Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Volume #9, Issue #9
Editor: Jane Pulaski


The IREC State & Stakeholder Newsletter is a foremost resource for current information on green workforce training, credentialing programs, state activities and best practices on renewable energy and energy efficiency. This free newsletter is distributed semi-monthly to email subscribers and published on IREC’s website.  If you have comments or if you would like to submit a news item, email Jane Pulaski.  To subscribe to this newsletter, click here and follow the instructions.

If you want the best news about what’s going on in the states and cities, read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter (May 5, 2010)


From the editor:

As I write this post, I’m following the Twitter stream for the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference in D.C. where IREC’s Jane Weissman, ever the most traveled Executive Director, presented on the state of green job training.  Jane was on a panel with Marcy Drummond, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Vice President for Workforce and Economic Development, and Sarah White, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Senior Associate, discussing what she knows a lot about- policy options for implementing a greener, more coherent credentialing system (read my interview with her)— and ensuring equitable access.  We’ll make sure Jane’s presentation is available soon.

It’s less than a year out, but NYSERDA and IREC are already planning the 2011 Clean Energy Education Workforce  Conference, scheduled for March 8-11 in Saratoga, NY, the fourth national conference on educating the renewable energy and energy efficiency workforce.  As with the previous three conferences, this event promises to offer the most current information on instructional strategies, curricula development, credentialing, and best practices for training in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields.

In a few days, Jane will be talking about green jobs at ASES’s conference.  Actually, the IREC team is all over the ASES agenda discussing community solar, connecting to the grid, net metering, state trends, solar market trends, and green workforce development.  If you’re poring over the agenda now, make sure  you get to some of these sessions.  Follow IREC at ASES May 18-21 through live Twitter streams (and become our Facebook fan, too).

The May issue of Larry Sherwood’s Small Wind newsletter is out with the latest in small wind energy news in the U.S., including a link to the April 25th edition of the Simpsons where Homer builds a backyard turbine (oh dear).

More news from our friends at NABCEP.  ED Ezra Auerbach tells us that its developing a Company Accreditation Program for renewable energy companies that meet specific and verifiable criteria based on business practices, hiring practices, and social and environmental policies and practices.  If you’re a company interested in helping develop this program, let them hear from you by May 21st.

Sara Baldwin, Utah Clean Energy, gives us a rundown of what’s been happening in Utah lately, including the recent Solar America Cities meeting where Solar Salt Lake was awarded SAC’s Barrier Buster Award for its efforts to improve Utah’s net metering rules (with thanks to the legal eagles of Keyes and Fox).

With Spring in full bloom just about everywhere, it’s a sign that those summer renewable energy fairs can’t be far behind.  I’m always happy to include those kinds of events in IREC’s online calendar.  If there’s a summer fair out there, let me know, OK?

P.S.  Kudos to ASES for publishing a letter on its website discussing concerns about Arizona’s new immigration law, and how it might affect upcoming conference goers.


Read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter, May 5, 2010