How climates have changed. Forty-one years later, the legislature has a green energy task force. And Thayer, a 53-year member who teaches solar classes at Local 292’s apprenticeship training center is a hero to folks like Ray Zeran, one of 600 unemployed members who are looking to benefit from billions of dollars of state funds and federal stimulus money focused on renewable energy projects.
In February, Zeran, who graduated from his five-year apprenticeship last July, joined 150 IBEW members from across Minnesota for a lobbying day in St. Paul, where renewable energy was a main focus. “I participated because I realized—early on in my electrical career—that just showing up at work every day is not enough,” says Zeran, who needs one more installation to become certified as a solar specialist by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.
Local 292’s training center, featuring one of the nation’s best solar labs and its own solar system, has a waiting list for students. But the local isn’t taking an exclusive approach to training. Training Director Jim Nimlos has worked with his counterpart, Andy Toft, LeSueur, Minn., Local 343, to develop a student exchange between LeSuer’s wind turbine training and 292’s solar curriculum.
While Minnesota may appear to be an improbable generator of sun power, Nimlos says that the 45th parallel is primed for harnessing solar energy. Residing on a latitude similar to Germany’s, where solar power is well-developed, Minnesota’s lower temperatures keep panels operating at maximum efficiency. And the state’s clear skies make it competitive with Jacksonville, Fla., San Francisco and Houston.
IBEW participates in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities project which targets 25 metropolitan areas for sun power development. Thayer— who earned a B.A. in physics over 13 years working as a journeyman electrician and has nearly completed his master’s in engineering—has written a curriculum for the project. Fully half of all Minnesota solar installers who have achieved National Association of Certified Energy Practitioners qualifications are Local 292 members.
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| Minneapolis Local 292\'s JATC has a waiting list for members to train in solar installation. Veteran member Darryl Thayer, kneeling, instructs Bradley Kanis, left, Claude Clavette. Instructor Kelley Benyo stands at right. A large solar panel is mounted outside the training center (below). Photos courtesy of The Electrical Worker |
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Wind power has been expanding rapidly in the southwest quadrant of Minnesota. Local 343, in the southeast, is aiming to be the labor supply of choice on wind projects. The local is completing a 60-foot climbing tower for practicing high-voltage safety, climbing and rescue procedures on turbines in conjunction with an NJATC wind power curriculum. Toft, who sets a priority on making IBEW-organized contractors more competitive in wind projects, expects to see 1,700 towers erected over the next few years.
The IBEW Minnesota State Council’s efforts to promote new training and encourage grassroots political activism to set high standards for renewable energy workers are returning results that could reach far into the future.
The legislature’s green jobs task force was already considering more than 20 bills—including bond measures for public projects on green energy—before Congress passed the $787 billion stimulus package. The state has some of the strongest environmental and energy laws in the nation—including a mandate that one-quarter of Minnesota’s electricity come from renewables by 2025.
IBEW is supporting state legislation to include more money to cover the labor costs of relocating existing power lines to make way for new highway and rail projects that will be financed by the federal stimulus. The local is gearing up to provide labor from new needs. A state bill supported by environmentalists provides that one-half of all new parking facilities include outlets to charge electric vehicles.
State Sen. Ellen Anderson (D-St. Paul), who co-chairs the green jobs task force reported on lobby day that investing in the new non-fossil fuel technologies will result in 70,000 new or retained jobs. Minnesota will receive $9 billion in tax cuts and new federal aid through the $787 billion stimulus bill.
In a state that mandates the licensing of electricians, IBEW is challenging the perception that solar and wind energy require entirely new careers. Local 292 Business Representative Dan McConnell meets with community college educators who are setting up renewable energy training. “I ask them what will happen to students who are only trained in renewable energy installations if the bubble bursts in any specific sector,” says McConnell.
McConnell proposes to educators and legislators that the demand for solar workers be filled by journeymen and apprentice electricians who receive supplementary training in how to properly design and angle panels and calculate their efficiency. “Solar panels are live when they come out of the box,” says McConnell. Safety should not be taken for granted. And better-trained workers, he says, “are far more recession-proof than workers trained exclusively on renewable installations.”
Reprinted from The Electrical Worker, publication of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, www.ibew.org
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How climates have changed. Forty-one years later, the legislature has a green energy task force. And Thayer, a 53-year member who teaches solar classes at Local 292’s apprenticeship training center is a hero to folks like Ray Zeran, one of 600 unemployed members who are looking to benefit from billions of dollars of state funds and federal stimulus money focused on renewable energy projects.
In February, Zeran, who graduated from his five-year apprenticeship last July, joined 150 IBEW members from across Minnesota for a lobbying day in St. Paul, where renewable energy was a main focus. “I participated because I realized—early on in my electrical career—that just showing up at work every day is not enough,” says Zeran, who needs one more installation to become certified as a solar specialist by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.
Local 292’s training center, featuring one of the nation’s best solar labs and its own solar system, has a waiting list for students. But the local isn’t taking an exclusive approach to training. Training Director Jim Nimlos has worked with his counterpart, Andy Toft, LeSueur, Minn., Local 343, to develop a student exchange between LeSuer’s wind turbine training and 292’s solar curriculum.
While Minnesota may appear to be an improbable generator of sun power, Nimlos says that the 45th parallel is primed for harnessing solar energy. Residing on a latitude similar to Germany’s, where solar power is well-developed, Minnesota’s lower temperatures keep panels operating at maximum efficiency. And the state’s clear skies make it competitive with Jacksonville, Fla., San Francisco and Houston.
IBEW participates in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities project which targets 25 metropolitan areas for sun power development. Thayer— who earned a B.A. in physics over 13 years working as a journeyman electrician and has nearly completed his master’s in engineering—has written a curriculum for the project. Fully half of all Minnesota solar installers who have achieved National Association of Certified Energy Practitioners qualifications are Local 292 members.
|
| Minneapolis Local 292\’s JATC has a waiting list for members to train in solar installation. Veteran member Darryl Thayer, kneeling, instructs Bradley Kanis, left, Claude Clavette. Instructor Kelley Benyo stands at right. A large solar panel is mounted outside the training center (below).
Photos courtesy of The Electrical Worker |
|
Wind power has been expanding rapidly in the southwest quadrant of Minnesota. Local 343, in the southeast, is aiming to be the labor supply of choice on wind projects. The local is completing a 60-foot climbing tower for practicing high-voltage safety, climbing and rescue procedures on turbines in conjunction with an NJATC wind power curriculum. Toft, who sets a priority on making IBEW-organized contractors more competitive in wind projects, expects to see 1,700 towers erected over the next few years.
The IBEW Minnesota State Council’s efforts to promote new training and encourage grassroots political activism to set high standards for renewable energy workers are returning results that could reach far into the future.
The legislature’s green jobs task force was already considering more than 20 bills—including bond measures for public projects on green energy—before Congress passed the $787 billion stimulus package. The state has some of the strongest environmental and energy laws in the nation—including a mandate that one-quarter of Minnesota’s electricity come from renewables by 2025.
IBEW is supporting state legislation to include more money to cover the labor costs of relocating existing power lines to make way for new highway and rail projects that will be financed by the federal stimulus. The local is gearing up to provide labor from new needs. A state bill supported by environmentalists provides that one-half of all new parking facilities include outlets to charge electric vehicles.
State Sen. Ellen Anderson (D-St. Paul), who co-chairs the green jobs task force reported on lobby day that investing in the new non-fossil fuel technologies will result in 70,000 new or retained jobs. Minnesota will receive $9 billion in tax cuts and new federal aid through the $787 billion stimulus bill.
In a state that mandates the licensing of electricians, IBEW is challenging the perception that solar and wind energy require entirely new careers. Local 292 Business Representative Dan McConnell meets with community college educators who are setting up renewable energy training. “I ask them what will happen to students who are only trained in renewable energy installations if the bubble bursts in any specific sector,” says McConnell.
McConnell proposes to educators and legislators that the demand for solar workers be filled by journeymen and apprentice electricians who receive supplementary training in how to properly design and angle panels and calculate their efficiency. “Solar panels are live when they come out of the box,” says McConnell. Safety should not be taken for granted. And better-trained workers, he says, “are far more recession-proof than workers trained exclusively on renewable installations.”
Reprinted from The Electrical Worker, publication of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, www.ibew.org