Students in the MCC Electronics Program will soon be using solar-generated electricity in their labs, thanks to a donation from the ASU-Polytechnic Photovoltaic Testing Lab (PTL).

"ASU-Poly has given us a 50-panel, 7.5-kilowatt capacity system -- enough to power three of our electronics labs under typical usage," said JD Neglia, the Electronics Program Director.  "This donation is the culmination of many years of collaboration between our two schools on several National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, curriculum development, and conferences."

The donated panels are state-of-the-art technology and have been fully tested by the ASU PTL, the only solar panel testing lab in the U.S. and one of only three in the world.  They are being installed on the roof of the Technology Center on MCC's Southern and Dobson campus.  Daniel Parker, an MCC Electronics graduate, ASU-Masters graduate, and current ASU PTL employee, will also be providing expertise to optimize the installation.

Although the system will both save energy and reduce MCC's carbon footprint, there are even more significant advantages. 

"The knowledge and experience our electronics students gain from working with this system will be propagated to the hundreds of technology corporations where our graduates work," Neglia said.  "It also dovetails nicely with our SRP Apprenticeship program."

Electronics students will be developing devices to monitor the power and energy output of this system using the knowledge and skills they learn in the program.

"Such devices are commercially available," said Neglia, "but building them yourself yields much more insight and can lead to innovation. Plus, it's fun!"

Richard Newman, Director in the Electronic Systems Division at ASUPolytechnic, spearheaded the donation.

"We're partnering with MCC and some other colleges to develop an online Alternative Energy curriculum for national dissemination," he said.  "We hope this system will help them in their efforts."

For more information about MCC Electronics, click http://www.mccele.com.
For more information about ASU Polytechnic, click http://campus.asu.edu/polytechnic.