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Marion Daly
Stimulus funds could pay to train ‘green’ workers
By Al Everson
posted Oct 22, 2009 - 9:36:07am
Weeks of secrecy in Deltona ended Oct. 19, as the City Commission learned about an economic-development initiative to promote solar power and bring jobs to the area.
City officials are seeking between $2 million and $4 million under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act — commonly known as the Stimulus Bill — to “create a vocational-training center for solar cells.”
The announcement was made by Deltona Planning and Development Services Director Chris Bowley.
“We feel like we submitted a strong grant in short order,” Bowley said. “Hopefully by the end of December, I’ll have something to report.”
Work on the grant application began in August. The city applied to the U.S. Department of Labor, under the Pathways Out of Poverty program.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful opportunity,” said Marion Daly, a consultant who worked on the application.
City officials attended a seminar on alternative energy in Orlando this summer, City Commissioner Janet Deyette said. Deltona had to scramble to refine the idea of making the city into a green-energy center, and to seek federal help to make it happen.
“We had to be kind of quiet, because of the fear of competition,” Deyette said.
The grant could enable Deltona to train as many as 800 people for careers in solar and other forms of green energy.
Deltona stands a good chance of securing the grant, Daly said, because of its high rate of unemployment. While Volusia County has a jobless rate of about 11.7 percent, Deltona’s rate is at or approaching 12 percent.
“It was about 11.9 when I left,” Daly said. “I’m very focused on the 6,000 people who are not working.”
The latest national unemployment number is 9.8 percent.
If Deltona receives the funding, the city will work to bring together people who need work and opportunities to offer green-technology employment. The goal of Deltona’s initiative, Daly said, is to prepare people to work in the solar industries, then to invite manufacturers into the city to hire the ready-made labor force.
Educational institutions, private charities, labor unions and government agencies will join the effort. The charities will assist in screening and referring unemployed people to the training.
“It’s associated with a group of partners,” Development Director Bowley said.
The partners include the Florida Solar Energy Center of the University of Central Florida, the Center for Business Excellence, the Salvation Army, Community Life, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Sylvan Learning Center.
The combined effort would recruit and train workers to manufacture photovoltaic cells and solar-thermal equipment, especially solar water-heating systems. Others could be trained to make existing homes in Deltona more energy-efficient, especially by installing new windows and doors.
“One and a half million dollars is provided from the grant for weatherizing. Once we have the trained work force, we will put them to work in Deltona,” Daly said. “You could reduce 50 to 70 percent of your electric bill by weatherizing.”
Deltona has both the workers and the work.
“We have the perfect situation. We have so many homes that need rehabbing,” Deyette said.
Still others would be trained to market solar-energy products at major-name retailers such as Lowe’s or Home Depot.
City officials are scouting for possible sites for the training center, cautiously hopeful their idea will get the green light for the stimulus funding. So far, no solar-equipment manufacturers have indicated an interest in operating in Deltona, but Daly said he hopes that will change.
“There are only two places where photovoltaic cells are being made. One is in California, and the other is China,” Daly said.
Deltona, located in the Sunshine State and close to the Kennedy Space Center and other energy-research facilities, is well-positioned to become a leader in the production of solar products, he said.
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As far as keeping things quiet to aviod competition; that just does not promote any good feelings at all. How many other secrets are being kept?
The cheaper the solar panels, the less worth the "work force" will have simply because building them from home will be cheaper.
At $200 I am building a solar panel in my garage that will cost you $1000-$1500. Hobbyists are popping up everywhere. Some credible ones are even on youtube. (Type "Build your own solar panel" on youtube.com and watch the hobby community pop up.)
By the time the grant pulls through, the training center is built and the work force trained, the expense of the common photovoltaic (now being sold on EBAY) will tank. The workforce will then be out of a job and the Federal Government will be out their grant money. This is great news for Deltona, as $2-4 million of free money will flow in.
There are other alternative energy investments Deltona could have made, such as wind, hydrogen, flex-fuel conversion training and retrofitting stations to accomodate them more.
If Deltona wants to green up, here's an alternative idea:
1.) Fund individuals who are willing to convert to full solar energy ($10000-$15000).
2.) Mandate in the subsidy agreement that the conversion must hook up to the grid.
3.) Lock in the average price of electricity that the home owner is paying for the previous fiscal year.
What does Deltona get in return:
1.) The price of electricity is the owner's monthly payback to the city. Tack on an extra $2000-$5000 as profit to the city.
2.) The "city-owned/owner maintained" panels cannot make the owner a direct profit, so any payback from the electric company is to be directed to the city treasury.
3.) Once the subsidy is paid off, the owner has no electricity bill (+to the owner) and the city constantly draws on the electric company.
So let's give an example.
I sign up, the costs are $15,000 + $5000 for the subsidy fee. That's $20000 owed to the city. My average monthly bill is say, $350.
I must now pay the city $350 for 58 months. I must also pay the city any checks from Progress Energy and let's say it's $4, just over my usage rate.
So the city gets a $5232 profit over 4-5 years plus continuing checks from Progress Energy. At 70000-80000 people, that's what, $366,240,000 - $418,560,000 of potential revenue? Then there is the continuing checks from Progress Energy for Deltona feeding the grid. With a little fiscal discipline and tenacity, the profits would be reinvested into the project until all homes were solar powered.
Deltona would become energy independant and constantly drawing off of the energy corporations, instead of the other way around.
Being an Engineer and Physicist, I'd love to head a project like this. But it would require an unbelievable amount of Chutzpah from the Deltona Commission to commit to something like this. A trait that unfortunately, does not appear to be inherent in the US anymore, let alone this city.
As for Lonnie Groots comment, I agree. Secrecy? For what, a bad idea. I somehow doubt that other cities will be trying to lure a niche manufacturing market into Florida. Of the few things government should keep secret, this certainly was not one of them.
I have NEVER seen secrecy in local government praised by a newspaper. People in Deltona need inquisitive, critical and investigative reporting.
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