By Laura Aka for Working Nation.
Broadcast version by Jonah Chester for Indiana News Service reporting for the Working Nation-Public News Service Collaboration

In recent weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Now, according to the ruling, the EPA must get specific directions from the U.S. Congress on how to regulation those emissions.

Annually, The Hoosier State is among the top ten coal-producing states in the nation and the Indiana attorney general was among the 19 who challenged the EPA's authority.

Environmental leaders in the state say the Supreme Court ruling will not stop their efforts to push the state toward alternate energy sources.

"It will not deter our work to train the next generation of climate leaders here in Indiana," says Danni Schaust, resilience implementation manager at the Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University. The university runs the McKinney Climate Fellows (MCF) program for undergraduate and graduate students focused on climate, sustainability, and community resilience.

"Our McKinney Climate Fellows will continue to move forward tirelessly with their critical work," says Schaust, "working alongside our valued public and private sector partners, tackling the impacts of a changing climate head-on."

"I think it's too early to tell what, if any, impact the ruling may have," says Ryan Hadley, executive director of the Indiana Office of Energy Development, when asked how the opinion might affect green jobs creation in his state.

He says, "Indiana will continue to see growth in green-related jobs, especially as we consider the transformation of Indiana's electric generation portfolio. Over the last decade, Indiana has grown its wind generation output from virtually zero in 2008 to 6.5% percent in 2020."

Hadley references a 2020 report commissioned by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission as part of a comprehensive energy study. At the time, the report said, "This expected expansion in alternative energy sources will generate new jobs that will partially offset the job losses associated with coal-fired plant closures, although there is some uncertainty surrounding the potential size of these impacts."

The report continued, "The state's investor-owned electricity producers expect that Indiana's combined generation capacity of wind, solar, and natural gas energy will expand by an estimated 5,850 megawatts between 2023 and 2030."

Green Jobs Growth in The Hoosier State

"Workers with green skills are also spreading across a wide range of industries - such as utilities, manufacturing, and professional services - illustrating the increasing need for green skills across Indiana's economy," according to Green Jobs Now: Indiana, a WorkingNation and Lightcast analysis of the green labor market in the state.

Findings estimate there are over 11,678 workers in Indiana's green economy. The report projects in the next five years, employment for green jobs in the state will increase by 29.2%, well above national average of 5.7%.

What's a Green Job?

We look at four different categories when we break down the opportunities in the green jobs ecosystem.

Core jobs have "a primary responsibility associated with the green economy." The data indicates a top core green job in Indiana is a wind turbine technician.

Enabled jobs have "primary responsibilities separate or tangential to the green economy" with building and general maintenance technicians identified as primary jobs.

Not to be confused with enabled jobs, enabling jobs "aren't associated with green tech per se, but they support the green economy."

The report states, "There were 3,586 green jobs openings in the state in 2021."

Green Jobs Now: Indiana finds there are 1,146,364 workers in Indiana who, with new skills, could be green workers. "These workers come from a variety of different occupations and educational backgrounds and reskilling them could build the pipeline of green workers faster than relying on new postsecondary graduates alone."

"However, doing so will require a mix of training program formats that support the reskilling and redeployment of these workers."

The most in-demand skills related to the green economy in Indiana include energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy knowledge.

The report states, "Many of these same green skills offer strong salary boosts across roles, the highest being carbon management which commands an average salary boost of over $24,000 annually."

"Others, such as carbon reduction commanding nearly $2,000 annually. This suggests that investing in training workers in these skills will have strong returns, but Indiana must ensure a green training infrastructure exists to support reskilling workers in these capabilities."

According to the data, the average green jobs salary in Indiana is $60,012.

'Fighting the good fight'

"While Indiana is not thought of by most folks as environmentally forward thinking, I know firsthand the progress that is being made every day by hardworking Hoosiers committed to tackling the climate crisis," says Schaust of the Environmental Resilience Institute.

"My main focus is on the McKinney Climate Fellows program and supporting students, businesses, and nonprofits as they adapt to and address the climate crisis in Indiana and throughout the Midwest," she explains.

Schaust says the program fellows are primarily students from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. But she notes that fellows - who typically range from sophomores to third-year Ph.D. students - have included some studying geography, health care management, and social work.

"We don't limit ourselves to any particular major because we are dealing with a global crisis. We understand and acknowledge that we need everyone in this fight. And we need everyone thinking about 'How can I, in my career, address climate change?'"

The program includes summer internships for the fellows. "They'll work for those communities, those nonprofits, and those businesses for 10 to 12 weeks over the summer," says Schaust.

"Throughout, we provide them mentorship, ongoing professional development, and once they finish the program, we actually continue to keep in touch with our alumni and help them prepare for job interviews, salary negotiation, networking, all of those really important professional skills that they may not be getting in the classroom or may not have time to really focus on in their academic studies."

Schaust says, "Our fellows receive not only professional training, but resources and access to tools that we believe make them more personally resilient to continue 'fighting the good fight.'"

She continues, "We believe that a holistic approach is necessary to training the next generation of climate professionals - trainings such as how to deal with and manage climate emotions have become an integral part of the curriculum in recent years."

"Since this program launched in 2017, we have worked with close to 200 students, getting them trained in climate careers, getting them professional opportunities to apply their skills outside of the classroom. Around 35% to 40% of our graduates now work in climate careers across the United States," says Schaust.

But she points out that many fellows are becoming more locally focused in their career pursuits. "I've seen the conversation change from a federal government pipeline to 'I want to work in a local community. I want to work here in my hometown of Lafayette, Indiana. I want to work with my local government or the nonprofits in the area to make sure we're addressing food insecurity, to make sure that the community is aware of the climate change impacts we are going to see, and that we are prepared as a community to address those.'"

Core Green Jobs and Second Chances

As a professor of political science at University of Notre Dame, Patrick Regan wasn't planning on becoming a small business owner. Life took a turn for Regan after he began teaching a class called Politics of Climate Change at Westville Correctional Facility.

"In the process of teaching in the prison, I learned that we all make mistakes and sometimes, otherwise, good people make colossally stupid mistakes," says Regan.

"In one class we were talking and one guy who's all tattooed up said, 'The problem is, professor, your people won't hire me.' I'm like, 'Well, I bet I could fix that.' I was old enough in the career of academia that I could take the gamble, quit my job, and see whether I could answer the question of whether we could hire them."

Regan knew he had to create an enterprise that had some lasting power. "I had to start a business that had longevity beyond me. I thought about climate change. I thought this is a no-brainer. Long after I'm burned out from this, solar will be instrumental in saving the planet. So, I decided to start Crossroads Solar, a solar panel manufacturing company."

After experimenting by building a solar panel in his own basement, Regan went to China in late 2019 to purchase an assembly line. He had even arranged for engineers from China to travel to Indiana in 2020 to help with the setup. With travel no longer feasible due to the pandemic, Regan recruited four engineering students from Notre Dame to receive virtual instruction from the Chinese engineers.

In the fall of 2021, the company started panel production to scale. Currently, Crossroads Solar has 12 employees.

"Everybody who works for me is a felon and it ranges from murder to bank robbery to drug-related stuff," notes Regan. "It's allowed me to test some things about society and our ability to think about people differently. I always call this an experiment in forgiveness and reconciliation."

Regan, who is the company's president and co-founder, is not only offering second chances to people with histories of incarceration, but his concerns regarding climate change are strong. "Every one of us is going to have to stop burning fossil fuels in a way or in magnitudes that are so great, the only way we're going to replace them is some alternative form energy."

Regan says solar is probably the best candidate for replacing the use of fossil fuels. "Might not be in 10 years. It might not be in five years. But today, it's what we got. And if we don't stop burning fossil fuels today, we're going to be screwed."

However, he is quick to express his frustration over the state's decision to phase down the credits for energy delivered back to the grid that have been previously afforded to people with solar panels. Those credits were reduced for solar systems installed - as of July 1 - by customers of an investor-owned utility. "We often mask the truth in an attempt to not infuriate, intimidate, or offend anybody. And with the climate we've got to offend," says Regan.

Where Does Your Motor Oil Go?

"I would prefer to move people up," says Scott Miller, senior VP of refinery operations, Safety-Kleen in East Chicago, Indiana, about the company's own talent pipeline.

Miller explains the business. "Every time you get your oil changed that oil gets drained out of that vehicle. It goes into a tank somewhere. There's maybe a hundred thousand of these tanks throughout North America. Two things basically happen to it - it's either burned as a fuel or it can be re-refined and made back into lubricants."

"Safety-Kleen is probably the largest collector of used motor oil as part of their collection business. We take that used motor oil - 230-plus million gallons a year - and run it through one of our refineries," he explains.

"You've seen oil come out of the cars [looking] black, right? When we're done with it, it looks almost like water. That product is called a base oil. These base oils are blended with additives to make the motor oils that go in your car or semi-truck, or hydraulic oils, or any number of other types of lubricants in the market. So, that's a recycled product."

"We have a closed loop process that, in theory, if you buy our lubricants and you use our use motor oil collection, it just goes round and round."

Safety-Kleen has eight facilities throughout North America with the largest being the East Chicago site.

Miller says he's seen a change in recent years regarding environmental concern. "When I first started in this business 24 years ago, we tried to make the whole green concept. We tried to market it. We tried to sell our oil based on that. I'll be honest with you. It was very limited in people's interest. I'd say in the last four or five years, there's been a big change, obviously, with carbon awareness now. It's done a complete about face."

Based on a recent third-party study, Safety-Kleen's re-refineries annually "avoid an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases - the equivalent of having 3.7 billion miles driven by gas-powered automobiles."

The study also found that the company's "base oil achieved as much as a 78% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to base oil made via a traditional refining process on a per gallon basis."

Opportunities at Various Levels

Miller says there is a vast array of jobs at Safety-Kleen requiring different skill levels. "We have a lot of entry-level jobs. Typically, someone who comes in here without experience in the industry will come into the shipping and receiving department. They're unloading and loading trucks and rail cars. We also have barges here. They're sampling these trucks when they come in because any container of used oil that comes in has to be sampled to make sure that it's not hazardous waste - that it's lubricant that can be re-refined and meets all our quality specs."

"We have a rather extensive laboratory with quite a few people. We have technicians, chemists, and supervisors in there. A lot of them are degreed, but not all of them. Some of them might have a technology degree to operate the lab equipment."

"We have refinery operations which are the people who actually run the refinery. We try to get people with some experience in running chemical plants or refineries, but often we actually have to train them from the ground up."

Miller says there are also the administrative and managerial positions, as well as independent contractors including electricians, painters, welders, and pipefitters.

He adds it's important that the company allows its workers to grow. "[If] they can prove themselves in receiving, they look like they can show up for work, they're on the ball, they're eager to learn, and they can follow procedures in this environment which is very industrial - we love to move them up through the organization. We love it."

A Passion for Chemistry

When he was in high school, chemistry was not Bernard Liang's favorite subject. Then he attended college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Liang says, "During college, I wasn't expecting to do chemistry. When I started taking chem classes, it just suddenly made more sense than what I learned in high school. I just kept going with it and was like, 'Yeah, I'm really good at chemistry.' I found more passion."

"I really enjoyed doing the labs and going to lectures. Organic chemistry was a lot of critical thinking because you didn't have much to memorize. You just had to apply as you go."

Now a laboratory supervisor, Liang started at Safety-Kleen eight years ago as a lab chemist. He explains what his duties entailed, "It's learning how to do basic lab techniques. How to do a titration. How to pipette something. The other half is more hands-on learning where you have to learn how to prep a sample, how to calibrate, and how to fix something."

"It became really like fascinating because I had never really had that kind of thought - what we do with our waste engine oils when we get our oil changes. It's good for the environment, because we'll take it, clean it up, and send it back out. I really like that."

Advancement and Retention

Jimmy Bowers is a Safety-Kleen operator II - who began at the company in an entry-level job. "The entry-level position for the operations side is a third operator. They basically start with tank readings, sampling if needed, loading certain rail cars and trailers."

These days, Bowers says, "I oversee the everyday operation of the refinery. I deal with the re-refining of used oil through both processes of distillation and hydrogen."

He appreciates that he has been able to move up in the company. "I have a little bit of college education, but without a full degree. I see a lot of people advancing pretty rapidly throughout the company without having those degrees and they're successful in doing so. That made me want to stick around."

He echoes Miller, saying the company helps people advance. "We do on-the-job training. You are set up with somebody with some experience. They'll walk you through the process of rounds every two hours. That's when you'll collect your numbers, check all your tanks, make sure everything's okay. Then we do some written testing to make sure you know your job. They have packets with a lot of information as far as what job duties are. You'll go through that over several months - finish a little bit of the packet, go to the next thing, finish that part of the packet. It's different sequences as to where you are in your level of training."

Bowers says, at first, he was a bit ignorant about the company's environmental impact. "[The company is] good about letting us know exactly where our product starts, where it goes, how we're green, the steps we're taking to be green, it's safe. Seeing that, not only are we taking environmental impact off the world, but also our customers are also taking environmental impact off the world.

Local Government Addressing Climate Issues

"We have a real focus on helping local governments and communities adapt to the climate crisis," says Indiana University's Schaust.

She says through the Resilience Cohort, launched in 2019, "We're doing our best to help local governments catch up, get their communities involved, and start to get folks preparing for what's coming."

Schaust explains, "We provide, through the Resilience Cohort program, ongoing training on how to do these different skills, how to really crunch this data, look at realistic projections for different climate adaptation strategies, and help them build a plan that they can then carry forward. We provide a lot of support to our local government partners to get that in-house training, but also to help them start to make the case that there is a need to bring in additional staff."

One cohort member is Huntington, located in northeast Indiana. "Being part of the Resilience Cohort has been great for us because you get a chance to see how other cities and other leaders are navigating these things, as well as being introduced to subject matter experts and trainings that you wouldn't have access to otherwise," says Mayor Richard Strick.

He is eager to give credit to some of the fellows from Indiana University. "We've had several that have come through to help with different aspects of this. With a greenhouse gas equivalent emissions survey. Now working on what's known as a climate action plan. Also an intern that's working with us on tree canopy and growth in our tree canopy."

Strick notes, "Here in Indiana, we're anticipating more high heat days and more intense rainfall. Storm water runoff and flooding comes from that. Then the question became, 'Okay, what are additional steps we can take to better position ourselves?'"

"When we talk about what we might call the green sector jobs or adapting to these things with climate resiliency - really, we're talking about just the next stage, the next evolution of the economy," says Strick. "When it comes to thinking about jobs, especially as they relate to this sector, I think the biggest thing is to connect it to what people are already doing."

The city's parks serve as flood plains, not just recreational spaces for residents. Strick says those spaces require planting and arboretum work. He adds the city is looking to switch to electric equipment including leaf blowers, weeders, and mowers.

"None of us like change, right? Some of us adapt to it more readily than others, but change is difficult on all of us. And we're talking about some pretty significant transitions here in the economy and the environment. Part of the challenge is walking people through those changes and transitions and connecting it to what already is here."

Strick cites offers an example with a current project. "We're preparing STEM research for high schoolers and middle schoolers tied into removal of a low head dam from the Little River. The low head dams were invented as economic development. You could run a flour mill or a power plant on a river that didn't have much drop to it. That's obsolete technology now. It can become a threat to safety, but also it prevents you from enjoying the river and having kayaks and canoes go through it."

"Eventually somebody's going to come in and they are going to demolish that dam, remove it, and haul it off. Those are jobs that are very familiar for us. It's helping folks understand that the skills they already have can be brought to bear on these challenges and solutions."

Looking Ahead to the Future

Schaust says she has seen more need in the talent pipeline, but notes, "There's still a little more demand than there is supply of jobs. I've seen huge change in the past six years, but there's still a little more students than there are full-time opportunities. That's something I I'm hoping to see continue to change."

Strick says, "The key for me as an elected official is helping folks to understand why we do the things that we do. We want to make sure that our house is an order. We want to have full transparency with folks and explain the 'why' behind these things. Get it to that level of being able to help them embrace them and value them. And if they don't value them - at least tolerate them and understand why some folks in the community might value them."

Regarding the recent SCOTUS opinion, Strick says his city is not going to lose its momentum in addressing climate issues. "We're making these investments because it's what's right for our community."

Liang says about his job at Safety-Kleen, "It made me more conscious about what I dispose of at home. I've been more careful. Is this bathroom cleaner safe to go down the drain? This cooking oil - do I really want to pour this down the sink? Where is it going to go? It's taught me to be more proactive with recycling."

He adds, "I prefer to work at a company that does take care of the waste that they produce."

Bowers says, "I'm not stuck in one position. I can get from a third [operator] to a second to a first - and maybe even a supervisor. They don't put that roadblock on you for not having a degree. To me, that's important because there are a lot of people without education that are still smart and still have the ability to do things."

Miller says, "Sustainability five years ago, nobody even talked about it. And now, we have sustainability officers in major corporations, right? So, it is a real thing. And I think it's a good thing."

Crossroads Solar has landed a big win with national distributor - Krannich Solar - which will move the panels through a sales network. Regan says, "I am maybe evangelical, but we're either going to do something about the climate or we're going to fry the planet."

Laura Aka wrote this article for Working Nation.
WorkingNation producer Deidra White contributed to the reporting in this article.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

New nuclear power options are getting a lot of attention but analysts said the unproven options could distract from readily available renewable energy options.

Big Tech companies with growing energy demands from technology, like artificial intelligence, have recently announced support for new nuclear efforts, including Amazon's support for a plan in Washington state. The plans involve technology called small modular reactors, which are smaller than typical nuclear reactors.

Dennis Wamsted, energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said the technology likely would not come online until 2030 or later in the U.S.

"It's a great marketing tool. There's no actual there, there yet," Wamsted asserted. "There are no operating small modular reactors in the United States or in Europe. There's one or two in Russia and one in China."

Wamsted recently analyzed what he called the hype surrounding small modular reactors. He noted the projects may be distant energy solutions and distract from solar, wind and geothermal plants, which are already proven to work.

Wamsted acknowledged tech companies should be applauded for their clean energy goals, which are among the most aggressive of any industry. But when it comes to small modular reactors, there are a lot of hurdles to starting up, including regulatory barriers.

"The safety license is given to you by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has a process," Wamsted explained. "It is a relatively time-consuming process. It may be more time-consuming for companies like X Energy because their reactors have never been licensed before."

Wamsted added while we could wait a decade for small modular reactors to produce energy for the first time, there are solar projects, for instance, that have gone from announcement to commercial operation in two years.

"Focus on the availability now of renewables and continue to fund the SMRs," Wamsted urged. "But be up-front about the fact that they're not a solution for the rapid demand growth that we're going through in the United States right now."

By Kari Lydersen for Energy News Network.
Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Darryl Moton is ready to "get on a roof."

The 25-year-old Chicago resident is among the latest graduates of an intensive 13-week solar training course that's helping to connect employers with job candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.

Moton was referred by another job readiness program meant to keep youth away from gun violence. He "never knew about solar" before but now sees himself owning a solar company and using the proceeds to fund his music and clothing design endeavors.

He and others interviewed for jobs with a dozen employers assembled at a church on Chicago's West Side on August 1 as part of the fourth training cohort for the 548 Foundation, which is partnering with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on a recently-announced $30 million initiative to create 1,000 solar jobs in Chicago's South and West side neighborhoods.

The 548 Foundation is part of 548 Enterprise, a suite of renewable energy and affordable housing development projects, launched in 2019 and named after the public housing unit where co-founder A.J. Patton grew up.

The idea is to help keep housing affordable by using solar to lower energy bills, while training people left out of the traditional energy economy to supply that solar.

"When you invest in a community, the biggest question is who benefits, who gets the jobs?" asked Patton, during the job fair. "This is as good as it gets," he added, about the recent state investment. "We just have to keep advocating for quality policy."

Employers at the job fair said such training programs are crucial for them to find workers in Illinois, where robust solar incentives are attracting many out-of-state companies eager to hire and hit the ground. Mike Huneke, energy operations manager for Minnesota-based Knobelsdorff said he has hired 18 employees from previous 548 cohorts, and he expected to make about six job offers after the recent interviews.

"Illinois is on fire," said Huneke. "We're not from Illinois, so finding this new talent pipeline is what we need. We have a ton of projects coming up."

Lisa Cotton, 30, has dreamed of being an electrician since she was a kid. She had received two job offers at the August 1 fair before the group even broke for lunch.

"A lot of times you go through a training program, get a certificate, and that's the end of it," said Jacqueline Williams of the Restoring Sovereignty Project, a partner which administers the wraparound services for the training program.

The 548 program makes sure to connect graduates with employers, and only companies with specific openings to fill are invited to the job fair. 548 and its partners also stay in contact with graduates and employers to make sure the placement is successful.

"We have a post-grad program where they can call us any time, and an alumni fund. If an employer says, 'This guy can't come to work because his radiator is busted,' we'll take care of that," said Williams.

Achieving equity

After Illinois passed an ambitious clean energy law in 2017, multiple solar training programs were launched in keeping with the law's equity provisions. But employers and advocates were frustrated by a seeming disconnect in which many trainees never got solar jobs, and employers weren't sure how to find the workers.

Since then, the state has passed another clean energy law - the 2021 Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, with even more ambitious equity mandates; and non-profit organizations have developed and honed more advanced workforce training programs. To access incentives under the law, employers need to hire a percent of equity-eligible applicants that rises to 30% by 2030. The program prioritizes people impacted by the criminal justice system, alumni of the foster care system, and people who live in equity-designated communities.

548 affiliates help employers navigate the paperwork and requirements involved in the equity incentives. Several employers at the job fair said this is a plus, but noted that regardless of equity, they are desperate for the type of highly-trained, enthusiastic candidates coming out of the 548 program.

"This is a great way to bridge what the state is trying to do with its clean energy goals, and connecting under-represented people with these opportunities," said Annette Poulimenos, talent acquisition manager of Terrasmart, a major utility-scale solar provider. "We came here ready to hire, and I think we're going to walk away with some new talent."

Member organizations of the Chicago Coalition for Intercommunalism do outreach to recruit most of the training program participants.

Nicholas Brock found out about the training thanks to a staffer at one of these organizations who noticed his professional attitude and punctuality as he walked by every morning to a different workforce program.

"Whatever I do, nine times out of 10, I'm the first one to get there, before the managers," said Brock, 20. "He noticed that and asked me, 'Have you ever heard about solar panels?'"

Brock knew little about solar at that point, but now he aims to be a solar project manager.

"I'm so glad I came here," he said. "They bring out the best in you."

Full service

Wraparound, holistic services are key to the program's success. During the training and for a year afterwards, trainees and alumni can apply for financial help or other types of assistance.

"There are so many barriers, it might be child care or your car is impounded," said Williams. "We might be writing a letter to a judge asking to 'please take him off house arrest so he can work.' It's intensive case management, navigating the bureaucratic anomalies that arise when you're system-impacted."

Moises Vega III, 26 - who always wanted to work in renewables because "it's literally the future" - noted that his car battery died during the training program, and he was provided funds to get his vehicle working again.

While ample support is available, the program itself is rigorous and demanding. Classes meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, and trainees are required to check their phones at the door and be fully focused, notes instructor and 548 workforce strategies director Michael Thomas. During the hands-on boot camp week, the day starts at 6 a.m.

"That's when the trades start," noted Thomas. "You need to figure out how that works, how will you get child care at 5:30 a.m.?"

Sixty-one trainees started in the first three cohorts, and 46 graduated, the first group in July 2023. The fourth cohort started with 25, and as of the job fair, 18 were on track to graduate. Eighty-five percent of graduates from the first three cohorts are currently working in the field, according to 548.

"Even though I wish the graduation rate were higher, the people who commit to it, stay with it," said Kynnée Golder, CEO of Global HR Business Solutions, which has an oversight role for the 548 Foundation. "It's monumental, it's life-changing for a lot of people."

Comprehensive curriculum

The curriculum starts with life skills, including interpersonal relationships, resume-building, financial planning and more. Each day begins with a spiritual reflection.

The students learn about electricity and energy, and soon move into specific instruction on solar installation and operation. Rooms at St. Agatha's church served as labs, where students connected wires, built converters and eventually mounted solar panels on a demonstration pitched, shingled roof.

Terrance Hanson, 40, credited Thomas as "the best instructor ever."

"I'm not a young kid, my brain is no longer a sponge," Hanson said. "He made sure I got it all. Now I feel like I know so much, I'm confident and prepared to get out and show what I can do."

He added that people in disinvested neighborhoods have ample untapped potential to be part of the clean energy workforce.

"You see a lot of basketball players in my community because there are a lot of basketball hoops," he said. "If there were golf courses in the hood, you would see more golfers. It's about opportunities. And this was the most amazing and empowering thing I've ever been through."

Jack Ailey co-founded Ailey Solar in 2012, making it the oldest still-operating residential installer in Illinois, by his calculations. He noted that there can be high turnover among installers, and intensive training and preparation is key.

"You're out there in the sun, the cold, it's heavy physical labor, wrestling 40-pound panels up to the roof," he said. "You have to know what you're getting into."

"Some training programs vary in quality," Ailey added, but he was impressed by the candidates at the 548 job fair.

Trainees test for and receive multiple certifications, including the OSHA 30 for quality assurance, and the NCCER and NABCEP for construction and solar professionals, respectively. The program is also a pre-apprenticeship qualifier, allowing graduates to move on to paid, long-term apprenticeships with unions representing carpenters, electricians, plumbers and laborers - the gateway to a lucrative and stable career in the trades.

Thomas noted that most trade unions still don't have a major focus on solar.

"We're ahead of the unions, and our graduates bring real value to them, and to the companies," he said. "The students might know more than a company's foreman knows. It's a win-win situation. Solar is a nascent industry, there's so much opportunity in this space."

When Tredgett Page, 38, connected with 548, his auto detailing work and other odd jobs were not going well. He had always loved science and been curious about photosynthesis and the sun's power.

"I had been in the streets before, and I was leaning back toward that, but God brought me here," he said. "Now I have the confidence, I know what I'm talking about, I know about megawatts and kilowatts, net metering, grid-connected, pretty much anything about solar."

He sees metaphorical significance in his new trade: "Energy is life, and it teaches you balance, it's all about negative and positive ions." He feels like "the sky is the limit" after the training.

"I have so much skill that they gave me, now I'm hungry to use it," he said. "I'm a little nervous, but optimistic, excited, very exuberant!"


Kari Lydersen wrote this article for Energy News Network.


get more stories like this via email

More regulatory action is needed, but a controversial pipeline project in North Dakota is moving forward after a permit was approved last week.

Supporters and opponents are now eyeing the next steps.

The state's Public Service Commission gave Summit Carbon Solutions the green light for a siting permit for its planned route in North Dakota.

The company wants to construct a multi-state pipeline in the Midwest to capture carbon pollution from ethanol plants and store the emissions underground in North Dakota.

The commission last year rejected Summit's initial permit request.

Zach Cassidy, CO2 pipeline organizer for the Dakota Resource Council, said the latest outcome raises a big question.

"Who in our state government, or our local governments, has the power to make safety decisions on this pipeline for their residents?" said Cassidy. "Because if county commissioners can't do it, and if the PSC won't do it, that means that no one is looking out for us."

He's referring to rulings that state law supersedes counties pursuing zoning restrictions.

Cassidy said in North Dakota, Summit still needs a storage permit and opponents will focus on that, along with legislative changes.

The company praised the decision, noting it will soon re-apply for a permit in South Dakota, which also initially said no.

The project has led to backlash over concerns such as public safety and landowner rights.

Summit also says it has secured more than 80% of land easements needed for the North Dakota route.

Ahead of last Friday's unanimous approval, Commission Chair Randy Christmann strongly encouraged the company not to rely on practices such as eminent domain as it keeps reaching out to landowners.

"It is something that burdens families for generations," said Christmann. "Eminent domain should never be abused."

Summit insists it remains committed to working collaboratively with affected landowners and communities.

Beyond the Dakotas, the company is awaiting a permit decision in Minnesota. It already secured permit approval in Iowa. Nebraska also is included in the multi-state plan.