Recently in Renewable Energy Category

LEED certification and standards have taken the building design and building fields by storm. While not a perfect system by a long shot, LEED is the leading system that is used by government construction, large corporate construction and even a growing number of residential developers. 

As electricians become "energy contractors" who balance upfits of electrical systems with new renewable energy loads, additional training and duties apply.

Here are some of the LEED standards that point to the role of electricians and energy contractors in the green building sector.  ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standards are growing in importance for electricians and energy contractors.

Title	Credit	Requirements
Alternative Transportation -- Low-emitting and Fuel-efficient	Sustainable Sites (SS) Credit 4.3	Install alternative-fuel fueling stations (e.g. stations for charging electric cars) for 3% of the total vehicle parking capacity of the site.
Light Pollution Reduction	Sustainable Sites (SS) Credit 8	Internal lighting - Reduce input power (by automatic device) of interior lights by at least 50% between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Electrician will select and install fixtures and controls to meet requirements. External lighting - Light areas only as required for safety and comfort. Lighting power densities must not exceed ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 and must meet lighting control requirements from ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007. Electrician will perform photometric analysis to validate compliance of credit requirements.
Optimize Energy Performance	Energy & Atmosphere (EA) Credit 1	Demonstrate a percentage improvement in the proposed building performance rating compared with baseline building performance rating. The higher the building energy efficiency level, the more LEED points are awarded. Electrician will work with utility company to assess energy performance and identify most cost-effective energy efficiency measures.
On-site Renewable Energy	Energy & Atmosphere (EA) Credit 2	Install and use on-site renewable energy systems (solar, wind, etc) to offset building energy costs.
Green Power	Energy & Atmosphere (EA) Credit 6	Engage in at least a 2-year renewable energy contract to provide at least 35% of the building's electricity from renewable sources (wind, solar, wave, geothermal, or biomass). Calculation of two-year expected energy use is required, along with kWH cost of the green power from the serving electric utility. Electrician should provide projected monthly cost required to obtain this point.
Controllability of Systems--lighting	Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Credit 6.1	Provide individual lighting controls for 90% (minimum) of the building occupants to enable adjustments to suit individual task needs and preferences. Provide lighting system controls for all shared multi-occupant spaces to enable adjustments that meet group needs and preferences.

Electricians Must Prepare for Tightening Standards
With so many green building and renewable energy opportunities on the horizon, electrical and energy contractors need to make sure they're ready to win jobs. To get started, they must gain the skills and knowledge to take on green projects. Both the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) offer education programs for green electrical work. And standards organizations such as ANSI, ASHRAE, IESNA  also offer informtion and training opportunities.

The electrical grid is where green building and green construction are really at.

Houston Neal explores how electricity offers job opportunities at The Software Advice Construction Blog.  Neal says "electrical contractors" will transition to "energy contractors" to support the green construction market, and that the profession will grow tremendously.  A study by the American Solar Energy Society projects renewable energy jobs for electricians to grow approximately 900% by 2030, just in the state of Colorado.

In the next ten to twenty years, "electrical contractor" will no longer be a suitable job title for electricians. They will transition into "energy contractors" to support the fast-growing green construction market.

Who creates middle-skill jobs?  Who researches and innovates, who sells, manages, takes out loans to build a business, and saves for a rainy day.  Who pays for the education of employees in middle-skill jobs?  Those hard questions have to be asked at the same time the call goes out to give everyone an equal chance at a good paying job.

The truth is that middle-skill jobs, which require more than a high school
education but less than a four-year degree, currently make up the largest segment
of jobs in the U.S. economy, and will continue to do so for years to come.

Why look at California's jobs?  With a gross state product of $1.8 trillion dollars, California is the eighth largest economy in the world, ahead of global powerhouses like Russia, Canada,
India and Mexico.  That's a lot of Americans!

California faces deep, systemic economic problems today that threaten to undermine the programs, policies and industries that have long made us strong. Ranking as a national innovator is slipping. With layoffs, state budget cuts, housing foreclosures and business shutdowns dominating headlines for the past year, some may believe California's economy has gone into a permanent decline.

The way out is to keep the workforce ready for tomorrow's jobs.  Which jobs?


Addressing the need for middle-skill workers will require attention not only to educational opportunities for young people, but also for those already in the workforce.

Fifty-eight percent of the people who will be in California's workforce in the year 2020 were already working adults in 2005--long past the traditional high school-to-college pipeline.

About 2.7 million "middle-skill" jobs will be created in the state by 2016, according to the study, "California's Forgotten Middle-skill Jobs"  (Oct 2009)  by the Workforce Alliance, Skills2Compete and the California EDGE Campaign. 

Who are middle-skill workers?

The term middle-skill refers to the level of education required by a particular job. It should not be confused with the actual competence and capacity of workers and occupations--many middle-skill occupations require highly skilled trade and technical workers with several years of training and on-the-job experience.

Middle-skill jobs refer to those that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree. They include jobs in construction, healthcare, law enforcement and many other fields.

"Federal funds from the stimulus bill are expected to create new jobs and many of these will be middle-skill, especially in green jobs, construction, manufacturing and transportation," the report says. "Matching the skills of our workforce to meet this demand will help our economy recover more quickly and prepare us for better times ahead."

The report calculates that about HALF OF ALL JOBS  in California fell into the middle-skill category in 2008, and predicts that about 43% of all job openings in the next seven years will be middle-skill.

Low-skill jobs will account for a quarter of all job openings over the same time period,

High-skill jobs will make up 32% of openings.

The problem: A shortage of middle-skill workers could develop because the state has cut back on the training of those skills. State budget cuts have drastically reduced funding to community colleges and adult education centers, for example.

STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Policymakers have become increasingly concerned about U.S. global competitiveness in recent years, and a broad consensus has developed about the need for a strong science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce to support innovation industries and emerging technologies. In particular, business and political leaders have called for increasing the number of students receiving bachelor or advanced degrees in these fields.

However, these highly skilled professionals aren't the only STEM workers in short supply. Employers have indicated there is a significant shortage of the technicians and middle-skill workers needed to implement the new technologies developed by highly skilled innovators. In California between 2006 and 2016 among STEM occupations that are expected to have worker shortages, there will be 18,460 job openings annually that will require an associate degree and 3,590 that will require some other level of postsecondary vocational education short of an associate degree.

This adds up to 44.2 percent of all STEM jobs  in occupations with expected shortages.

Recommendations

• The study urges the state to ensure that every Californian has access to the equivalent of two years of education or training past high school that leads to a vocational credential, industry certification, or one's first two years of college.

• This training must be available at whatever point and pace makes sense for individual workers and industries.

• It must be designed to serve not only those who transition directly from high school to college, but also those who enter postsecondary education and training while working or after spending time in the workplace.

• Best practice research about institutional and program practices that have proven successful should be used to boost participation and success rates.

• Design and deliver programs that ensure that every Californian has access to the basic skills needed to pursue postsecondary education.

As federal economic recovery funds are invested, a large share of the jobs they create will be middle-skill jobs building and repairing roads, manufacturing renewable energy products and caring for our aging population. Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody's, projects that by the fourth quarter of 2012, stimulus spending from ARRA will substantially improve employment nationwide in several industries dominated by middle-skill jobs, including

• construction (802,800 jobs),
• manufacturing (589,700) and
• transportation and warehousing (129,600).

Despite these numbers, policymakers at both the federal and state levels have increasingly
focused on college and university education, without proportionate attention to middle-skill jobs, and the education and training investments needed to ensure that workers have the skills they need to succeed in these vital occupations. This represents a lost opportunity to invest in our economy, both the immediate recovery and our long-term economic future.

High Growth, Local Jobs

The report predicts above-average growth in positions including dental hygienists, respiratory therapists, emergency medical technicians and industrial machinery mechanics through 2016.

Middle-skill workers are the police officers and fire fighters who keep us safe. They are the medical technicians and echnologists who keep us healthy. They are the air traffic controllers, electricians, and mechanics who keep our infrastructure up and running. They are local, hands-on jobs, meaning they are unlikely to be outsourced to other countries.

Creation of a "green economy" and "green jobs."

But what are those jobs? the skills needed in the green economy closely mirror the middle-skill demands of the labor market as a whole. Greener Pathways examines emerging opportunities in the energy efficiency, wind, and biofuels sectors, and urges stakeholders to scale up green job training by leveraging existing state and local workforce development systems

One study from the University of California-Berkeley found that "The renewable energy sector generates more jobs per megawatt of power installed, per unit of energy produced, and per dollar of investment, than the fossil fuel-based energy sector."15 That study further found that environmental protection laws are not the reason why jobs in the fossil fuel industry have declined in recent years.

California has been experiencing a shortage of middle-skill workers.

In 2007, about 50% of all jobs were classified as middle-skill, but only 38% of California workers had the education and training required to fill those positions.

In reality, the gap was likely even greater in certain industries because many workers trained to the middle-skill level--and even those with bachelor's degrees--did not have the specific technical skills needed. This means that thousands of well-paid and rewarding jobs were going unfilled in the state, in industries that are and will be essential to California's economic portfolio.

A Growing Middle-Skill Challenge

But our state will see a significant change in these trends over the subsequent fifteen years, when the proportion of low-skill workers in California's workforce is likely to increase at the same time that the percentage of high-skill workers is projected to decline.

HIGH: The number of workers prepared for high-skill jobs rose by 4% between 1990
and 2005. However, their ranks are expected to fall by 3% by the year 2020

MIDDLE: Workers prepared for middle-skill jobs fell slightly between 1990 and 2005. Their numbers are expected to drop more rapidly through 2020, for a fall of one percent. California educational projections  suggest the shortage of workers to fill middle-skill jobs that our state saw in 2007 is likely to worsen. During the fifteen years between 1990 and 2005, the California saw an increase in residents with educational attainment at the high-skill level.

LOW:  After falling by 3.7 percent since 1990, the number of workers educated at the low-skill level is expected to rise by 3.9% by the year 2020

Meanwhile, California's share of the nation's immigration is falling at all levels.  As more California-born residents stay and fewer people migrate to the Golden State, we must make greater investments in preparing our workforce for the jobs that are available here.

Basic Skills Are at Emergency Levels!

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) indicates only a slight increase in quantitative (math) skills between 1992 and 2003, and no improvement at all for prose and document literacy. Nationally, 93 million adults lack the literacy to participate in postsecondary education and training. This means that tens of millions of Americans cannot access middle-skill education and training programs because they lack basic English and math skills, or do not have a high school education. Even for those who enter postsecondary education, basic skills can be a barrier to success.

Remedial Education



Like the nation as a whole, California faces substantial challenges when it comes to basic skills, only on a much greater scale than many states.

 

The national version of this report, America's Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs, is available at www.Skills2Compete.org.

To learn more about the Skills2Compete-California campaign, go to
www.Skills2Compete.org/California.

The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $6,499,992 to assist national industry and employer associations and labor-management organizations in advancing Registered Apprenticeship through the development of innovative programs that utilize an updated 21st century Registered Apprenticeship framework.

"This funding will promote the development of flexible training options that allow organizations to continue to provide workers with state-of-the-art apprenticeship opportunities" said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Traditional as well as new and emerging industries, such as those related to green technologies, will benefit from the innovative program designs that this $6.5 million will help to support and expand."

Registered Apprenticeship is an "earn while you learn" model that provides a combination of on-the-job learning and related classroom instruction in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation.

Apprenticeship programs are sponsored by joint employer and labor groups, individual employers, and/or employer associations.

Currently the Registered Apprenticeship system includes a network of approximately 30,000 program sponsors nationwide, offering nearly 1,000 different career opportunities.

• The grants will fund the development and adaptation of innovative national apprenticeship guideline standards that incorporate competency-based progression or hybrid-style progression (a combination of traditional time-based programs and competency-based models).
  
• Funds will also be available to support the development and use of interim credentials to track an apprentice's skill progression; as well as the use of technology-based learning to provide related technical instruction.
  
• Funds will also be used to support partnerships with the workforce and education communities.
  
• Finally, funds are also available to train staff, apprenticeship instructors and members on these revised and innovative program designs.

For more information on Registered Apprenticeship and the array of Department of Labor training and employment programs visit www.doleta.gov.

Fall 2009 EPA Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships For Graduate Environmental Study

URL: http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2009/2009_star_gradfellow.html

Open Date: 08/19/2009  -  Close Date: 10/22/2009

Summary: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for master's and doctoral level students in environmental fields of study. The deadline is October 22, 2009 at 4:00 PM for receipt of paper applications, and October 22, 2009 at 11:59:59 PM ET for submittal of electronic applications to Grants.gov. Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 120 new fellowships by June 30, 2010. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of four years. The fellowship program provides up to $37,000 per year of support per fellowship.

A large majority of Californians remain concerned about the impact of global warming on the State's quality of life and economy.

A Next 10/Field Research Organization survey from September 2008 found that statewide, 7 in 10 registered voters believe that global warming poses a serious threat to both the State's economy (69%) and the overall quality of life in California (73%).

In every region of California--from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles, the Inland Empire to San Diego, the Central Valley to the North State--no fewer than 6 in 10 registered voters hold these views.

Among registered voters, larger percentages of Latinos and African Americans felt that global warming was a serious threat to California's economy and quality of life.

This is also true of those in younger age groups (aged 18-29) and lower income groups (annual incomes of $40,000 or less).

Climate Change Scoping Plan

The California Global Warming Solutions Act, Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) was signed into California law in 2006. This groundbreaking legislation has put California at the forefront of the fight against global warming by requiring the state to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Measures go into effect in 2012.

CARB - California Air Resources Board

In order for California to meet these GHG reduction targets, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which serves as the lead agency for the implementation of AB 32, released a Proposed Scoping Plan that outlines a set of actions for reducing GHG emissions.

The measures adopted by CARB December 11, 2008 in the Proposed Scoping Plan include a combination of

• policy standards
• incentives
• technology innovations

... to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy generation, and reduce GHG emissions in the residential, commercial, industrial, and agriculture sectors.

CARB Recommended Reduction Measures

• Light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards
• Energy Efficiency in buildings and in power generation
• Renewables Portfolion standard (33% by 2020)
• Low Carbon fuel standard
• Regional transportation related GHG targets
• Vehicle efficiency measures
• Goods Movement electrification and efficiency improvements
• Million Solar Roofs
• Heavy and Medium duty vehicle hybridization and GHG emission reduction
• High speed rail
• Industrial measures at refineries, energy efficiency and co-benefits audits
• High global warming potential gas measures
• Sustainable forests
• Industrial measures in oil and gas extraction and transmission
• Recycling and waste landfill methane capture
• Reductions in state and local government operations
• Green buildings
• Mandatory commercial recycling
• Water sector measures
• Methane capture at large dairies

California is at the forefront of green innovation investment and jobs. New data presented in the 2009 California Green Innovation Index shows that while total jobs increased by just ONE PERCENT statewide, green jobs have increased by TEN PERCENT since 2005.

Clean technology investment in California nearly doubled in 2008, reaching $3.3 billion. California is a national leader in solar, wind and battery patents. Still, more needs to be done in terms of both creation and adoption of new clean technology products and services to give California the leading edge in what is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar global clean technology market.

The California Green Innovation Index tracks California's effort to grow the economy while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions as mandated by the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) was signed into California law in 2006, mandating the first ever statewide cap on global warming pollution.  AB 32 has put California at the forefront of the fight against global warming by requiring the state to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. On December 11, 2008, the agency charged with the
implementation of AB 32, California Air Resources Board, adopted the Scoping Plan that lays out the actions California must take to meet the GHG emissions reduction targets.

Research included in this 2009 Green Innovation Index provides further evidence of the powerful economic stimulus clean energy policy can provide.

California's energy productivity, that is, the amount of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) produced per unit of energy, is 68% more productive than the rest of the nation.

Energy efficiency policies forged by California over the last 35 years have saved consumers over $56 billion, creating 1.5 million full-time jobs and $45 billion in payroll.

CALIFORNIA GREEN INNOVATION INDEX (2009)
The California Green Innovation Index provides insight on a California culture that includes three decades of ambitious state environmental and energy policies, putting California on a path to energy independence and one of the lowest per capita carbon footprints in the nation, all the while growing one of the most vigorous economies in the world. Download a copy of the report at Collaborative Economics.

Collaborative Economics, Inc.
785 Castro Street, Suite A
Mountain View, CA 94041
650.404.8120
www.coecon.com

The Pew Charitable Trust, in the publication The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America, describes five industry categories comprising the clean energy economy.

These include:

• clean energy,
• energy efficiency,
• environmentally friendly production,
• conservation and pollution mitigation,
• training and support

Pew's research indicates a strong start for a new economy still very much in its infancy. To put our clean energy economy numbers in perspective, consider the following.

Research by The Pew Charitable Trusts shows that despite a lack of sustained policy attention and investment, the emerging clean energy economy has grown considerably-- extending to all 50 states, engaging a wide variety of workers and generating new industries.

Between 1998 and 2007, its jobs grew at a faster rate than overall jobs. Like all other sectors, the clean energy economy has been hit by the recession, but investments in clean technology have fared far better in the past year than venture capital overall. 

Looking forward, the clean energy economy has tremendous potential for growth, as investments continue to flow from both the government and private sector and federal and state policy makers increasingly push for reforms that will both spur economic renewal and sustain the environment. By 2007, more than 68,200 businesses across all 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for about 770,000 jobs that achieve the double bottom line of economic growth and environmental sustainability predict the drop in this sector will be less severe than the drop in U.S. jobs overall.

Biotechnology, which has developed applications for agriculture, consumer products, the environment and health care and has been the focus of significant public policy and government and private investment, employed fewer than 200,000 workers, or about a tenth of a percent of total U.S. jobs in 2007, according to a 2008 Ernst & Young report. And the well-established traditional energy sector--including utilities, coal mining and oil and gas extraction, industries that have received significant government investment--comprised about 1.27 million workers in 2007, or about 1 percent of total employment.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its partners recently launched the Going Green: Safe and Healthy Jobs initiative to make sure that green jobs are good for workers by integrating worker safety and health into "green jobs" and environmental sustainability.

Examples of green jobs include

• installation and maintenance of solar panels and generators;
• construction and maintenance of wind energy turbines;
• jobs related to recycling;
• jobs related to the manufacture of green products;
• jobs where green products are used in traditional fields such as agriculture, healthcare, and the service sector

Hazards Aren't Green!

In some instances, the hazards to workers may be similar to those in established industries. For example, the safety and health issues involved in building wind turbines may be similar to those for constructing a multi-story building. However, some green and sustainable practices may pose new health concerns for workers, such as the introduction of "green" substitutes for cleaning solvents (see NIOSH blog Multifaceted Approach to Assess Indoor Environmental Quality).

As we make technological advances in industry, we need to remain vigilant in protecting workers against emerging hazards.

Prevention Through Design

These changes may also present us with the opportunity to eliminate hazards through planning, organization, and engineering - a concept known at NIOSH as Prevention through Design (PtD).

As the global community acts quickly to train workers for new occupations and new ways of working, we have unprecedented opportunities:

• to enhance the safety and health protection of the American workforce
• to expand and apply our knowledge in occupational safety and health to new workplaces, processes, and products being formed each day
• to ensure the training and re-training of the workforce that will fill these new jobs includes relevant safety and health information.

Help Frame the Issues and Solutions for Green Job Safety and Health:  December 14, 2009

An upcoming event in NIOSH's new initiative is the Making Green Jobs Safer workshop, which will be held from December 14 to 16, 2009, in Washington, DC. The workshop will bring together invited participants and a limited number of members of the public to help frame the issues around incorporating occupational safety and health into green and sustainability efforts.