Bakersfield College, part of the Kern Community College District, partnered with ForeFront Power to develop a 4 megawatt-DC (MW DC) distributed solar energy portfolio. The portfolio includes solar canopies, solar ground mounts, energy storage, and EV charging stations. This partnership enabled us to fund and work with students to offer students a chance to learn more about solar and climate-related careers.
ForeFront Power’s projects in the education sector include funds for curricula that are customized per the customers’ specific needs, often used for:
- New coursework on renewable energy
- Supplementing a District’s existing curriculum
- Classroom projects and materials
- Hosting teacher trainings
- Climate fellowship programs (for higher education)
Our customers at Bakersfield College went above and beyond with their implementation of this offering, to successfully introduce:
- New curriculum in their robotics course, including a solar kit that tracks direct light
- A Climate Corps fellowship focused on campus air quality monitoring
- A Climate Corps fellowship designed to evaluate campus facility operations
Solar in the Classroom
Educators like Travis Steele, Professor of Engineering, have enhanced their curriculum by adding the latest renewable research into coursework and hands-on lab projects. A robotics course now builds functioning solar arrays that adjust to track light sources, based on project kits provided by ForeFront Power and Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI).
“SEI and ForeFront were fantastic about listening to my ideas. And because I’m the one who knows my students, I know what they’re looking for and what I need in my classroom. It’s been a collaborative effort, but they let me take the lead and design the projects I see fit. Renewable energy is a hot topic for students. They are very excited about these projects!” – Travis Steele, Professor of Engineering at Bakersfield College
Going beyond the classroom
Beyond bringing solar into the classroom, ForeFront Power and Bakersfield College also support emerging energy professionals on their career journey. SEI’s Climate Corps Fellowship enables higher education institutions, local governments, nonprofit, and for-profit businesses to offer young professionals real-world experience implementing sustainability and resiliency projects.
Paloma Lobos embarked on the partnership’s first SEI Climate Corp Fellowship. Responding to Bakersfield’s air quality crisis, Paloma designed and implemented an air quality monitoring program. With the help of the California Renewable Energy Laboratory (CREL) at Kern CCD, Paloma installed PurpleAir sensors at Bakersfield College campuses to study particulate air pollution as the College began its electrification process. Her data demonstrates the impact renewable energy technologies have on the health of Kern County. Paloma also supported student research projects with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Project Development Solutions (PDS).
As a result of her work and connections, Paloma was hired by the College’s CREL laboratory as their Energy and Outreach Coordinator.
“The SEI program was a great experience for me. It gave me a lot of opportunities to explore my interests. I was able to do my own independent research, conduct observational studies, and engage with students in some outreach programs. I am really proud to say that I was their first fellow and I really am grateful for the experience that Bakersfield College, SEI, and ForeFront Power provided for my career growth.” – Paloma Lobos, Bakersfield College Fellow
In a second fellowship, Marlon Dellan worked directly with Bakersfield College’s Executive Director of Facilities and Operations, Marcos Rodriguez, to gather data on the use of EVs in the campus fleet and track sustainability coursework at the College. His research was submitted to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) STARS Report, which tracks sustainability baselines and improvements in higher ed. This STARS’ criteria for campus operations are critical to helping the Calif. Community College Chancellor’s Office achieve its sustainability goals. Additionally, Marlon created a dashboard showing time-of-day energy use for campus buildings, which informs class scheduling to reduce campus energy use.
“SEI and ForeFront Power really care about getting their fellows well-educated on these topics because the more we know about climate as a whole, the more we can help our individual communities. I feel my work will make a positive impact on Bakersfield and help put Bakersfield College on the map of being environmentally friendly, sustainable, clean, and green.” – Marlon Dellan, Bakersfield College Fellow
About ForeFront Power’s Curriculum Offering
The next generation of renewable energy workers is already entering the workforce. ForeFront Power projects include the implementation of hands-on STEM education that plays a crucial role in preparing our future workforce. We partner with organizations like Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI) to offer a completely customizable clean energy curriculum, including teacher training and student programs, to school districts, colleges, and universities.
If you’re interested in implementing a solar curriculum program at your educational institution, contact our team to learn more about partnering with ForeFront Power and SEI.
Interested in learning more?
We would love to discuss how our solutions might be a fit for your organization. Contact one of our solar, storage, or e-mobility experts today: