Posted on 01/23/2010 7:51:26 AM PST by Son House
PALM SPRINGS - Unemployed construction workers may be able to get some new jobs fixing windmills and solar panels. College of the Desert opened their new energy training center Wednesday morning.
This lonely building near Gene Autry south of Interstate 10 is the future of the Desert's energy industry. Somebody has to train the workers who will fix the increasing numbers of windmills and solar panels here. The College of the Desert is stepping in, opening new classrooms paid by federal stimulus dollars.
Larry McLaughlin with College of the Desert says, "East of us in Riverside County, there's going to be large scale solar energy firms that will be constructed. When these projects get underway, I think they're going to be hiring people in significant numbers."
Many Coachella Valley construction jobs disappeared during the recession. The local electricians union is no exception.
Chuck McDaniel with IBEW Local 440 adds, "Construction jobs have been bad everywhere. We're no different. We have a lot of people out of work. We're hoping it picks up soon."
An entry level job fixing windmill turbine pays $12 to $18 an hour, benefits included.
Brad Adams with Whitewater Maintenance Corporation adds, "Specifically, we're looking for people who have technical and mechanical, electrical backgrounds. People who have experience in the trades, maybe with automotive. Troubleshooting is a huge key in wind turbines."
People wanting to get jobs repairing windmills have an unusual final test. They have to pass the "tower climb," not for those afraid of heights.
Vincent Battaglia is hiring people to work at Renova solar energy in Palm Desert, "When you're looking at a plumber, a plumber understands water. They understand the old way of working with water. We're teaching them how to work using solar energy to heat the water: solar-thermal. People who work on roofs, they're the best for helping us install solar photo-voltaic systems."
To enroll in the College of the Desert's "Renewable Energy Training Program" or the "Wind Turbine Technician Training Program," call program director Larry McLaughlin's office at 760-773-2595.
Since these jobs would come via a utility company, they would simply retrain their own people....
GREAT! When will the new school for Lighthouse watchers be ready to go? How about slide rule technicians? And we need LOTS of people to keep those pesky stacks of computer program cards in the proper order. I begin my wagon wheel training next week.
The forced use of inefficient windmills as a replacement for “evil” fossil fuels is just so much “Donkey Hooey”...
Can we train progressives to monitor wave power future development by making them tread water in the ocean for weeks studying waves?
You gave me a great idea.
Hire 200,000 more postal workers and restore twice-a-day-mail delivery.
Where do I apply for my grant?
This guy apparently thinks he's talking to illegals.
I'm your guy!
I can calibrate a Slide Rule cursor to a tolerance of .000005
;-)
“Well if they’re going to be building all those green businesses, why are there unemployed construction workers?”
Peter Pan already built all the plants they’ll need. He just called in Tinkerbell, and she sprinkled some pixie dust, and there they were.
I wonder if the teach those courses in Spanish? Just like the construction business it won’t take the Green Energy Sector long to figure out that an illegal works for a lot less money.
There are “repair issues” for wind turbines very often. It
is frequently not possible to repair the turbines and props
on site so you have to remove them using huge cranes: sometimes it’s cheaper just to abandon them. Solar panels
on the other hand do not require much maintenance (I know
because I use solar as my primary source of power).
Actually, most solar panels are made overseas.
I thought slide rules had gone the way of the buggy whip!
Slide rule technicians is a lost skill that should be saved bet only a few older NASA tech’s know how to use one.
It would take nearly 10 sq miles of solar panels and 5-10 Billion to generate as much as one Coal Fired Plant in 24 hrs. Coal, you can dig it!
I just wrote about it. http://www.brayincandy.com
Pray for Freedom
Quite often judging by how few are turning out here in West Texas at any given time.
Sounds about right. I suspect they aren't particularly "repairable", either.
They have. Then again, Amish still buy a fair amount of Buggy Whips. ;-)
Not completely lost. And not only NASA Tech's can use one.
Any Engineer or Draftsman around 55-58yo 'prolly' still knows how to use them. The first 'pocket calculator' I bought was a Texas Instruments SR-10, it was about $150 in '72-73. A LOT of money then. That's when I put my slide rule away forever. But some Mech Engineers I worked with didn't 'trust' them and still used a Slide Rule.
I still have my 1st Post 'Student' Slide Rule and my Post Versatrig w/ hard case and instruction manuel
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