The USA Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $13.5 million in investment to spur job creation in the solar energy sector among “underserved and underrepresented communities”.
The DOE said that while the solar workforce is more diverse than other segments of the energy industry based on a study it conducted 2021, the funding targets the sector as it has a bulk of the electricity grid.
Under the funding program unveiled Tuesday, twelve projects in over a dozen states have been selected for “negotiation to launch training partnerships that expand the solar energy workforce in underserved and underrepresented communities, as well as create career pathways with thousands of good-paying jobs”.
“The selectees include partners from industry, tribal organizations, unions, community colleges, and state and local governments”, the DOE said in a press release.
“With solar power potentially contributing up to one third of the U.S. electricity supply, there is a need for more equity and inclusivity in the industry”, it added.
Grid Decarbonization
The jobs investment “supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of equitably boosting economic opportunities across America while achieving a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035”, the DOE said.
Decarbonizing the country’s power supply system requires between 500,000 and 1.5 million workers in the solar sector alone, according to a study sponsored by the DOE published September 2021.
A study conducted by the DOE released June 2022 said solar power companies employed over 330,000 workers in 2021, up 5.4 percent from 2020.
Solar fuel had the second-biggest share of USA electricity generation 2021 accounting for 22 percent, behind natural gas at 34 percent, according to the DOE’s annual energy outlook published October 27, 2022.
Workforce Composition
Solar job market expansion should “be accessible to workers from all backgrounds, provide competitive wages and benefits, and offer opportunities for union membership”, the DOE said in Tuesday’s announcement.
The DOE’s “United States Energy Market and Employment Report 2022” said people identifying as white occupied 74 percent of energy jobs 2021 numbering nearly 5.6 million. Hispanic or Latino workers comprised 17 percent, African American eight percent, Asian seven percent, American Indian or Alaska Native two percent, Black Indigenous one percent and Pacific Islander one percent. Energy workers identifying with two or more “races” accounted for eight percent.
“The solar industry is more racially diverse than national averages”, said the report released June 2022. “The percentage of non-White workers is higher than the national average (28% compared to 22%). This is attributable to Asian workers (9% compared to 7% nationally), those of two or more races (8% compared to 2% nationally), and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders (1% compared to <1% nationally) being more concentrated in solar”.
Projects
Under the DOE funding, Amicus O&M Cooperative has been selected for a project to expand training for solar operations workers and maintenance professionals across the USA. It has been earmarked $1.5 million.
In Illinois state’s Cook county, the DOE has picked a project meant to form partnerships “that benefit minority workers and small business owners and strengthen workforce training pipelines that address local solar industry demand and create quality jobs”, Tuesday’s announcement said. The project would get $1.1 million.
The Crater Lake Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Center could receive $1.5 million for a project to “develop a new union-based electrician pre-apprenticeship course for high school students in underserved rural and tribal communities in Southern Oregon and Utah”.
The Emerald Cities Collaborative project “will create one of the first dedicated solar installer trainings and union-based electrical pre-apprenticeship programs in the state of Washington for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color”. It has a potential award amount of $725,000.
For disadvantaged communities in California state’s Central Valley, the Kern Community College District has been earmarked $1 million to “provide solar installation career-track training and electrical apprenticeship readiness training with opportunities for union membership”.
Power52 Foundation would get $1.4 million to “expand access to solar training and quality jobs with career pathways for individuals in disadvantaged communities by scaling a nationally recognized solar energy training program to new sites around Baltimore, Maryland”.
Targeting Native American women, a project by Red Cloud Renewable “will utilize an apprenticeship readiness program that provides family-centric services, in-person training, and a mobile lab”. The project has a $1.5 million share of the funding.
Solar Landscape would receive $850,000 to “partner with community-based organizations, vocational training facilities, and corporate partners to provide quality training programs in commercial solar installation in New Mexico, Maryland, Colorado, and other states with growing community solar markets”.
Solar One has been selected for a project to “strengthen solar curriculum in pre-apprenticeship, community college, and high school education programs, create advancement pathways for entry-level workers and develop resources to increase minority- and women-owned business enterprise participation in New York City and Newark, NJ”. The project could get $750,000.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been earmarked $1 million to create a so-called Louisiana Solar Corps, “a statewide solar workforce training and apprenticeship program that will establish eight new degree programs at five community colleges and four universities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities”.
Lastly the Worksystems project could receive $1 million for “training and placement resources for diverse jobseekers to enter quality jobs in solar installation and related occupations, including union electrical careers across the Portland metro region”.
The allocations are not final with the DOE and selectees yet to engage in negotiations.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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