Educational visit to solar energy site highlights local career pathways in Kern County’s clean energy sector

2024 has been a transformative year for Avantus – from closing on a majority equity investment by KKR to advancing one of the largest development portfolios of solar and energy storage in the United States.

In Kern County, California, Avantus is again redefining the energy sector through record-breaking projects that showcase our commitment to innovation and collaboration.

Los Angeles is poised to establish itself as the nation's capital for green energy and clean technology. The city is home to world-class innovative companies and has the visionary leadership needed to build an unmatched clean energy economy. And Los Angeles' position is only going to be supercharged by the investments made available through bills like the Inflation Reduction Act.

As our country transitions to cleaner sources of energy and income on native lands and across the U.S. (which – technically – is all Native land), we need to ensure benefits of renewable projects uplift the native communities they’re sited in.

In this political climate, virtually any issue can seem either red or blue — not least in energy. Investments in renewable energy like solar are regularly treated by media outlets, political pundits and politicians as a solely Democratic priority.

Today’s fanfare surrounding green hydrogen isn’t the first time we’ve seen excitement about this gas: a Google search will show that the phrase “hydrogen economy” peaked in 1976, only to fade away by 1995. Then in 2006, Ford, BMW and Mazda were bringing hydrogen cars to market (remember those?), and hype shot up once again, only to fade away.

As we know, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us into a very necessary but delicate grand experiment where millions of workers became suddenly remote. And you know what? It can work, and it works incredibly well for a specific demographic I have the honor of being a part of: military spouses.

Native communities and lands have historically borne some of the worst impacts of fossil fuel development through the health damages associated with coal fired power plants, the destruction of fragile ecosystems and sacred sites, and of course, the impacts of climate change. When Indigenous peoples have a seat at the table to determine the highest use of their land – it is both for the betterment of their communities and the environment. Historically, this has not always been the case.

At a major conference for energy dealmakers and finance players last year, I found myself chatting with a utility executive from Alabama who was looking at contracting a new gas plant. Genuinely curious, I asked him if he’d ever considered solar. He responded with the familiar refrains: that solar is too expensive and unreliable – and that he wasn’t willing to gamble on an alternative energy.