Louisiana stands at the edge of an evolving energy sector through the expansion of renewable and alternative energy sources but must train a workforce for that future, according to a group of panelists organized by progressive think tank the Roosevelt Institute.
The first panel at the event held at University of Louisiana included people like Georges Antoun, chief commercial officer for First Solar, Jason Dedon of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 995, Jan Moller, executive director of Invest in Louisiana, and Jonathan Rausch, assistant professor at UL-Lafayette.
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Devante Lewis, said currently just 2% of the state’s energy comes from renewables. That number, he noted, should increase after the 159 Louisiana renewable energy projects in the works are completed.
A large problem facing Louisiana is energy affordability and resiliency, Lewis said. Louisiana residents, despite being one the poorest states in the nation, pay a high percentage of their annual income on energy , he added. Part of that comes from Louisiana residential energy usage, which is the highest in the nation.
“Because of our aging infrastructure, because of the effects of climate and having very cold winters and very hot summers, people are utilizing more energy,” Lewis said.
Forever increasing needs for electricity, changing national policies and business commitment to transition to renewable leave Louisiana at a place where it can either double down on traditional energy or modernize by shifting to greener markets, panelists said.
Louisiana, with help from universities like UL, can help the state transition to renewable energy more easily, Rausch said. The university’s solar lab helps bring job training for solar installation and manufacturing, as well as getting students real-world experience through the grant that expands solar power into rural communities, he said.
Training like that at UL brings with it a strong labor force, Antoun said. A labor force already trained in traditional energy sectors and energy support providers is exactly why First Solar built its $1.1 billion solar panel production facility in New Iberia, which is expected to bring 700 jobs to the Acadiana region, Antoun said.
The company will soon begin operations at a nearly completed facility in Alabama.
“A lot of the Alabama employees for us are Louisiana folks that are coming back to Louisiana once New Iberia opens up,” Antoun said. “Hopefully we can get more and more UL graduates and SLCC graduates in Houston to come back home and work for us.”
One challenge facing Louisiana is a transient workforce, said Dedon. Gone are the days of company loyalty and staying in a career for decades. Louisiana residents are also drawn to other states like Texas, Georgia and Alabama, which are starving the state’s workforce of twentysomethings.
For Dedon, keeping workers in Louisiana means guaranteeing workers a job while they are training. Programs like that are possible through a collective workforce, like a union, which pays dues and fees to help educate new workers.
“We’re eliminating those barriers by not passing that tuition cost down to them,” Dedon said. “At a given time, they will finish their program and become a journey-level worker. They will continue to contribute to the system that trains the next generation.”
Antoun said that diversifying Louisiana’s energy sector can also bring job resilience to the state through increases in manufacturing. Louisiana’s oil and gas service industry is tied heavily to how the market is looking in Houston, he added.
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 22:00:00
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