Green Energy Bill Boosts Colorado Economy, IBEW Jobs
April 5, 2010
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Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law March 22 a new requirement that 30 percent of the state’s energy needs will come from renewable sources. |
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) has signed into law a groundbreaking new renewable energy standard that will require the state to generate 30 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
To help meet the new requirements, Ritter is calling on more than 100,000 home owners and businesses to install rooftop solar panels over the next decade.
The bill, signed March 22, will give a needed boost to the green energy sector and is expected to create thousands of new jobs in the solar energy industry.
“This is a game-changer,” Ritter said in a statement. “We are transforming the future of Colorado and our economy.”
The legislation is expected to start creating jobs almost immediately. Two leading solar energy signatory contractors, Intermountain Electric and Craftsman Electric, are both looking to expand their operations, said Denver Local 68 Business Manager Dennis Whalen.
As the state’s leading trainer of solar power workers, the IBEW is a strong supporter of the new standard, having partnered with environmental groups and renewable energy leaders to back the legislation.
To make sure solar energy projects are staffed with a highly trained and competent work force, the bill requires all solar projects have on site workers who are either certified in photovoltaic installation by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners or are state-licensed electricians.
“Solar work isn’t manual labor, it’s electrical work,” Whalen said. “With this work now coming, we want to make sure that Colorado takes the high road when it comes to quality installation and maintenance.”
Local 68’s state-of-the-art training center, which boasts an 18-kilowatt solar array, has become a center for those looking to break into the alternative energy field. In January, the local, in partnership with the National Electrical Contractors Association and the Denver Office of Economic Development, received a $3 million to train Colorado workers in the photovoltaic installation and maintenance, offering NABCEP certification to all apprentices and journeymen.
“This gives the solar industry a big boost and we will make sure it is staffed with quality labor,” Whalen said.
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