Energy Storage, and Green Building, which provides an overview of the energy distribution, battery and building technologies. The upcoming summer course Smart Grid will introduce the smart power grid from a system prospective, including the function of real-time devices and bi-directional communications.