Puget Sound Energy (PSE), Bellevue, Wash., recently gave $150,000 to fund a class dedicated to renewable energy systems at Washington State University, Pullman, Wash. The class will debut in fall 2009, with PSE providing an initial $50,000 gift in 2008 to assist with course development, and the remaining balance of $100,000 over the next five years. The donation will go toward laboratory supplies and equipment, as well as student travel expenses for class tours of renewable energy facilities, such as PSE's Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility near Dayton, Wash.
The coursework, currently in development, geared for senior-level majors in engineering, electrical engineering, and the sciences, will range from studies in the design and construction of wind turbines, solar photovoltaic arrays, biomass generation, and hydrogen fuel cells, to the public policy and ecological impact of conventional and alternative sources of energy.
