Nebraskas Onramp for Good Paying EV Tech and Clean Energy Jobs / Public News Service

Central Community College of Nebraska is putting students of all ages on a path to good-paying jobs in the state’s growing clean-energy sector.

Taylor Schneider is the energy technology instructor at the school’s Hastings campus. He said students receive valuable hands on experience in the latest solar, wind and battery-storage technologies.

They also get to climb a wind turbine tower that generates the school’s electricity.

“Instead of instructor, you know, just ‘death by PowerPoint,’ so to speak, my students are getting that full experience.” said Schneider. “Everybody that’s graduated so far has all been placed in jobs, whether it be in the wind field or in the solar-energy field.”

Schneider said wind sits at number two, with solar coming in at number five, on a list of the nation’s fastest growing occupations projected for this decade.

In 2021, wind technicians brought home a median annual income of just over $52,000 per year. CCC offers one-year certificate programs, and a two-year associate’s degree in energy technology.

Schneider said people with certificates or degrees have a big hand up compared with other applicants for jobs ranging from public policy to field technicians and engineers. Schneider explained that engineers get to be a part of the design process from the ground up.

“They can sit right next to that project manager and be like, ‘Hey, this is how we’re going to lay down our entire project,'” said Schneider. “‘If we have 80 towers, this is where all these towers are going to be placed, and how components are going to be laid down, so we can get these erected in a timely fashion.'”

Six in ten Nebraskans are worried about climate change, according to a Yale University analysis, and 50% say they want their governor, local officials and Congress to do more to mitigate the impacts of a warming planet.

Kevin Taylor – the leader of the U.S. Climate Action program at the World Wildlife Fund – said the work being done at CCC reminds him of the old adage, “Out of crisis comes opportunity.”

“In the transition we make away from fossil fuel to renewable energy,” said Taylor, “away from internal-combustion engines to electric vehicles, and the electrification of everything, it’s just an amazing time for young people to get involved in this space.”

get more stories like this via email

Western states under extreme drought made worse by climate change are a giant tinderbox – and one expert says it’s time to minimize possible fire sources by burying power lines.

Above-ground transmission lines have been mostly an eyesore, but as climate change has worsened the risk and devastation from wildfires, Engineering Consultant with Resilient Analytics Paul Chinowsky said power lines should never be the possible source.

He said vegetation or heavy winds can cause lines to touch each other and create a spark.

“You’ve got equipment that really wasn’t designed to handle the extreme temperatures and environmental conditions we have today,” said Chinowsky.

Chinosky said the major hurdle is cost – estimated at $4 million or more for each mile of “undergrounding.”

California’s Pacific Gas & Electric utility recently agreed to pay more than $55 million dollars to avoid criminal prosecution for that state’s 2021 Dixie wildfire sparked by aging power lines.

PG&E also has announced a multibillion-dollar effort to bury 10,000 miles of power lines.

Chinowsky said he believes the adversarial relationship that sometimes develops between local governments and their utility company needs to change. He said more cooperation is necessary to ease what would likely be higher rates for customers.

“Because this change is going to save homes,” said Chinowsky. “It’s going to save property. If we don’t change it, we’re never going to get it done and we’re just going to keep reliving these very destructive wildfires.”

Wildfires are now more frequent and intense and fire seasons last longer. That has led some building homes or structures near or within Western forests to use fire-resistant materials.

But Chinosky said the “new normal” is here to stay, and reducing risk is key.

“We’ll always have some risk,” said Chinowsky. “You can’t eliminate all risk. You’re not going to eliminate lightning strikes. But if we can eliminate risks that we have control over, it’s going to save a lot of people a lot of unhappy times.”

New Mexico’s recent fire – the largest in the state’s history – was not caused by above-ground power lines, but rather ignited by U.S. Forest Service workers using drip torches during a prescribed burn to thin dense woodlands.

get more stories like this via email

Amid record-setting heat waves and increased energy usage, New York is looking to offshore wind developments for a cleaner energy source.

The state has 50 so-called “peaker plants,” oil and gas-fired power plants operating when there is a larger energy demand.

The Town of East Hampton has been working since the mid-2010s to get its power elsewhere. Offshore wind energy should be a reality in 2024, with five turbines built 35 miles off Long Island.

Sylvia Overby, a member of the East Hampton Town Board, said the development is much-needed.

“The East End is growing, and we’ve had growth in the last ten years, between the census,” Overby observed. “We know that there’s more demand for electricity. And this is hopefully going to help us, as a township, meet our goal of 100% renewable energy.”

The project has not been without controversy, as some residents were worried about a cable being installed on an active beach area, albeit 35 feet underground. New York State could potentially generate almost 296 terawatts per hour through offshore wind developments.

While there were hopes for East Hampton to be carbon-neutral by now, they are still working on it, Overby acknowledged. She understands the town’s position as a coastal community makes it vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but hopes it can make East Hampton a guide for other similarly affected communities.

“We want to be ready to help out other communities,” Overby emphasized. “To kind of be the leader and show people the way that it can be done, and that we can become as much free of fossil fuels as we can, in this era that we live in.”

Aside from offshore wind, East Hampton is looking at other ways to reduce its carbon footprint. Overby noted the projects include using LED streetlights and installing electric heating and cooling systems for municipally-owned buildings.

get more stories like this via email

A new Pew Research poll finds Americans are split on how to tackle climate change. In North Carolina, small Black-owned businesses say they’re struggling with how to cope with extreme weather events, and they need help and resources – fast.

As Executive Director of the North Carolina Business Council, Vicki Lee Parker-High said she’s seen more small businesses forced to close or temporarily suspend operations as a result of flooding, extreme heat, blackouts or severe storms.

She said losses and damages can cost owners tens of thousands of dollars.

“One in five North Carolina businesses – so, small businesses – have either laid off employees due to extreme weather events,” said Parker-High. “So, that’s about 21% of our companies that have been affected that way.”

Parker-High said more research is needed to help these business owners better estimate financial risks and hedge their bets as seasons become increasingly unpredictable.

Jessica Rice Hawkins owns AIMHigh, a personal training gym in Henderson. She said extreme temperatures have strained her budget, and adds it’s been a challenge to keep her building at a temperature comfortable for workouts during both winter and summer.

“So, I have these extremely high utility bills,” said Rice Hawkins. “And now, you’re faced with this choice of ‘I cannot raise my prices because of where I am’ – that’s going to run me out of business. And then, I have to pay for the extremely high cost of utilities to operate the business.”

According to Parker-High, abnormal weather patterns are increasingly affecting how small companies operate, and have triggered job cuts nationwide.

“So, a lot of these cuts are happening and occurring right in plain sight,” said Parker-High. “But they’re not being adequately accounted for, and adjusted for the risk that our businesses are being exposed to.”

Seventy-one percent of Americans now say their community has experienced some form of extreme weather in past year – from flooding to lengthy heat waves, wildfires, droughts and water shortages, or rising seas that have eroded shorelines, according to the Pew survey.

get more stories like this via email