Officials from the Arkansas Department of Career Education toured the GREEN Mobile, a Winnebago turned solar-energy laboratory, which was parked on the State Capitol grounds today, to learn about its use in statewide school and training initiatives.
The GREEN Mobile was created through an Arkansas Energy Office grant and support from the Arkansas EPSCoR Program, ASSET Initiative II. The Energy Office is a division of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
The mobile lab features six 235-watt solar panels mounted on the driver’s side that can power all elements of the lab and can be used for solar energy demonstrations. The GREEN Mobile has been based at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville for the last three years but will move to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
The GREEN Mobile was created to expose Arkansas students to fun and interactive projects in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
“The GREEN Mobile is an extremely valuable educational tool for Arkansas,” Gail McClure, Arkansas National Science Foundation EPSCoR director, said in a news release. “It has been used in programs in Northwest Arkansas for the past three years and we are excited about the opportunity to move it to UAPB. This transfer provides an opportunity for schools in central and south Arkansas to have access to programs on solar energy.”