Lean and green
Green is the color on everyone's mind these days, and for good reason. Green jobs and the impact on our economy are emerging as one of the top priorities for President Obama and his new administration.
Shortly after taking office, Obama outlined his plans to achieve energy independence in the United States. In the proposed policy he stressed that our future depends on the creation of new jobs in green industries.
This isn't the first we've heard about green jobs as the key to creating a positive economic impact on our lives.
Kern County is already home to wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and dairy digester (methane) projects, and is primed to become the leader in our state as it relates to green jobs.
Wind and solar energy have been in production in Kern County since the early 1980s and have already provided hundreds of green jobs. But could it be even better? According to the recently released Green Economy Workforce Study, completed by the Centers of Excellence, the central region of the San Joaquin Valley "is beginning to see the first indicators of a blossoming green economy ..."
So what will it take to bring the blossom to full bloom?
First and most important is training and education for green jobs. A trained workforce is a key component to attracting new business to our county. Local high schools and our community college system are working hard to meet the demands of these needs.
Cerro Coso Community College, the Ridgecrest school that's part of the Kern Community College District, already offers certificate and degree programs in alternative energy disciplines such as wind, solar and power plant technicians, and Independence High School in Bakersfield has just started its first class of sophomores in their Energy and Utility Academy.
Introducing the various green energy industries to students now will help build the bridge to future employment in numerous fields, not just green jobs. We can attract all of the new alternative energy companies we want to Kern County, but without the right training and education, we could lose out.
Secondly, our mindset needs to be open to the fact that the green movement is increasingly becoming part of every industry in our county, not just those associated with alternative energy. Agriculture, Kern County's largest industry, already uses many examples of energy efficiency and alternative fuels in their daily operations.
One such project is currently happening in Delano by produce shipper Railex, a company new to Kern County. The cold-train operation takes 200 trucks off the road per week and saves 5 million gallons of diesel fuel a year. Utilities, water agencies and construction and design companies also use a myriad of examples of "green jobs."
An interesting conclusion in the study by the Centers of Excellence is that new jobs created in the green economy in the Central Region "will primarily be jobs that we already are quite familiar with." Whether it is electricians installing new solar panels, manufacturing techs assembling wind turbines, or construction managers overseeing the development of new buildings certified under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, these are all green-economy jobs in established occupations, the study declares.
That is where the training comes into play. We will need to take those "familiar" jobs and retrain employees to be part of the green jobs boom.
An additional component to becoming the green jobs leader in the valley is the attraction of new green businesses to Kern County. However, to attract new businesses that provide energy for our county and the state, we must construct new utility transmission lines. Wind farms in Tehachapi are already at a level that on some days they produce more power than can be carried over current congested transmission lines.
Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric are well aware of our state's transmission needs and are diligently working to remedy the crisis. The Obama Energy Plan stresses the need for construction of new transmission lines to meet future demand. Construction of transmission lines will also create hundreds of new green jobs in the future.
Green manufacturing will also play a vital role in creating a strong green work force. But attracting manufacturing to California can be tricky due to the lack of manufacturing incentives. Having the ability for ground-up green business would provide the foundation for green jobs.
Green manufacturing, research and development, education/training, and new transmission lines are all instrumental in creating a sustainable green economy, not just for Kern County but for our great state as well.
Robin Fleming is a business developer for the Kern Economic Development Corp. Her areas of specialty are the energy, chemical, aerospace and defense industries.
