Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007
Floor Speech
CREATING LONG-TERM ENERGY ALTERNATIVES FOR THE NATION ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - June 12, 2007)
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The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Sanders], for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Biden, proposes an amendment numbered 1515 to amendment No. 1502.
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Mr. SANDERS. Let me thank my friend from New Mexico for the opportunity to go forward.
Madam President, I rise to offer an amendment on behalf of myself, Senator Clinton, Senator Kerry, and Senator Biden.
Our amendment would strike section 277 of the Senate substitute, which is very broad language directing the Secretary of Labor to work with the Secretary of Energy to develop workforce training for the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, and replace it with a clearer directive regarding workforce development in those same areas.
Before I get too far along in the description of the amendment, I would like to thank Senators Bingaman and Domenici for including section 277 in the underlying bill. I think we all recognize the need to provide more workforce training in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy if we are to truly meet the challenge in front of us.
The amendment I offer today simply builds upon the language already included in the legislation we are considering, and so I hope it will receive the resounding support of this body. In other words, we had boilerplate language already in it, and we have built upon that. Up to this point, we have had strong bipartisan support.
This amendment would create a sustainable, comprehensive public program to provide quality training for jobs created through renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives--an area of our economy that is in tremendous need of expansion to meet the demand for a skilled workforce in these sectors.
Fundamentally, the amendment would do two basic things: One, expand our Nation's capacity to identify and track the new jobs and skills associated with the growing clean energy technology sector; secondly, develop national and State training programs to address skill shortages that have already begun to impair the expansion of clean energy and efficiency technologies.
More specifically, the amendment would authorize funding for national and State research on labor market trends in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. Additionally, the amendment would provide competitive grants for national and State training programs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency areas.
Entities eligible for grants are nonprofit partnerships that include equal participation of industry and labor groups, and there is explicit encouragement for the development of partnerships with other organizations such as community-based organizations, educational institutions, small businesses, cooperatives, State and local veterans agencies, and veterans service organizations.
Some of the target populations for the training programs include those who are veterans of the Armed Forces, those affected by national energy or environmental policies, those displaced by economic globalization, and those seeking pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency. The eligible industries include the energy-efficient building, construction, and retrofits industry; the renewable electric power industry; the energy-efficient and advanced drive train vehicle industry; the biofuels industry; and the deconstruction and materials use industries.
Some may ask whether we even have reason to believe we need training to increase the number of workers skilled in the areas targeted by this amendment. The answer is a resounding yes. We know the lack of trained workers is a significant barrier to the growth of the renewable and energy efficiency industries.
A 2006 study from the National Renewable Energy Lab identified the shortage of skills and training as a leading nontechnical barrier to renewable energy and energy efficiency growth. This same study identified a number of critical unmet training needs, including lack of reliable installation, maintenance, and inspection services, the shortage of key technical and manufacturing skills, and failure of the educational system to provide adequate training in new technologies.
All of those issues are addressed in this amendment. I can tell you from talking to the people on the ground, there is a real shortage of trained workers in these areas. In Vermont, if a family wants to retrofit and weatherize their home, it could take a very long time to make it happen because there are simply not enough workers out there trained to do the work. The same thing goes for installation of solar panels or wind turbines.
The widespread adoption of these technologies is being stopped in its tracks because we simply do not have enough people to do the jobs. But instead of talking about a study or listening to my experience from Vermont, let me actually offer testimonials from some of those who are most familiar with the need for the workforce development concepts I am proposing.
Let me quote Tim Michels, from Energy Solutions, Incorporated, from St. Louis, MO:
We have been saving energy for institutions for over 30 years. We typically find that we can reduce energy use 25+ percent with less than a 4 year payback, so it is very economical and we have lots of case studies to prove it. The limiting factor to our growth as an industry is lack of qualified professionals to perform the analyses.
That is what we are trying to do: find the workers to do those types of efforts.
Lisa Mortensen, the CEO of Community Fuels, of Encinitas, CA, states:
Currently, we are constructing a 7.5 million gallon per year biodiesel plant at Port of Stockton, California. As a renewable energy start-up we have an intimate understanding of the need for a high quality workforce. Skills in mechanical operations, industrial hygiene and safety, quality control and a wider understanding of energy production are essential to a quality workforce. These skills are not easily learned. With funding opportunities like the one proposed, our company could work with local training institutions to help develop a workforce prepared for the changing U.S. landscape.
Christopher O'Brien, vice president for strategy & government relations, Sharp Electronics Corporation, of Mayway, NJ, writes:
Sharp Corporation is the world's leading producer of solar photovoltaic equipment and has been the No. 1 producer since 2000. Sharp's solar manufacturing plant in Memphis is the largest solar panel manufacturing facility in the U.S., with annual production capacity of 64 Megawatts, comprised of almost 400,000 solar panels. The 200 solar production workers in Memphis are represented by IBEW Local 474. Sharp supports the proposal for increased Federal funding for worker training in solar and other renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. ..... We have since 2003 trained and certified over 1,681 workers. Additional Federal funding support would help to accelerate the pace of this training and would assure Sharp and other solar manufacturers that there will be a reliable and professionally trained pool of workers to deliver and install solar energy systems on customers' homes and commercial buildings.......
Those are a few--just a few--of the testimonials that have come across my desk as I have worked on this amendment, but I do think they do a good job of making this issue real for those of us in the Senate.
Now, my colleagues may wonder why we need a specific program for training in energy efficiency and renewables. The answer is simple: While the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries use many skills that can be transferred from other industries, specific, additional skills are often needed to take maximum advantage of the newer energy technologies.
For instance, investments in training of building maintenance workers and building superintendents and engineers can improve the operation of today's heating and cooling systems by as much as 10 percent in large public and commercial buildings, according to the National Association of Energy Services Companies. Such training could save millions of dollars per year in energy costs in larger public or commercial buildings, not to mention reduce the emission of pollutants that add to global warming. Let me quote from two business leaders about the need for specific training in these areas.
Erik Larson, from Indie Energy, of Evanston, IL:
We are the first company in the Chicago area to develop geothermal systems for commercial and residential developments using in-house vertical drilling. ..... We recognized right away that the skill sets required for a geothermal operation were not available in current labor markets.
Robert de Grasse, senior vice president of technical standards, AIMCO--America's largest owner of apartment complexes--of Denver, CO, writes:
I personally support the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program. AIMCO is expecting that properly trained maintenance technicians will have significant and measurable benefits; in particular with HVAC systems and electric motors. Energy User News described the energy and financial savings on HVAC for community colleges in California was estimated from 6 percent to 19 percent of a typical community college's energy bill; a direct result of technical training.
There is no doubt in my mind this amendment could make a tremendous difference in our ability to implement concrete, on-the-ground strategies that help to address our energy challenges. Ensuring we have a workforce trained in the skills needed to implement bold energy efficiency and renewable energy policies will go a long way.
Before I yield the floor, I would like to read the long list of some of the organizations that support the Sanders-Clinton-Kerry-Biden amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that letters from the following groups be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
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Mr. SANDERS. Some of those groups are the Apollo Alliance; the Renewable Fuels Association; Wider Opportunities for Women; the Union of Concerned Scientists; the AFL-CIO; the National Association of Energy Service Companies, which includes many businesses and utilities that we all have heard of--Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Trane, and Pacific Gas & Electric, to name a few--the Sierra Club; the Alliance to Save Energy; the Solar Energy Industries Association; Clean Water Action; the American Wind Energy Association; Earthjustice; the American Solar Energy Society; the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; Public Citizen; the Center for American Progress Action Fund; and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
To conclude, this amendment has widespread support from the business community and from organized labor. It has support from the environmental community. What it says is if we are going to go forward in a bold way, breaking our dependence on fossil fuels, moving to energy efficiency, moving to sustainable energy, we are going to need a skilled workforce to help us move in that direction. I have always believed as we move to sustainable energy and energy efficiency, we have the capability of creating millions of new, good-paying jobs. This amendment is terribly important if, in fact, we are going to be able to do that.
I yield the floor and ask for support of this amendment.
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