This project funded by

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Tri-Tech Skills Center logo

Tri Tech Skills Center

Grade Level:
9-12
Location:
Kennewick, WA
PV System Size:
2.12 - kilowatts
Technology Type:
About the School:

Tri-Tech Skills Center is a career and technical education (CTE) training center for high school students. The center is a cooperative of the seven local public schools in the Tri-Cities area of southeast Washington. The facility has undergone a lighting refit to more efficient lighting, a power conversion upgrade and HVAC upgrade to include variable speed controls on HVAC fans, and follows LEED specifications in upgrades and improvements.

In 2013, educators within the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. To optimize integration of renewable energy science and technology content, every aspect of the support provided by Solar 4R Schools was customized to fit the unique focus of the school community, including topics covered in the teacher training as well as our recommendations for activities and science kit materials to make integration of this new content as efficient as possible. At the time of the project, energy monitoring provided by the Solar 4R Schools program made the live performance data from their PV system available for educational purposes.

The current curriculum places a heavy emphasis on “green building” techniques and materials and renewable energy resources. Solar, wind, hydro and other forms of renewable energy are incorporated into the curriculum.