California Center for Sustainable Energy

Federal ARRA funds coming to local energy programs

The wave of green jobs rolling into San Diego is taking shape as federal recovery funds arrive to build a base of education and training.

It’s been nearly 10 months now since President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ( ARRA) authorizing $787 billion in federal stimulus funds to state and local governments. Nationwide, governors, mayors and other officials have joined with their community’s leaders to steer as much of the funding to their areas as possible. As of Oct. 20, however, only about 20 percent of the total recovery funds had been distributed.

According to the federal Recovery.gov website, so far, California has been awarded nearly $28 billion in ARRA grants, contracts and loans for projects ranging from infrastructure improvements and housing to energy efficiency and green job training.

In San Diego County, local governments and other agencies have done a great job of securing funds. To date, San Diego has been designated to receive 1,068 awards for a total of about $600,000,000. Our region, of course, will also share in awards to the state as various agencies dispense it to projects throughout California.

CCSE is pleased to be participating in several new initiatives that have received ARRA funds related to kick-starting green employment in our community. We will be helping to develop curriculum, train trainers and insure best practices in job training programs. You can read more about these initiatives in this edition of Energy Connection.

We’re at the beginning of an important journey to better our environment by moving toward a clean energy future. Our goal now is to get the programs in place that will prepare tomorrow’s workers for that tsunami of green jobs.

Continue reading November's newsletter.