Construction + Clean Energy = Workforce Development

As has been noted, even disasters can stimulate growth, both economically and industrially. California’s focus on clean energy initiatives has already laid the groundwork for new building and construction practices that promise to reduce greenhouse emissions, enhance resiliency, and drive workforce development. The post-fire recovery process presents a unique opportunity to incorporate these clean energy options into rebuilding projects, ensuring that future communities won’t suffer similar losses when the next fire occurs (which it almost certainly will).

California Energy Commission Coordinates Sector Initiatives in Clean Energy

The California Legislature established its Energy Commission (CEC) to oversee the transition of its economic drivers to clean energy sources. Set up in 1975, the CEC initially addressed the fuel availability, smog, and air pollution issues that were then plaguing the nation. As it has evolved over the decades, it is now focused on achieving its assigned goal of carbon neutrality and 100% clean energy sources for all industries by mid-century. The bold goal should be attainable, judging by the individual initiatives pursued by the Commission:

• Enhanced energy efficiency in all industries
• Enhanced investments in energy innovation
• Renewable energy development
• Evolved transportation energy sources
• Improved energy management infrastructure and
• Well-informed policies to address energy emergencies.

The transportation sector has received particularly focused attention through the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program (CTP). State policy recognizes the connection between petroleum fuels and climate change, so it is modifying its energy usage to reduce or eliminate the threats posed by that man-made phenomenon.

The CTP focuses on attaining and implementing ‘zero-emission transportation technology’ to reduce that State’s contribution to climate change through the development of both zero-emission vehicles and the infrastructure that will support them. These projects span the entire State and encompass all industries; thus far, no state or national emergency has diverted California from its intended path to 100% clean, green energy. Established in 2008, the CTP has recently been extended through 2035.

Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV)

Managed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the ZEV program aims to reduce carbon-based emissions and pollutants from both passenger and freight vehicles in the State. In addition to environmental safety, the CARB has also incorporated equity initiatives into its 2024 Action Plan, recognizing that more vulnerable populations are often forced (by a lack of other resources) into older, less energy-efficient cars. CARB’s strategy toward cleaner, more efficient vehicles continues to evolve. Its Advanced Clean Cars II effort will see even more pollutant reductions beginning in 2026, when requirements for increased ZEV production go into effect and standards for gasoline-powered cars become even more stringent.

ZEV Infrastructure

In early 2024, the CEC approved a $1.9 billion investment in a plan to accelerate the states’ burgeoning ZEV infrastructure build-out. Between 2024 and 2029, California will invest $1.9 billion in the development and installation of 40,000 new ZEV charging stations, bringing it closer to its goal of 250,000 publicly accessible chargers across the State, from border to border. The agency is especially attentive to building out these resources in lower-income and marginalized communities to ensure they don’t continue to bear the burden of excessive car and truck pollution. So far:

• Of the 96 public hydrogen fueling stations planned, 61 are in use today.
• A $100 million allocation is dedicated to developing 120 truck and bus charging stations.
• More than 40 ZEV-related manufacturing projects are opening new training opportunities and jobs to support local, regional, and statewide economic growth.

The CEC and Workforce Development

Not surprisingly, the CEC is as focused on the workforce development aspects of its projects as it is on their outcomes. The California Climate Investments (CCI) initiative is responsible for building the workforce necessary to advance the State’s clean energy industries. Through public and private partnerships, the agency works with businesses and higher education facilities to develop training programs that are relevant to these emerging industries. Two notable efforts relate directly to two of California’s now critical concerns: wildfire resilience and support for priority (underserved) populations.

Wildfire Fuels Reductions

The CCI awarded funding to the California Conservation Corps (CCC) to manage its wildfire resiliency projects across the State. These youth workforce development programs provide young adults with exposure to the factors that cause and exacerbate fires, as well as the skills necessary to mitigate or eliminate those circumstances, thereby reducing the likelihood and/or severity of fires that do occur. For example, the CCC Chico Center provided over 2,700 hours of labor toward fire resiliency in the Paradise community, which was devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, leaving almost the entire area destroyed. The cost of the CCC program to reduce dangerous fire fuels in this rural region (thereby also reducing the likelihood of another fire) between October 2023 and April 2024 was a mere $108,744. The cost of the Paradise fire damage, however, approached $16.5 billion.

ZEV Workforce Training for Priority Populations

In the San Joaquin Valley, transit agencies are working to electrify their publicly owned fleets of vehicles, which, in turn, requires an expanded corps of automotive service technicians competent to repair electric cars, buses, and trucks. The Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, Accessible, and Local (IDEAL) ZEV Workforce Pilot Project, funded by the CEC and CARB, was introduced in 2023 into three Fresno County high schools. Teachers were first trained on the materials, and the curriculum was then offered to their students in the spring of 2024. In partnership with Fresno City College, the new occupational training will become a dual enrollment option for future high school and community college learners. Additionally, Fresno CC is working with a local action committee, Valley Clean Air Now (Valley CAN), to partner its electric vehicle workforce development efforts with area businesses and civic groups that are likely to work with ZEV fleets in the future.

Disasters – man-made and ‘natural’ – can be helpful for identifying where vulnerabilities lie and suggesting solutions to previously unknown dilemmas. They can also trigger growth and innovation, as is seen in today’s EV and construction industries. As those sectors expand, they’ll need a well-trained workforce to maintain and manage them. And California is certainly intent on ensuring those workers are available and ready to go when that time comes.