NRCC News

Biofuels Day to be held at NRCC

Apr 12 2011

This is an archived article!

This article was published on Apr 12 2011 and was archived on Apr 13 2012. The information below may be outdated or inaccurate.

The Alternative Energy programs at New River Community College will host a Biofuels Day on Friday, April 29. A mobile biodiesel education station will be located beside Godbey Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that will demonstrate processes and benefits of biodiesel for reducing fossil fuel usage.

Piedmont Biofuels from Pittsboro, N.C., will provide students with safety training, process design and hands-on experience. The demonstration will show how vegetable oil is extracted from oilseed crops and how the oil used for deep-frying in restaurants is then recycled into fuel for automobiles.

"The event will provide a valuable hands-on learning experience for our Intro to Alternative Energy Systems students," says Elaine Holeton, alternative energy instructor at NRCC and coordinator of the event. "Also, we hope other New River students and the public will visit the demonstration throughout the day."

While the mobile station is on campus primarily for New River students, the public is invited to drop in anytime during the afternoon hours to see the demonstrations in progress.

The visit from Piedmont Biofuels is being supported with funds from the CREATES grant. CREATES (Construction, Retrofitting and Energy- Efficiency Assessment Training and Employment Systems) is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through a U.S. Department of Labor "Energy Training Partnership" grant.

New River Community College offers several specialized alternative energy programs. Students may earn career studies certificates in Alternative Energy and Renewable Energy Basics. Details on New River's programs can be found on the web at http://www.nr.edu/energy/ or by calling the Division of Business and Technologies at 540-674-3607.