It has been a busy winter for many of our extension faculty and staff involved with renewable energy programs around the state. Our winter program started with a successful exhibit at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. We had good traffic at our exhibit, including visits from several state legislators culminating with a visit from Governor Rendell.

We have developed a small advisory group of faculty and educators to develop a plan for our renewable and alternative energy education programs. Our vision is to develop a range of educational activities that encompass a wide variety of energy issues from energy efficiency to feedstock assessment and production.

One of our key areas initially has been public education. Specialists and extension staff have been delivering programs across the state, increasingly including energy related topics in traditional programs or creating new programs directed especially towards energy. One example of this has been a VTC program series developed by extension educators in the southwest region.

We have also been active developing partnerships with other organizations and businesses interested in renewable energy. For example, I had the opportunity to meet with several ethanol and biodiesel plant developers to better understand their vision and needs in the future. Many others have had similar interactions with other private and NGO groups who are considering other projects and issues. An interesting collaboration has been a joint effort to turn the butter statue from the Farm Show into biodiesel. Our staff helped to bring the statue back to town, where the Vo-Ag department at State College Area High School was able to turn the butter into biodiesel. It was a great learning and promotional collaboration for all involved.

Greg Roth
State Program Leader for
Renewable and Alternative Energy