Post-Secondary Energy Education
Several of Kentucky’s state-supported universities and colleges have developed curricula to support Kentucky’s growing energy industry sector. Many of these programs are located within a community college or technical school and offer an associate degree or certificate. The degree or certificate provides the student with multiple energy career pathways as well as assists the individual in achieving their financial, educational and career objectives.
The Office of Energy Policy is working to catalog post-secondary educational resources in the field of energy, such as certificate programs, apprenticeships, training sessions, and degree programs. Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified when this resource is available!
K-12 Energy Education
Trained environmental educators design, assist and implement energy and environmental programs in Kentucky's schools. The Office of Energy Policy supports several grant-funded projects that foster excellence in energy and environmental learning.
Kentucky's schools lead by example by creating a learning environment that supports energy awareness and education. School leaders implement strategies to minimize energy use in schools, thus reducing costs and saving money. Through a statewide initiative between 2010 and 2018, public schools reduced energy consumption 25 percent, saving more than $225 million in avoided energy costs – money that remained in the general fund to support student learning. Kentucky also is among the top three states with the highest percentage of ENERGY STAR schools. In 2018, 450 school buildings earned the national symbol for superior energy efficiency, and that number continues to climb. For more information on energy efficiency in Kentucky’s public schools, contact the Kentucky Department of Education.
Resources for Teachers
The Office of Energy Policy has partnered with NEED for nearly a decade to aid in providing Kentucky students and teachers a variety of services. Visit their website to find resources by grade level, professional development opportunities, and more.
The NEF has been creating award-winning curriculum for over 40 years. Their education materials correlate with Common Core and state standards and cover a variety of topics from energy efficiency to electric vehicles.
New resources and 2024 Office Hours are available to help educators incorporate the Bioenergy Research and Education Bridge (BRIDGES) Program into their classroom curricula. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has developed a free bioenergy case study-based education curriculum that should take at least three classroom hours to complete.
ASE's primary goal is to help schools save money on energy costs through school-wide changes in behavior, operations, maintenance procedures, and retrofits. They achieve this though STEM based lesson plans and hands-on applications that let students turn their knowledge into power.
Envirolution's "Project Recharge" offers hands-on energy education curriculum, classroom resources, and professional development opportunities. Project ReCharge curriculum is focused on energy generation, consumption, efficiency, and sustainability.
CEEF is driven by workforce development and offers educational programs, lesson plans, and professional development opportunities. In addition to these resources, CEEF hosts summer camps, conferences, student competitions, and scholarships.