As part of the Los Angeles Business Council's "Mayoral Housing, Transportation and Jobs Summit —Building LA's Workforce [2]," research teams from UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation [3] and USC will release a new report [4] indicating that while Los Angeles has a trained workforce ready to perform clean-energy solar jobs, city leaders have so far failed to enact policies that would take advantage of this resource and create employment for these workers.
The report, presented by the LABC, recommends the adoption of solar feed-in tariff, a program that would enable business owners and residents to install solar panels on their rooftops and sell surplus energy to their local utility.
In addition, three Los Angeles mayoral candidates will participate in a moderated discussion focusing on their plans to bring high-quality jobs to Los Angeles.
Also, the following mayoral candidates will take questions on jobs, transit and housing from Los Angeles Times editor-at-large Jim Newton. They will be joined by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary Housing and Urban Development and current mayor of San Antonio.
Eric Garcetti
President of the Los Angeles City Council
Wendy Greuel
Los Angeles City controller
Jan Perry
Los Angeles City Councilmember
WHEN:
The summit runs from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16
WHERE:
UCLA's Ackerman Grand Ballroom
BACKGROUND:
UCLA and USC researchers previously stressed the need for a rooftop solar program in Los Angeles and outlined its potential benefit to low-income Angelenos. They have indicated that a robust program could create $2 billion in local investment and create 16,000 job-years with minimal impact on ratepayers. The current study and past studies are available at the LABC website [4].
Links:
[1] http://luskin.ucla.edu/home
[2] http://www.labusinesscouncil.org/programs.php
[3] http://luskin.ucla.edu/
[4] http://www.labusinesscouncil.org/sustainability/