1st Professional qualification in renewable energy launched

A Scottish college, Lews Castle College in Stornoway has secured a major coup by winning approval for Scotland's only professional qualification in renewable energy, with hundreds of on-line students from around the country expected to sign up.

The course is now available via the internet following a year of negotiations with the Scottish Qualifications Authority.  It will offer a Professional Development Award - roughly equivalent to an HND -  to existing practitioners within renewables-related industries, postgraduate students and "anyone wanting to gain a knowledge of renewables for any reason".

Dr Alasdair MacLeod of Lews Castle College, who is leading the course, said that they already had 25 students registered from within the University of the Highlands and Islands area through word-of-mouth awareness of the course coming on-line.  He said there were "clusters" of take-up around Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Skye, as well as in Uist and Caithness. He expected part-time students to take around a year to complete the course.

He said that the content  was "neither pro- or anti-renewables" but offered an analytical background to the energy debate, basic engineering and economics, and studies of the various renewable technologies including wind, wave, tidal, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, biomass, hydro and microgeneration.  Students would be expected to pursue four units of the course and would have to produce assessments which "show they are objective in their thinking".

Dr MacLeod said that "everything has to be treated objectively", including the economics of the various  technologies in particular areas, at domestic level as well as for larger projects.  "In Lewis for instance, if you put a metre squared of PV on your roof, it would take 80 years to pay it back.  There has to be a different solution for each location".

On the wider context of the course, he added: "Once you accept that demand for fossil fuels at at some point going to exceed supply, every option has to be considered. It is not about the oil running out - it is about demand exceeding supply, which is really economics.

The idea of a PDA in Renewable Energy arose last year during discussions with the SQA about other matters. "At first they were sceptical because they did not think there would be the demand for it but we have worked very closely with them over the past year to develop the course and to get it fully recognised.   They are the only body in Scotland that can authenticate qualifications at anything other than degree level".

Contact the College: aofficele@lews.uhi.ac.uk