Page 30 - Skills 2022

Industry Outlook: Clean Energy
STAFFING A
BRIGHT FUTURE
BY AMY ROACH
Aconvergence of economic, geopolitical, and societal factors has put clean energy squarely in the spotlight over the last
few years — and perhaps never more so than now. With oil and gas prices steadily rising around the globe (even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict), growing prominence of climate change as a political issue, and an increased interest in renewable energy policy at the federal level, it seems everyone is focusing on the clean energy economy.
Here in Westchester, the restrictions on natural gas and the large pipeline
of pending offshore wind projects nearby have also helped tip the scales toward renewables. Westchester’s clean-energy employers are growing, with a number of firms now calling the county home, including Dandelion and Geothermal Works in the geothermal sphere, solar firms such as Sunrise Solar, Quest Solar, and Sun Blue Energy, and Brightcore Energy, an Armonk firm that works to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings, among others.
All of this emphasis on clean energy means one thing: we’re going to need a trained local workforce that can support this growing industry.
“We’re working hard to get our arms around what the needs are going
to be to support these clean energy efforts. We’re meeting with employers to understand what they will be looking for and how we can help,” notes Bridget Gibbons, the director of Westchester County Economic Development, which recently became part of the CUNY/ SUNY Clean Energy Jobs Consortium — a group designed to create learning
28 2022 SKILLS
What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.
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