Clean Energy Jobs Available NOW!

By Mary Alice Miller
New Yorkers are challenged to step forward to fill renewable energy jobs as part of New York State’s mission to reach climate goals of Net Zero by 2050, said State Senator Kevin Parker, chair of the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications.
“As we battle climate change and try to reduce greenhouse gases –
particularly methane and carbon dioxide – it is going to be really important for us to replace gas, coal and oil burning facilities with more sustainable energy facilities: offshore wind, onshore wind, hydroelectric, solar, and thermo heat,” said Senator Parker. “We are building out more clean energy generation infrastructure. When we talk about how do we create full-time jobs with living wages and benefits the green economy is where it’s at.
Parker referenced a book Van Jones wrote about 15 years ago called “The Green Collar Economy”. “If we don’t prepare our people for this job market it’s going to be another 40-50 years before we get another opportunity like this again,” said Parker.
To that end, last year Parker secured $1 million for Medgar Evers College in order for them to study the issue and begin developing programming. Parker has connected Dr. Patricia Ramsey, President of Medgar Evers College, with organizations like New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERTA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 3 with the goal of creating partnerships and build out training for the community to be prepared for clean energy jobs.

“Clean energy jobs are here now,” said Parker. “Obviously, we need engineers, but we need carpenters, electricians, pipe fitters, plumbers. All of those skills are needed at this very moment to deliver that clean energy future that we need.”
Parker described clean energy jobs as white- and blue-collar jobs with a green purpose. “So, it’s about the whole value chain. If you are an entrepreneur and you are looking for an area to make money in, clean energy is a start,” Parker said. “If you are looking for a trade – becoming a carpenter or electrician or pipe fitter – clean energy is great space to be in because clean energy jobs are needed, not tomorrow, but now. If you know a young person and they are looking for a career, whether they want to be an engineer or want to be in marketing or sales or they want to be in a building trade, all those opportunities are ripe for the taking.”
NYS encourages owners to retrofit buildings. Programs to support building upgrades to clean energy, like solar panels, can be found at NYSERTA. Those interested in retrofitting their property can also contact Medgar Evers College.
Senator Parker is concerned about what he called “the affordability gap” for utilities. “Not just in Brooklyn, but all around the city, for a lot of people – particularly homeowners – to heat and light your home has become unbearable,” said Parker. “We have legislation that would reduce those costs for seniors, veterans and everybody. We are hoping that we get some support from the assembly this year and are able to make that law.”
Parker is also working towards making high speed broadband more affordable and available to all parts of New York City and the state. “A number of years ago the state created an affordability program that was done through the budget but came out of a program that I created,” said Parker. NYS has a high-speed broadband program if you are lower income you can get a subsidy. We are getting NYCHA wired as well as homeless and domestic violence shelters are wired and some of them have free programs now.

Parker said during the pandemic the first group of people who were eligible to receive the vaccine were senior citizens, but the only way they could get the vaccine was through registering online. “That is an example of it being necessary for people’s lives. I am calling broadband a utility like gas and lights. Just like you would never put somebody in an apartment without water and electricity and heat, broadband should be an essential right for the people of the State of New York,” said Parker. “Making it affordable and available is one of the objectives of my committee. We are trying to make sure we get rid of broadband deserts.”
Parker addressed the evolution of bit coin/block chain and its types of energy consumption in NYS.
At first, then Gov. Cuomo and the Dept. of Finance effectively slowed block chains from trading willy-nilly because it was new with no protections and safeguards. Then after the state passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, block chain miners were buying out what are call ‘peaker plants’, energy producing plants that run between 4 and 12 hours a month but use dirty, air-polluting energy. Block chain miners began running these plants 24/7. Parker partnered with Assemblywoman Anna Kelles to put a two-year moratorium on using peaker plants so that the state could study the issue of block chain and figure out the best way it can be done. Then block chain market disruptions occurred, including companies going out of business and certain high-profile arrests.
“Block chain mining and the trade of crypto currency is still being done in the State of New York. It is something that we encourage,” said Parker. “I want to be clear for the record that NYS has not limited it in any way. We just demanded that it be produced in an ecologically and sustainable way. The bigger hindrance on the development of block chain has been on the market than because of anything we have done regulatorily.”
NYS handles cybersecurity for 8 other states. “As chairman of energy and telecommunications committee, we are concerned about cybersecurity regarding utilities and the national grid and making sure we are vigilant,” said Parker. “There are things that are done in the private sector and there are significant things that happen on the public sector as well. And they both need to be strong. Naturally, what we do in the public sector in the State of New York around cybersecurity is very significant and something we should be proud of.”
Looking back over the 21 years he has served as ranking member and chair of the Energy and Telecommunications committee, Parker recalled the creation of NYS’s first taskforce on Sustainable Energy in 2004. “When we began the journey of addressing some of these climate change issues,
I did know early on that the issue of sustainability was going to be a big, big part of what the state needed to deal with,” said Parker. “Over time we are seeing more weather events. The bigger danger is not weather events but climate events. Last year, summer 2023 was the hottest on record. Having more and more hot summers is more of a danger. We are addressing the impact of sustained heat waves over a period of time, like last summer.”