Nevada has the potential to lead the nation in renewable energy exploration and exploitation. We know more renewables exist in Nevada than most states. We just need to leverage them. But before that happens, we need to understand renewable energy and become leading experts. That requires a deeper level of education and more degrees than we currently offer.
Until now…UNR in partnership with the National Science Foundation is offering scholarships to provide financial, academic and professional development support for up to 20 incoming freshman to study renewable energy. The total of the grant is $600,000 which is a step forward.
“Energy, and specifically renewable energy, has become increasingly important to Nevada’s economy,” Manos Maragakis, dean of the College of Engineering, said. “This grant will allow us to build on our strong renewable energy program, our dozens of renewable energy research projects and will provide qualified graduates to the energy industry in Nevada.”
This is good news for Nevada. Kudos to the entire team for pursuing this funding stream.
There is no better time than now to diversify our economy to create more jobs in Nevada. Nevada has relied on the almighty gaming dollar for too long. Yes – gaming will always be the driver of Nevada’s economy. But it should not be our only provider.
In the worst of times, opportunities present themselves. The buzz words we hear today revolve around a green economy and sustainability. And most of this discussion focuses on energy and natural resource consumption.
In this space, Nevada has the opportunity to not only produce what we consume, but become an exporter of energy produced from our abundance of natural resources such as solar, wind and geothermal.
During economic downturns, federal dollars drive recovery (think of the Hoover Dam). And with Nevada being at the bottom of all of the good lists and the top of all of the bad lists, we are in a great position to apply for federal funding and leverage those dollars. We simply need to organize ourselves and ask for them.
And as we expand into the green economy and become the leader in renewable energy, we will create thousands of jobs in Nevada. These jobs will be created in rural Nevada where the initial construction teams are established to build the new projects. And that initial job creation is what sparks growth in supporting industries such as Eds & Meds as the rural towns will need to provide health care and education infrastructure to support the new workforce.
Article from Las Vegas Sun
Wind turbine manufacturing facility would employ 1,000, boost state’s clean-power resume’
By Stephanie Tavares
Southern Nevada, long in the hunt for a new source of jobs and for companies that can boost the state’s stature in the renewable energy industry, can claim both with Thursday’s announcement that an international manufacturer of wind turbines plans to establish its first American plant here.
The 320,000-square-foot facility is expected to be ready for operation by the end of 2011, creating more than 1,000 permanent jobs and adding leverage to Nevada’s argument that the state can play host to renewable energy companies as competition for them escalates.
Read the entire article here
The U S Department of Labor announced the today that Nevada has been awarded a $6 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation will facilitate State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grant which is designed to teach workers the skills required in emerging industries, including efficiency and renewable energy, said Larry Mosley, DETR director.
“This grant award is the result of direction by Governor Jim Gibbons to pursue all available avenues in producing resources that would contribute to the development of much needed jobs, particularly in the area of renewable energy,” Mosley said. “To that end, DETR developed a partnership team to apply for the green job grant that we are proud to say we have successfully procured.”
Governor Gibbons said, “this grant is an important development in our efforts to help Nevada’s economy recover from the devastating effects of this recession. We are pleased to have the opportunity to offer Nevadans additional skills training to help them become employed in jobs that involve renewable energy.”
The grant will be used to:
- Create an integrated system of education, training and supportive services that promotes skill attainment and career pathway development for low-income, low- skilled workers leading to employment in green industries.
- To support Nevada’s statewide energy sector strategy including the governors’ overall workforce visions, state energy policies and training activities that lead to employment in targeted industry sectors.
- Build and strengthen partnerships dedicated to building a skilled clean energy workforce.
- Develop new partnerships with other agencies receiving Recovery Act funds to support strategic planning and implementation efforts.
Key partnerships in Nevada for this grant include:
Nevada’s Energy Office; Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE); Local Workforce Investment Boards (workforce Connections and Nevadaworks); K – 12 Education System principles; Apprenticeship Trade Unions and Non-Unions; Nevada Commission on Economic Development; Community-Based and Faith-Based Organizations; Veterans; State Agencies and most important, private businesses, i.e., NV Energy and Southwest Gas and others.
I received the most recent campaign mailer from Senator Harry Reid. It is an 8-page brochure and it is all about jobs in Nevada. Here is a scan of the piece showing the three tabbed areas, all referencing jobs:
It mirrors Senator Reid’s television commercials with Jim Murren, CEO of MGM-Mirage, where Senator Reid takes credit for “Saving over 22,000 jobs at CityCenter.” In this brochure there is another quote from Jan Jones, Senior VP of Harrah’s Entertainment - “Harry Reid’s legislation allowed us to protect 31,000 jobs in Nevada.”
It is beginning to look like Nevada may take the lead in the creation of ‘green jobs.’ Between President Obama’s tour of the solar plant that powers 25% of Nellis Air Force Base and the Legislature passing SB152 (commonly known as Steven Horsford’s Green Jobs Initiative).
An article titled Green Jobs Initiative Advances in Nevada spells out where the job creation will be. The initiative will create over 3,200 jobs in Nevada to perform weatherization, energy retrofit applications and energy audits
By now everyone is aware of the federal stimulus money Nevada will receive for job training. Our local Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board will receive something in the area of $14.8 million. Initially read reports/articles that state the stimulus package would create 34,000 jobs in Nevada. The language has now been changed to say ‘create or preserve’ 34,000 jobs.
Regardless, Nevada can use all the help it can right now. With our unemployment level at 10.4%, the highest it has been in 25 years, there are lots of folks out of work. So where will these 34,000 jobs be created? After attending Senator Reid’s meeting on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it appears the majority will be in the areas of construction and (what are now being called) ‘green‘ jobs.
Senator Steven Horsford is driving the charge to train over 3,000 workers for these green jobs in Nevada. This will be a big deal for Nevada and position us ahead of other states. If you consider the opportunity Nevada has with its’ abundance of solar, geothermal and wind power, we could become the dominant player in this space, allowing us to diversify from our reliance on the gaming industry.
Plus I registered a URL several years back www.GreenRecruiting.com, that I have yet to figure out how to position. This may just be the answer!!
