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McCann Electricity Students Get Crash Course In Solar

McCann students pose with the solar panels they learned to mount using a sample roof.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Technical students in the electrical program partook in a solar installation training course.

David Lawless, a solar instructor from Kennebec Valley Community College in Maine, brought the school's "Solar Bus" to McCann last week to teach electrical and some carpentry students some tips and tricks from the field and actually install some panels on a practice ground-mounted "roof."

Electricity instructor Don Tatro said the program provides students with another venue in which they can take their McCann electrical education.

"It demonstrates how renewable energy works and, being in the electrical field how, it pertains to it this," Tatro said. "This can continue on with them in the future because we do have students out there in the field right now."

Kennebec Valley hosts the Solar Instructors Training Network for the Northeast. The program, which was established by the U.S. Department of Energy, provides instructors with training to relay to students to help prepare those interested for the solar industry. Tatro, who has more than 20 years' experience in the solar industry, utilized the program.

Lawless said the program "jump starts" students and gives them hands-on experience with the technology they often would not get just in an electricity program.

"I am giving these guys little tips and tricks so when they are out there with their new employer or contractor they are that much more aware of these utilities," Lawless said. "They would typically learn this on the job in the field, and this just gives them a boost."

Tatro said solar and other renewable energy technologies and training is a growing aspect of the McCann education. He said McCann does a great job providing students with the knowledge they need to take advantage of new opportunities in their trades, especially in the ever-changing renewable energy field.

"We talk about the carbon footprint that we are leaving behind and how to reduce it because when they get to be my age they are going to want a clean planet for their children and generations to come," he said.  

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.