BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1132
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
AB 1132
(Ting) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Distributed generation: report: green workforce
training programs
SUMMARY: Requires the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to submit an annual report on distributed generation to
the Legislature and to include an evaluation of the current use
of green workforce training programs related to distributed
generation. Specifically, this bill:
a)Requires the CPUC submit a report to the Legislature annually
on the impacts of distributed generation on the state's
distribution and transmission grid.
b)Requires this report to include an evaluation of the current
use of, and opportunities for green workforce training
programs relating to the deployment of distributed energy
resources.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the CPUC to submit a report biennially, beginning
January 2010, on the impacts of distributed energy generation
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on the state's distribution and transmission grid. (Public
Utilities Code Section 321.7)
2)Requires electrical corporations to submit a distribution
resources plan proposal to the CPUC to identify optimal
locations for the deployment of distributed resources by July
15, 2015. (Public Utilities Code Section 769)
3)Requires the CPUC to review each distribution resources plan
proposal submitted by an electrical corporation and approve,
or modify and approve, a distribution resources plan for the
corporation. The commission may modify any plan as
appropriate to minimize overall system costs and maximize
ratepayer benefit from investments in distributed resources.
(Public Utilities Code Section 769)
4)Requires the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to
establish a Green Collar Jobs Council (GCJC) comprised of the
representatives from the CWIB existing membership, including
the K-12 representative, the California Community Colleges
representative, the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency representative, the Employment Development Department
representative, and other appropriate members to identify and
develop the framework, funding, strategies, programs,
policies, partnerships, and opportunities necessary to address
the growing need for a highly skilled and well-trained
workforce to meet the needs of California's emerging green
economy. (Unemployment Insurance Code Section 15000)
5)Requires the CWIB to report annually on the status of GCJC
activities and its development of a green workforce strategic
initiative. (Unemployment Insurance Code Section 15003)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
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COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement . "Since 2001, the number of green jobs in
California has grown exponentially, coinciding with the
state's investment in solar and other clean energy
technologies. The Solar Foundation's National Solar Jobs
Census 2014 found that California remains the top solar state
in terms of both installed capacity and employment. The
report found that California employed 54,690 solar workers in
2014, representing a 15.8% increase in employment over the
course of one year. Employment numbers for 2015 are expected
to continue to grow 17.2%, translating into 9,400 new jobs.
It is also important to note that solar installation jobs are
a more ethnically and gender diverse sector than other energy
sectors, such as coal mining. Nationally, 16,500 more
Latinos, 4,400 more African-Americans, 5,700 more Asian
Pacific Islanders, and 12,300 more women are employed in solar
installation than coal mining.
"In his inaugural address, Governor Brown set ambitious goals
to further reduce California's energy consumption over the
next 15 years, including increasing from 33% to 50% our
electricity derived from renewable sources. As the state
works to advance greater RPS goals, all options need to be on
the table in order to procure more clean energy, and
increasing the amount of renewable DG will be an important
part of this strategy. It is also critical to ensure our
workforce is adequately trained to install and maintain this
new clean energy infrastructure.
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"Current law requires the CPUC to publish a report about the
impacts of distributed energy generation on the state's
distribution and transmission grid. In order to fully
evaluate and understand the impacts of distributive energy
generation on the state's workforce and ensure that green
workforce training programs are helping to meet this need, it
is important that this data is collected and published by the
CPUC to help inform public policy decisions moving forward. "
2)Jobs Data is Lacking . Jobs data, such as the Solar
Foundation's report referenced by the author, provides data
derived from a sampling of companies on direct and induced
jobs in the solar industry. The report does not provide
information on how many of those jobs are full-time or part
time, or whether these are direct employment or contract
positions. In addition, the jobs survey does not break out
data on job classifications in the professional positions,
such as legal, finance, engineering, management, and boards of
directors, and the extent of diversity within those job
classifications. Last, the Solar Foundation's report focuses
solely on solar industry jobs. There are other distributed
generation technologies, including solar thermal, wind energy,
renewably fueled on-site generation, and advanced energy
storage for which job data is not available. New distributed
generation technologies are also likely to be introduced into
the market as the market for distributed generation increases.
It would be useful to have accurate and reliable job data on
distributed generation technologies so that growth and changes
in the workforce can be better understood.
3)Green Job Training Programs. According to a 2011 report
published by Environment California, it documented nearly 300
green job training programs at over 130 institutions
throughout the state with up to 15,000 students enrolled
annually. Data on these programs and tracking to understand
how many of these students successfully find employment in
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green job industries would be useful to understand. It would
also be useful to understand the extent to which the training
programs provide support for the full complement of potential
employment opportunities. For example, it appears from a
review of this report that many of the jobs focus on building
and construction. This could lead to missed opportunities to
train students for other types of green jobs, such as legal,
finance, management, and sales. It would be useful to
understand whether the types of training programs provide for
non-construction green jobs.
4)Distributed Generation Growth Trajectory . The Governor
announced a greenhouse gas goal in his 2015 Inaugural Address
that included distributed generation. Specifically the
Governor's goal is to, within the next 15 years:
Increase from one-third to 50 percent our electricity
derived from renewable sources,
Reduce today's petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to
50 percent, and
Double the efficiency of existing buildings and make
heating fuels cleaner.
The Governor went on to say that he envisions a wide range of
initiatives: more distributed power, expanded rooftop solar,
micro-grids, an energy imbalance market, battery storage, the
full integration of information technology and electrical
distribution, and millions of electric and low-carbon
vehicles.
In addition to the Governor's goal, the Legislature enacted AB
327 (Perea, Chapter 611, Statutes of 2013). AB 327 specified
that electrical corporations regulated by the CPUC are to file
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distribution resource plans by July 1, 2015 and identify
optimal locations for the deployment of distributed resources.
The CPUC is required to review and modify or approve the
plans in a manner that minimizes overall system cost, and
maximizes ratepayer benefit from investments in distributed
resources. The CPUC is then authorized to approve proposed
spending if it concludes that ratepayers would realize net
benefits and the associated costs are just and reasonable.
The CPUC has an open proceeding to implement the provisions of
AB 327. Thus, is it reasonable to expect that there will be
an increase in the amount of distributed generation used in
California.
1)Suggested amendments.
The author may wish to consider amendments to specify the type
of information that is to be included in the distributed
generation report.
321.7. (a) On or before January 1, 2010, and annually
thereafter, the commission, in consultation with the
Independent System Operator and the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission, shall study, and
submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on, the
impacts of distributed energy generation on the state's
distribution and transmission grid. The study shall evaluate
all of the following:
(1) Reliability and transmission issues related to connecting
distributed energy generation to the local distribution
networks and regional grid.
(2) Issues related to grid reliability and operation,
including interconnection, and the position of federal and
state regulators toward distributed energy accessibility.
(3) The effect on overall grid operation of various
distributed energy generation sources.
(4) Barriers affecting the connection of distributed energy to
the state's grid.
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(5) Emerging technologies related to distributed energy
generation interconnection.
(6) Interconnection issues that may arise for the Independent
System Operator and local distribution companies.
(7) The effect on peak demand for electricity.
(b) In addition, the commission shall specifically assess the
impacts of the California Solar Initiative program, specified
in Section 2851 and Section 25783 of the Public Resources
Code, the self-generation incentive program authorized by
Section 379.6, and the net energy metering pilot program
authorized by Section 2827.9.
(c) The commission shall, in consultation with the California
Workforce Investment Board and the Employment Training Panel,
include in the report required pursuant to subdivision (a) an
evaluation of the current use of, and opportunities for, green
workforce training programs relating to the deployment of
distributed energy resources. The evaluation shall include,
but not be limited to data about distributed generation
employment disaggregated, by technology and region within
California, as follows: number of full-time employees; number
of part-time employees; number of contract personnel; total
direct jobs; total indirect jobs; inventory of distributed
generation training programs available in California focusing
on construction, finance, legal, management, sales, or other
employment areas within this field; total number of students
enrolled in these programs; and rate at employment for
graduates from each of these training programs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Sue Kateley / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083