University to hold statewide forums on state’s energy future

The University of South Carolina College of Engineering & Computing will launch a series of forums titled “Our Energy Future” with one on nuclear power at USC Aiken at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, in the Etherridge Center.

Speakers will be Dale Lloyd, director of deployment at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Waynesboro, Ga., operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Comp., and Mary Olson, Southeast regional coordinator of the Nuclear Information & Resource Center.

Dr. Travis Knight, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the university’s College of Engineering and Computing, will moderate.

Dr. Michael Amiridis, dean of the university’s College of Engineering and Computing, said the forums are intended to examine existing and potential energy sources and their roles in the state’s energy future.

“Our energy resources in the years ahead will draw from multiple different materials and technologies,” Amiridis said. “Coal, nuclear and hydroelectric will probably be accompanied by solar, wind, ethanol, hydrogen, biomass and other forms. As South Carolina looks ahead to our energy future, we need to discuss how these different forms will each have a role.”

In each forum, a representative of each type of energy will describe its place in our future, and a second speaker will respond. After that, the event will shift to questions and comments from the audience.

Directions to USC AIKEN and a campus map are available online at the web site: www.usca.edu/directories/campusmap.html.

The forums will take place in different parts of the state: