2009.11.30 – London Free Press

College gets green millions
Fanshawe gets funding for energy research

The greening of London's economy just might travel through Fanshawe College.

The college has received a $2.3-million boost from the federal government to fund green energy research, meaning it will speed work now being done in the areas of wind turbines, solar panels, bio-mass and bio-fuel. "We can only hope this new research spurs the creation of new companies and helps larger ones," said John Makaran, chairperson of applied science and technology at Fanshawe College.

Research will also focus on commercializing the work -- applying it to business and industry so it can create much needed jobs, he added.

"We have to get this work to the shop floor. We are working on taking new technologies and getting them industrialized," said Makaran, who worked at Siemens for 14 years.

The money will fund several ongoing Fanshawe projects, including:

* Solar power, including work on awnings and blinds that collect the sun's rays; a solar-powered utility vehicle; and a solar- powered de-icing system for parking garages, roads and other concrete infrastructure.
* Wind: An efficient wind turbine designed for residences, which capture power at low speeds.
* Bio-mass and bio-fuel: Continuing work in the areas of generating energy from organic waste by using composted organic waste and byproducts to grow food and plants in greenhouses.

"We are doing a lot of work in these areas now," said Makaran.

The five-year grant came from the federal College and Community Innovation Program (CCI). It encourages the college to seek private-sector partnerships.

Makaran said he believes the research is critical and needs to be accelerated. Canada has fallen behind in renewable energy research being done elsewhere -- and needs to catch up, he warned.

"Countries in Europe have been doing this for 20 years," he said.

Despite new money being funnelled into research, it has been difficult to find scientists to do work needed, he added.

"We are lagging behind in product development and new technology. We have a lot of catching up to do. We have lost a lot of jobs here in the auto industry so we are feeling the urgency here more."

But work must accelerate if there is to be an industry in this region -- the province has mandated that 50% of wind turbine parts be made in Ontario by 2012 and 60% of solar panel parts by next year.

"Applied manufacturing with a green shift will be London's new technology and we are geared to handle this," London West MP Ed Holder said of the funding news.

The money for Fanshawe comes on the heels of the school getting $31 million from the provincial and federal governments to create the Centre for Applied Transportation Technologies.