Trident Technical College to host international sustainability symposium
March 8, 2012
CHARLESTON, SC – March 7, 2012 – Trident Technical College and theAmerican Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), in partnership with theDanish and German embassies, will host a special day-long symposium,Sustainable Ways to Community Prosperity, March 27, with delegationsfrom Denmark, Germany and the United States sharing their sustainabilitysuccess stories.
Representatives from Denmark, which currently holds the presidency ofthe European Union, will discuss how they are helping to fulfill theircountry’s pledge to be fossil-fuel free by 2050. Soren Hermansen, whohas been a driving force behind the Danish success story, will be one ofthe speakers on the morning panel presentation, Think Globally-ActLocally: Sustainable Ways to Community Prosperity. In 1999, the DanishIsland of Samso took on the challenge to become energy self-sufficientwithin a decade. By 2009, the goal was largely accomplished. Hermansenwas an instrumental part of the change and was named one of Timemagazine’s Heroes of the Environment in 2008. Now the director of SamsoEnergy Academy, his mission is to share the lessons learned and howattitudes and resistance transformed to acceptance and enthusiasm. Alsoon the panel from Denmark will be Lars Toft Hansen from the municipalityof Thisted. Thisted now derives its energy off the grid, using sun,wind, geothermal power and biomass from the incineration ofagricultural, industrial and household waste.
Germany, a leader in energy efficiency and renewable energies, willhave 118 cities and regions supplied by 100 percent renewable energy inthe near future. The mayor of Saerbeck, Germany, Wilfried Roos, alongwith Frank Hettler, public administrator for energy management for theCity of Ostfildern, Germany, and Christian Vogt, head of corporatestrategy and management with the municipal utility company of Munich,Germany, will discuss their municipalities’ move toward sustainabilityduring the morning panel presentation.
Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, who is on the Climate Protection TaskForce of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, will speak and lead a discussionabout Charleston’s many green projects. According to the mayor, 21stcentury Charlestonians will be remembered for protecting the region’slandscape and natural systems as 20th century Charlestonians areremembered for preserving the city’s magnificent buildings.Representatives from other South Carolina organizations focused onsustainability and renewable energy will also participate, includingJohn Kelly and Elizabeth Cobert Busch with the Clemson UniversityRestoration Institute (CURI). CURI was established in 2004 to driveeconomic growth by creating, developing and fostering restorationindustries and environmentally sustainable technologies in SouthCarolina. In November 2009, CURI and its partners were awarded a $45million U.S. Department of Energy grant, which was combined with $53million of matching funds, to build and operate what will be the world’slargest testing facility for next-generation wind turbine drivetrains.The test facility is currently under construction at the institute’sresearch campus on the former Navy base in North Charleston.
Retired Air Force Gen. Ron Keys will provide the symposium’s keynoteaddress, Parallel Paths – National Security and Community Prosperity.Keys is a member of the Center for Naval Analyses Military AdvisoryBoard and is a senior adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center, where heprovides expertise to projects on energy, transportation and nationalsecurity. He also is the lead for the National Security Speaker Seriesand provides liaison to the Hamilton-Kean 911 Commission HomelandSecurity Preparedness Group project.
An afternoon panel presentation, The Business Case forSustainability, will feature Duncan Seaman of automotive and motorcyclemanufacturer BMW Group, Greg Towsley of energy-efficient pumpmanufacturer Grundfos, Martha Senf of global electronics, energy andengineering giant Siemens, and Dave Gustashaw of automotive manufacturerVolkswagen. These business leaders will share how their organizationshave reaped the benefits of incorporating sustainability and energyefficiency into their business practices and products.
The symposium is open to the public and will be held in the CollegeCenter on TTC’s Main Campus in North Charleston. The registration fee of$50 includes continental breakfast, lunch and a networking reception. Aspecial rate of $25 is available for students with a valid student ID.To register go to www.acore.org and click on Sustainable Ways to Community Prosperity under the events column.
About ACORE
ACORE is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., with memberorganizations from every aspect and sector of the renewable energyindustries and their trade associations, including wind, solar,geothermal, biomass and biofuels, hydropower tidal/current energy andwaste energy.
About Trident Technical College
Trident Technical College is a public, two-year, multicampus communitycollege that provides quality education and promotes economicdevelopment in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties in coastalSouth Carolina. The college serves approximately 17,000 traditional andnontraditional curriculum students who have a wide variety ofeducational goals, from personal enrichment to career development touniversity transfer. TTC Green is a multifaceted initiative started in2009 that expands the college’s energy efficiency and sustainabilityefforts at all campuses and sites. TTC Green’s goal is to help create asustainable future that will positively impact the college, communityand beyond.
