The University of Dayton and General Electric Co. Aviation Systems broke ground on a major development partnership on UD's campus Thursday, April 14.

Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO of GE Aviation, led the groundbreaking of the company's $51 million Electrical Power Integrated Systems Research and Development Center. The center is located on River Park Drive, in between South Patterson Boulevard and South Main Street in Dayton, Ohio, according to a GE press release.

"A groundbreaking is both a celebration of [getting] to the point where you can start to see the visual progress, and embarking on something new," said Dr. John Leland, director of the UD Research Institute.

The EPISCENTER will conduct research on aircraft electrical systems, and could possibly influence course curriculum and lead to more job opportunities for UD students, Leland said.

The GE statement said the 120,000 square foot facility, to be constructed by Dayton-based CityWide Development Corp., is expected to be operational by late 2012. GE is in the final stages of developing a long-term lease agreement with UD and CityWide. 

The release said the center's operations will be incorporated with the Ohio Aerospace Hub of Innovation and Opportunity, a state program dedicated to technological advancement and job creation. 

The Ohio Aerospace Hub is located between UD and Dayton Tech Town, a growing research campus located on Taylor Street, ac on Taylor Street, according to daytontechtown.com. 

"GE's new [research and development] center will be the southern anchor to the Ohio Aerospace Hub of Innovation and Opportunity," Bolsinger said in the statement. "This location and future facility will help all stakeholders in attracting high caliber engineering talent." 

Dr. Daniel Curran, university president, said he is looking forward to the continued collaboration with GE.

"Without a doubt, it's extraordinary for a Fortune 100 corporation to build a multi-million-dollar research facility on a college campus in today's economic climate," he said in the release. "Our researchers will work side by side with GE scientists and engineers to develop electrical power systems and technologies."

UD's partnership with GE was unveiled in November 2010, and was funded through an Ohio Third Frontier capital grant, the statement said.

GE Aviation Systems encompasses four large groups of businesses worth over $3 billion, according to the release. GE Aviation is a unit of GE that provides jet engines worldwide for commercial and military aircraft, according to GE's announcement.

Leland is thrilled with the importance Bolsinger and GE are placing on the project and the partnership with UD.

"It is the start of a great vision for the university," said Leland.

GREENFIELD TWP. - Jeff Pitoniak visited an energy-neutral home construction site here Tuesday for a glimpse at his employment future.

"I've always been into green energy," Mr. Pitoniak, 42, of Archbald, said after a presentation by Green Field Energy Solutions on environmentally friendly home construction.

Mr. Pitoniak was laid off from his job at Cinram Manufacturing in Olyphant in December and will begin studying sustainable energy technology in September at Luzerne County Community College. He hopes to get into sales and service of alternative energy products.

"I've always wanted to get into green energy, but there was no market in this area for it," he said.

The market, though, is growing, and Green Field Energy Solutions verifies it.

Jeff and Deana Kilmer of Clarks Summit started the Mayfield solar and wind energy products and services company together in 2008 and the Green Field Energy Solutions now has six employees.

"We grew 500 percent last year," Mrs. Kilmer said as she stood in a house she and her husband are constructing in Greenfield Twp. that will include solar, wind and geothermal energy to negate their electric and heating costs. "We anticipate more people wanting to live more sustainably and to have options. They are not limited to traditional energy sources."

Ten people, including Mr. Pitoniak, are enrolled in a Career Technology Center program aimed at redirecting displaced workers into energy-efficiency fields. They inspected the progress and process at the Kilmer's home on Tuesday.

"We need to get these people back into the work force," said Colleen Stepanovich, a Career Technology Center administrator who is using a $7,000 U.S. Department of Labor grant to show displaced workers options in energy-sustainable employment. "This is cutting-edge technology locally."

The Kilmers began construction of the home in September, and work is scheduled to be complete in June. The energy efficiencies add about $140,000 to the cost of construction, Mrs. Kilmer said, but the expense is offset by about 50 percent from federal and state tax incentives. The investment should pay off in seven to 10 years, Mrs. Kilmer said.

"Alternative energy is a big investment, but most of that money is coming back in incentives, and it's free energy forever," she said. "The goal was to build a house that is sustainable and comfortable."

HARTFORD, Conn. — Proposals for Connecticut's first wind power projects are facing a hurdle in the capital as legislators seek to delay any construction until the state develops more detailed turbine standards.

A lawmaker whose district would host a project planned for Prospect said her committee's proposed legislation aims to give planners time to draft new rules.

Rep. Vickie Nardello, the House chairwoman of the legislature's Energy and Technology Committee, said she doesn't necessarily oppose the project in Prospect, but worries the turbines would be too close to homes.

"If we're going to do wind, we're going to do it well," Nardello said.

BNE Energy Inc. of West Hartford is proposing wind projects that include two turbines in Prospect and six in Colebrook. Its chairman, Paul Corey, said a moratorium doesn't make sense when demand is rising for alternatives to oil.

"How much can you keep drilling and using fossil fuels?" he said. "We don't need additional roadblocks and moratoriums."

The proposals for the two projects have been awaiting approval from the Connecticut Siting Council since late last year. The agency is responsible for ruling on sites for power facilities, transmission lines and hazardous waste facilities.

The Prospect project would be located near watershed land and a mix of commercial, industrial and residential properties, the company said in its filing.

In Colebrook, one site is adjacent to undeveloped land and residential properties. The other site is largely undeveloped, with a small portion home to a golf driving range.

Some opponents in Prospect say the project is a threat to public safety, wildlife and real estate values. They say the wind turbines are noisy and cause what is called a "shadow flicker" with the spinning blades.

Tim Reilly, a Prospect resident who opposes the wind project, said a local group reached out to Nardello and other elected officials in December seeking strict regulations on wind power.

"That's how the bill came about," he said.

The state does have some regulations already in place. Barbara Currier Bell, a member of the Connecticut Siting Council, told the energy committee at a hearing in February that the agency's regulations for wind turbines and other projects are "extensive and detailed."

Nardello said the proposed legislation gives the state time to draft standards on factors such as noise, blade shear, property setbacks and impact on natural resources.

The turbines, which each have a generating capacity of 1.6 megawatts, are the only wind projects proposed for Connecticut. But wind advocates say there's potential in Connecticut despite the lack of high elevations, vast flatlands or "wind corridors" from open oceans that whip up powerful gusts.

"Just because it's not the best doesn't mean it can't work here," said Francis Pullaro, executive director of Renewable Energy New England, a trade group that represents predominantly large energy developers.

BNE's Corey said studies on sound and wildlife show that the impacts are minimal.

"In my view, people just don't want to look at them" he said. "That's the main opposition."

The Connecticut Siting Council will make a decision on BNE Energy's Prospect project by May 16. Nardello said her committee's legislation could be passed and signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy before mid-May, and it could take up to 18 months to write new regulations.

Malloy was noncommittal when asked about the issue Thursday, saying he hasn't given the legislation much thought.

His environmental commissioner, Daniel C. Esty, said through a spokesman that Esty does not believe a moratorium is the correct approach.

"He does feel, however, that there may be a need for regulations that establish general parameters and guidelines to help bring more clarity and consistency to siting decisions," spokesman Dennis Schain said

Corey said the law would be a setback for his project and wind development in Connecticut.

"I think when you look overall at the big picture and what we need to do as a society to move to green energy, having wind in Connecticut and across the country is necessary and it's a good thing," he said.