Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) offers classes leading to certificates in solar photovoltaic and LEED green-building design. The college may add more course in alternative energy, environmental engineering, sustainable manufacturing and green building. For more information call the Center for Sustainability at (704) 330-6756. For non-credit classes, call the Corporate and Continuity Education Department at (704) 330-4223.

The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association identified 10,250 statewide jobs in renewable energy or energy efficiency in 2009, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. The report ranked Mecklenburg County second behind Wake in the number of companies, with 99.

Nuclear energy directly employs 19,000 people in the Carolinas, according to a report last fall by an industry group, Building the six reactors proposed in the two states would add 17,000 more permanent jobs, it said.

Source: The Charlotte Observer