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Lighting the Way for the New Green Economy:
A Conversation with the Apollo Alliance's Carla Din

by Racquel Palmese

If technology innovation and public policy are the heart of the emerging green economy in California, the Apollo Alliance is its soul. It was launched to unify a broad-based constituency behind a bold plan of investment in clean energy technology and sustainable infrastructure that would reduce our nation's dependence on fossil fuels and create millions of good jobs in America's clean energy economy.

The Apollo Alliance is now a leading driver in the new clean tech economy and the job opportunities that go with it. Carla Din is western regional director for the Apollo Alliance. In a conversation with Green Technology Magazine, she discusses the work being done to grow a socially equitable green workforce and to keep California at the forefront of the clean technology sector.

How would you define the "green workforce" and "green jobs"?

I like the definition by the chairman of our board, Phil Angelides. When asked what a green job is, he said: "It has to pay decent benefits and wages that can support a family. It has to be part of a real career path with upward mobility, and it needs to reduce waste and pollution and benefit the environment."

Would you give us an overview of the work the Apollo Alliance has been doing?

Green technology and green workforce development are very much at the forefront of the Nation's energy transformation right now, especially with the focus on climate change. Among California's leaders in this area are Senate President pro Tempore-elect Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Emeritus Fabian Nuñez, . The Apollo Alliance has been very active in working closely with these two legislators.

For example, SB1672, to be reintroduced in 2009 by Senator Steinberg and co-authored by Assembly Member Loni Hancock) enacts the Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Career Technical Education, and Clean Technology Job Creation Bond Act of 2010 authorizing $2,250,000,000 in state general obligation bonds. It's very broad and collaborative in nature, focusing on reducing dropout rates in the school system and addressing the lack of meaningful career technical education (CTE) at the middle and high school levels.

Currently there is a whopping 25 percent dropout rate in California's high school system. SB1672 boosts CTE programs in clean technology, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. It reaches into 7th - 12th grades and the community college system and provides a link to apprenticeship training programs and community based workforce training programs that serve disadvantaged populations such as re-entry populations, veterans, limited English speaking and severely disadvantaged low income populations.

How will it work?

Senate Bill 1672 provides capital investment, such as the construction of new facilities to enhance the clean tech educational opportunities for students and provide them with the skills necessary for related careers. The broad based coalition that helped craft the bill and that gave active support included the California Community College System, California Manufacturers Technology Association, Building and Construction Trades Council of California, and Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. It's been a great collaborative effort and an excellent model, thanks in large part to Senator Steinberg's leadership.

What other legislation are you working on?

Another one is speaker Emeritus Nuñez' bill, AB3018 which sets up the California Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008. It focuses on coordination between state agencies, and also links training programs with job openings in the green sectors. It develops a comprehensive array of programs, strategies and resources to address the workforce needs. You've probably heard that due to the aging workforce of baby boomers, we're going to see a huge retirement and drop-off of workforce in the utilities and other industries. We have to be prepared to fill those gaps.

This bill also gives special attention to the needs of disadvantaged populations, including at-risk youth. One thing that labor partners are interested in looking at is the incumbent workforce, and how they can plan an active role in helping to meet AB32 targets in the high-emitting sectors. These include electricity production, refineries, transportation and certain industries, like cement. The workers who've been in the trenches are well suited to provide the expertise that can help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollutants and get us to where we need to be 20 - 50 years down the road. The apprenticeship training programs in related trades consist of five-year training programs, so participants are not just trained in a single area, such as installing solar voltaic modules, but understanding the whole gamut of electrical connection and wiring.

Another bill that we're co-sponsoring is AB2855 Another bill that we're co-sponsoring is AB2855 (Assembly Member Loni Hancock, Career technical education: partnership academies: green technology and goods movement). We're working with Assemblywoman Hancock, co-sponsoring the bill with the California Building Trades Council. It focuses on grades 10-12, establishes green technology and goods movement partnership academies, or theme-based schools within a school, incorporating career technical education, full business partnerships, mentoring, and internships. It is important to engage and introduce students to exciting fields in modern energy technology where they can apply themselves and find career ladders, whether they go on to college or to an apprenticeship training program.

This seems like a great way to get kids interested in subjects like math and science by showing them real life applications in some great jobs.

Exactly, it's less theoretical. And it's also great for young people to know that they can play a part in reducing climate change. A lot of students are not college bound, and there are great opportunities for them in high paying jobs that can be reached from these programs. For instance, with the building trades programs, such as sheet metal workers, plumbers and pipefitters, electrical workers - those are prime programs where wages and technical skills increase every year that they advance in the program. If the students do not have the math and comprehension prerequisites for those programs, they can enter others, such as the Laborers union, operating engineers and community-based training programs that have fewer entrance requirements. These are great for some of the disadvantaged populations.

What do you mean exactly when you say "disadvantaged populations"?

It's generally designated based on income levels, but it could also include veterans, individuals that have been through the juvenile justice system, limited English speakers, and even those communities heavily impacted by air pollution. Dislocated workers who have lost their jobs during the economic downturn can also be considered a disadvantaged population. Just imagine being fifty years old, laid off due to a plant closure, and having to start all over again in a new sector. Fortunately, there are many opportunities for clean tech workers who come from other sectors of the economy with transferable skills, such as engineering, marketing, and project management.

Are you working on any other bills or policies in California?

Another one that we supported is AB1451 (Assemblyman Mark Leno). This is a property tax exclusion for solar energy systems. As you may know, incentives are very important for the ongoing economic health of the renewable energy industry. The oil, gas and nuclear industries receive generous federal incentives. Renewable energy incentives help to level the playing field. The most important one at the federal level is the Production Tax Credit for Renewable Energy, which was given a brief one-year extension in December 2007. (It provides a 1.5-cent/kWh credit for wind, solar, geothermal, and "closed-loop" bioenergy" facilities. Adjusted for inflation, the 1.5 cent/kWh tax credit is currently valued at 1.9 cents/kWh)

The Apollo Alliance supports at least a ten-year extension of this incentive. If it doesn't get renewed, a lot of operations will come to a halt and jobs will be lost. It's really been a boom and bust cycle (at the federal level with incentives) and a very inefficient way of doing business. It's absolutely the wrong type of system to have in place.

 What would be the ideal policy to have? 

I think one of the problems is that Congress is looking at this is through a very narrow lens. First of all, they're holding renewable energy to a higher standard than other types of technologies that are not providing the same environmental benefits. Why don't we question fossil fuel tax credits the same way? Why do renewable energy tax credits have to go through so much more scrutiny? If you look at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study, Federal Electricity Subsidies, you'll see that the combined amount of all renewable energy subsidies if far less than a single subsidy for natural gas or oil.

We also need to look long-term and ensure that there will be co-benefits to the economy-its workers, businesses and consumers, or initiatives will not fly. What we're trying to achieve in California is for climate to be a driver for economic development, especially during this period of economic downturn. I believe it can. The beauty of this movement is that the clean energy economy can benefit people across all sectors, income levels and skill levels.

What part does the Alliance play in crafting legislation and policy?

We've been successful at broadening the scope and applying best practices. For example, AB118, (Assembly Speaker Emeritus Fabian Nuñez' Alternative Fuels and Vehicle Technologies.) This is a funding mechanism for AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Originally it was mainly designed to fund research and development projects. We broadened it to include workforce training and increasing economic development in the state, such as through alternative vehicle manufacturing in California. We apply the best practices model to policies and legislation, ensuring, for example, that there are high standards for wages, for apprenticeship training connections, for benefits to the community in which the project is located. We're looking to make sure that there will be benefits to California across the board.

We also bring together unlikely bedfellows. For instance, businesses that have never worked with labor unions, or labor together with environmentalists. We explore where we see eye to eye and can work together. An example is increasing California's RPS, or Renewable Portfolio Standard. This is a requirement that a specific percentage of the state's energy portfolio come from renewable sources. Currently the mandate is to reach 20 percent by 2010, but efforts are underway to increase that amount to 33 percent. We brought together a group of environmentalists and labor leaders to have an initial discussion so that we could avoid bumping heads down the road. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that there are a number of areas of agreement. The devil's always in the details, but it was refreshing to see that there is strong collective interest in focusing on renewable energy development in California rather than out of state.

Has the Renewable Portfolio Standard been difficult to achieve?

Yes, and for a number of reasons. One of the challenging areas is transmission, which is a very complex, inter-state system that involves multiple federal, state and local agencies. There are definitely some things that have to be worked out and people are working to resolve them.

We're also trying to build up the state's manufacturing base in clean technology. Manufacturing is very important for California. It pays on average $25,000 more per year than service sector jobs. These are high paying jobs. Many are unionized and require a skilled workforce. We've lost 375,000 manufacturing jobs since December of 2000 for a host of reasons. Productivity has increased, demand for the products have dropped, and California is only one of four states that has a double manufacturing tax, so there are some barriers to attracting manufacturers. We hope that this can be brought in line with national averages so California is not at a competitive disadvantage and we can focus on promoting the assets our state has to offer California, such as a highly skilled labor pool, advanced technological base, leading research institutions, and access to local markets that are spurred by progressive policies such as AB32.

I think that with key policies we really have the opportunity to revitalize the state's economy and manufacturing base with a focus on clean energy development.



For information on the Apollo Alliance go to www.apolloalliance.org.
 

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