Curriculum expansion efforts outlined

The director of Mesalands Community College’s wind-energy center outlined efforts to add to the college’s drone and alternative-energy education curriculum, including adding 700 solar panels to its grid.

Jim Morgan, director of the college’s North American Wind Research and Training Center, described during the board of trustees meeting Dec. 15 the center’s future forays into solar and microgrid technology along with its existing wind-energy offerings. Morgan said the college also might add hydroelectric energy and geothermal.

Morgan said the college would enter into an alliance with the Region 9 Education Cooperative in Ruidoso to offer a drone-flying program at Mesalands.

He said the drone class would be called Communication Technology, as students would learn to read maps, navigate GPS systems and use a cellphone to communicate and forward photographs taken by the drone. Morgan said drones can be used to inspect wind-turbine blades and power-line insulators.

Morgan said the college recently underwent an energy-usage audit by Siemens that will make recommendations to lessen Mesalands’ carbon footprint. Siemens would be paid nearly $350,000 with a capital outlay grant awarded by the New Mexico Legislature earlier in the year. Morgan said the future energy-cost savings would more than pay for it.

He said Siemens also would supply microgrid technology equipment that comes with artificial intelligence that can handle power from several sources. Morgan said he’s still working on a contract with the firm but expressed optimism it would be completed before the Legislature begins its January session. He said the college needs to spend the capital-outlay funds quickly, or else the budget-constrained state government could sweep the money back into its coffers.

Morgan also said an external training director at NextEra Energy, which operates a wind farm near the southern Quay County community of House, has offered 700 “scratch-and-dent” solar panels to the college for free, with delivery likely in January or February. The panels would generate 350 kilowatts.

Morgan said the damaged panels are functional. He said the college could offer hands-on training to solar-energy technology students how to troubleshoot and repair the panels. The solar panels then would be erected on a nine-acre field southwest of its wind turbine.

“That’s a windfall for us,” Morgan said of the solar panels.

Morgan said the college also might offer hydro energy to its offerings. The college would build a water tower or water tank on a hill south of campus, and extra energy from the panels or wind turbine would pump water up the hill to the tank. At night, when power from those sources wane, the water would flow back downhill through a pipe’s attached turbine, generating electricity.

Morgan said he was unsure how much energy the water turbine would generate but was certain it would work because the 105-foot elevation was “more than sufficient” for the downhill flow of water. He said setting up such a system and maintaining it would be a good hands-on experience for Mesalands students, regardless of energy output.

Morgan said he also was considering geothermal energy. A 15-foot-deep trench or hole would be dug, and piping containing alcohol or air would be subjected to a constant temperature of 65 degrees. That air could be used for augment the college’s climate control systems during hot or cold weather.

Morgan’s plans were met with approval from board Chairman Jim Streetman, who said students would get real-world experience from setting up the solar panels and other energy systems.

In other business from the meeting:

• The board approved a purchase requisition of $34,500 to Cooperative Educational Services of Albuquerque for extra expenses incurred during a repaving project of several parking lots.

• The board, on the recommendation of Vice President of Administrative Affairs Amanda Hammer, waived the student activity and outdoor activity fees for the spring semester because the COVID-19 pandemic would prevent such activities. The board also waived the fees during the fall semester.

• Acting President Natalie Gillard said the college likely would use a hybrid of online and face-to-face instruction when classes resume in January because of the pandemic. She said Mesalands would update its reopening plan next month with the anticipation of operating at 25% capacity. Gillard said the college has “to be flexible and adapt on short notice.”

• The board approved an annual reaffirmation of the college’s mission statement. Gillard said there were no changes to the statement from the previous year.

• The board went into a 15-minute executive session with Gillard regarding personnel matters. It took no action when open session resumed.