Clean Energy Center's Harrisburg lab holds open house

Celebrating the positive impact being made in people’s lives, an open house was held Wednesday at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Clean Energy Center site in Harrisburg. 

The center is equipping individuals with the skills necessary to weatherize the homes of others, thus reducing energy bills, while at the same time, addressing health and safety issues such as mold, lead paint and carbon monoxide. It is an undertaking with immeasurable benefits for communities, and the open house acknowledged that feat while also showcasing the 10,000-square-foot facility. 

The site includes a Home Energy Professional lab featuring training and testing props, a heating appliance area, and an outside single-family diagnostic house. A modern classroom, lunch atrium, offices and other gathering spaces round out the amenities.

“The story of the Harrisburg training lab is centered around one of the cornerstones of Penn College’s values: business and industry partnerships,” said Alison A. Diehl, executive director of the Clean Energy Center, as she addressed the gathering. “As the energy efficiency sector continues to grow, our industry partners often encounter challenges in finding, training and retaining skilled employees. Our job at the Clean Energy Center is to design workforce solutions that result in training onramps and upskilling to meet industry needs.”

Diehl shared the origins of establishing the Harrisburg site, including forming a partnership with MT Weatherization, part of MT Building Services, a home performance company which owns the building (formerly the Keystone Technical Institute).

Since opening the Harrisburg lab in May, about 200 home energy professionals have received training and completed certification. The lab is the most recent addition to the Clean Energy Center’s training sites, including a lab in Latrobe and the central location in Williamsport. Providing more access to hands-on training across the commonwealth, all three labs are running at full capacity, supporting increased workforce recruitment and training efforts under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Providing additional local options for hands-on technical skills training allows Penn College to reach individuals where they are at, reducing time away from home and families while workers learn and earn certifications,” said Michael J. Reed, president of Penn College. “None of this would be possible without the support of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development and its weatherization network. Your presence here today is a testament to our shared commitment to making a difference in our communities.”

Also speaking at the open house was Richard Vilello, DCED’s deputy secretary for community affairs and development, who noted that next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the college's and DCED's partnership that created the Weatherization Training Center (now called the Clean Energy Center). Since 1985, the center has logged more than 22,000 worker enrollments.

“This is not just making a difference in the lives of the people receiving training, providing them with the tools to have fulfilling careers, but this is positively impacting the lives of property owners,” Vilello shared. “I often see the results of these repairs … and I’ve sat at kitchen tables with grandmothers who speak, with tears rolling down their faces, about the difference this has made in their lives, making their homes safer and more affordable and enabling them to stay in their homes longer.”

Joining the Clean Energy Center facilities this summer will be an 1,800-square-foot house for training more home-energy professionals. That building will be constructed on Penn College’s main campus in Williamsport, with groundbreaking set for late June. The construction is among academic and workforce development initiatives supported by a $2 million grant awarded by the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration. 

For more information on the nationally recognized Clean Energy Center and its accredited Home Energy Professional programs, visit the web pages.