Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas

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Advanced Energy Jobs In Texas

Prepared by BW Research Partnership May 2016 Table of Contents

What is Advanced Energy?...... 1 About ...... 2 Highlights...... 3 Introduction...... 5 Methodology...... 7 Industry Overview...... 9 Segment-by-Segment Results...... 13 Energy Efficiency...... 13

Advanced Electricity Generation...... 15

Advanced Fuels...... 17

Advanced Transportation...... 18

Advanced Grid...... 19 Market Compostition...... 21 Value Chain...... 21

Energy Workfoce...... 21

Firm Size...... 23

Employer Hiring Experience...... 23 Customers and Vendors...... 25 Revenue Streams...... 26 What is Advanced Energy? Advanced energy is a broad range of technologies, els, and nuclear power plants are all examples of products, and services that constitute the best avail- advanced energy, as they diversify energy sources, able technologies for meeting energy needs today reduce costs to communities, and use energy and tomorrow. Defined in this way, advanced energy resources more productively. For the purposes is not static but dynamic, as innovation and competi- of this report, advanced energy employment has tion produce better energy technologies, products, been divided into five industry segments: advanced and services over time. Today, demand response, electricity generation, energy efficiency, advanced natural gas-fueled trucks, high-performance build- grid, advanced transportation, and advanced fuels. ings, energy-saving industrial processes, wind turbines, onsite and utility-scale solar power, biofu-

1 About the Texas Advanced Energy What is Advanced Energy? Business Alliance The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alli- ance (TAEBA) includes local and national advanced energy companies seeking to make Texas’s energy system more secure, clean, reliable, and affordable. TAEBA’s mission is to raise awareness among pol- icymakers and the general public and the opportunity offered by all forms of advanced energy for cost savings, electric system reliability and resiliency, and economic growth in the state of Texas. www.texasadvancedenergy.org

About BW Research Partnership BW Research Partnership is a full-service research consulting firm with offices in California and Massachusetts. Recog- nized by the Congressional Research Office as developing the most accurate data to date, BW Research has conducted more clean energy labor market analyses than any other firm. Recent projects include: The U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census series, wind and solar labor market reports for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and clean energy reports for a variety of state agencies, trade associations, and nonprofits. www.bwresearch.com

Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas 2016

2 2016 HIGHLIGHTS Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas Advanced energy employs 143,000 workers in Texas, more than twice as many as Airlines, more than Chemical Manufacturing and Petroleum Refining, and approaching 143,023 Building Construction.1 The advanced energy industry advanced energy jobs now supports just over 1% of total statewide employment.

Employers expect to add 9,334 new jobs by the end of 2016, an increase of almost 7%. This projected growth would bring total advanced energy employment in the Lone Star State to just over 152,000 workers.

In 2015, there were 14,968 advanced energy companies doing business in the state, the vast majority of 14,968 which support or service other local Texas businesses advanced energy companies and customers: 62% report sourcing their technolo- doing business in the state gies from in-state vendors while 74% report serving in-state customers. These firms represent more variety of industry segments and technology types than in other states with sizeable advanced energy economies, where firms tend to be more concentrated in one segment or another. While energy efficiency workers comprise just over half of the advanced energy workforce in Texas, the share is over two-thirds nationally as well as in other large advanced energy economies like California. 9,334 new jobs by the end of 2016

EmploymentEmployment byby Industry, Industry, 2015 2015

155 143 51% 100 of workers are in Energy Efficiency

Airlines Chemical Manufacturing Advanced Energy Building Construction & Petroleum Reﬁning 27% of workers are in

1 BLS, Current Employment Statistics State and Area Employment, total Advanced Electricity nonfarm, Industry figures are from Q2 2015, available at: http://www.bls. Generation gov/cew/apps/table_maker/v4/table_maker.htm#type=11&year=2015& qtr=2&own=5&area=48000&supp=0. Industry definitions are available at http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/2012NAICS/2012_Definition_File. pdf.

3 What is Advanced Energy is All Over the Map

Advanced Energy? Select Advanced Energy Projects $16 billion industry revenue in Texas

$200 billion industry revenue nationwide

With almost 39,000 workers, employment in Texas’s New technologies and business models Advanced Electricity Generation segment is notably are fundamentally changing the way we large. In Texas, this segment is primarily composed make, manage, and use energy. We call of wind, which continues to thrive in the state as a these technologies “advanced energy,” result of high wind resource potential, available trans- and they are driving our economy toward mission capacity, and the state’s unique competitive a prosperous future powered by secure, power system. Wind generation firms employ 45% of the Advanced Generation workforce, or about clean, reliable, and affordable energy. 17,000 workers. Solar, the next largest Advanced Electricity Generation technology, represents about three in 10 Advanced Electricity Generation workers. ADVANCED ENERGY SEGMENTS Texas is also home to a significant Advanced Fuels industry – about 9,500 workers in total, the majority of which are working in corn ethanol. With 13% of total advanced Advanced Electricity energy employment, Advanced Transportation is also Generation a significant segment of the state’s advanced energy economy. Advanced Transportation employs almost 19,000 workers who spend some or all of their time on hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and natural gas vehicles. Energy Efficiency As the Advanced Energy industry grows in Texas, it is also showing signs of maturing. As with most advanced energy economies, Texas has a heavy concentration (55%) of employment in installation, repair, and main- Advanced Grid tenance operations. However, there is notable employment in trade, distribution, and transport (19%), engineering and research (18%), and manufacturing (6%), indicating that the industry as a whole is large and Advanced stable enough to support jobs in service professions Transportation as well as in project development or maintenance.

Texas’s advanced energy workforce is predominantly male (78%); 43% of advanced energy workers in Advanced Fuels Texas are racial or ethnic minorities, with the share of last year’s hires significantly higher (53%). One in 10 advanced energy workers in Texas are Veterans.

4 Introduction Texas is the nation’s second largest state in both energy resources. According to the National Renewable population and land area. It is also the nation’s largest Energy Laboratory (NREL), Texas tops the nation in energy market, consuming more than any other state onshore wind potential, representing 17% of the and producing nearly twice as much electricity per nationwide total. Texas also ranks first in solar resource year as the next two largest energy producing states potential.4 In addition to wind and solar resources, the combined.2 A large and growing portion of Texas’s state ranks second in biogas potential from landfills, energy needs are being met by advanced energy wastewater treatment, and organic waste, and also has technologies. Yet no attempt to quantify employment notable geothermal resources.5 With about 449 MW of in this industry has been made—until now. installed capacity, the state ranks fourth in commercial combined heat and power (CHP), a high-efficiency Advanced Energy Jobs in Texas 2016 is the first report technology that is in widespread use in the oil refining on employment across all segments of Texas’s advanced and petrochemical industries.6 energy economy. It follows Advanced Energy in Texas, published last year, which found that advanced energy The state’s pro-business, pro-growth spirit, coupled represented a $16 billion industry in Texas.3 Advanced with supportive policies, have allowed advanced energy Energy Jobs in Texas 2016 finds that the Lone Star State businesses to transform the state’s resource potential is home to nearly 15,000 advanced energy businesses, into a booming advanced energy economy. Texas ranks employing 143,023 workers across the value chain and highly on indices of market favorability for both wind and including a wide range of energy technologies that solar, and it was the first state to establish a statewide address both supply and demand. These employers Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The state RPS set are also optimistic about the future; advanced energy a target of 10,000 MW of installed renewable capacity firms in Texas plan to expand the workforce by 7% over by 2025—a target the state surpassed in 2010, 15 years the next year, which would push advanced energy jobs early, due to favorable market conditions, declining costs in Texas to over 152,000 by the end of 2016. of renewables, and the state’s abundant resources.7 The vast majority of this renewable capacity has been wind, The substantial size of Advanced Energy employment which today totals 17,173 MW of installed capacity, in Texas is no surprise given the state’s abundant and nearly three times more than any other state. 8 The diverse advanced energy resources, and its unique surge in wind deployment may partially be attributed energy market. As the nation’s largest consumer to legislation passed in 2005 that required the Public of electricity and a major hub of energy-intensive Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to identify and industries, the state is well-suited to tap demand-side construct transmission line projects that connect wind resources to meet energy needs. Texas also operates the resources in regions known as Competitive Renewable only single-state power grid, managed by the Electric Energy Zones (CREZ) to the grid. 9 Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which is separate from the Eastern and Western Interconnection. It is also Natural gas generation and storage are also on the the most competitive energy market in the country. rise in Texas. These two technologies – while providing This large and dynamic power system benefits from valuable power to the grid on their own – are also natural technologies like demand response and consumer data partners for variable renewable generation sources like analytic technologies that can be used to reduce peak wind. Energy storage provides benefits to grid operators load and maintain reliability in real-time. through firm capacity reserves and system-wide peak shaving when demand is high. The state also enjoys top-tier supply-side advanced

2 United States Energy Information Administration, 2013 Energy Consumption Overview: Estimates by Energy Source and End-Use Sector 3 Available at: http://www.texasadvancedenergy.org/ 4 Includes both solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal technologies. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/51946.pdf 5 The Texas Renewable Energy Industry, Economic Development and Tourism, 2014 6 http://www.ercot.com/content/meetings/lts/keydocs/2014/0113/0._ERCOT_2014_LTSA_Intro_RPG.ppt 7 U.S. Renewable Energy Attractiveness Indices, Ernst and Young, August 2013 8 American Wind Energy Association, State Fact Sheets, Available at http://www.awea.org/resources/statefactsheets.aspx?itemnumber=890 9 U.S. Renewable Energy Attractiveness Indices, Ernst and Young, August 2013

5 “I have enjoyed my 10-year career in wind. Working in both construction and operations keeps every day interesting and rewarding, and satisfies my pioneering spirit.”

A more than 20-year veteran of manufacturing with a Bachelor of Science and Industrial Engineering degree from Texas A&M, Scott Creech found his way into renewable energy in an unlikely way. In 2006, Scott found his role as a manufacturing engineering manager outsourced, along with the jobs of hundreds of other employees, to shores far from the rolling plains of West Texas. With a settled and thriving family, Scott looked locally for his next job, drawing on his roots as a farm kid and cotton gin technician. The wind industry, which was just starting to grow in Texas, gave him a new opportunity.

As fate would have it, the wind farm down the road from the Creech family home sent out a call for technicians, and Scott relished the idea of a new challenge. He was hired as the site’s assistant manager, and soon showed that he excelled at the mechanics and management required for operating a modern wind farm. This role began Scott’s management career in wind energy, setting him on a decade-long adventure across all 50 states. Scott has overseen both the construction and operation of wind facilities. Considering the health and welfare of his co-workers a top priority, Scott is proud of the way the industry has improved its safety performance.

In 2012, Scott joined Pattern Energy and in 2014 had an opportunity to move back to Texas. Today he manages Pattern Energy’s Panhandle Wind Facility, overseeing the operation of 400 MW of installed wind capacity, supported by 20 full-time employees onsite.

As an owner and operator of wind energy facilities for the grid, Pattern Energy employs 80 workers in Texas and nearly 300 globally.

Scott Creech Facility Manager Pattern Energy Panhandle, Carson County

6 As the technology has begun to experience price declines in recent years, more and more storage projects are popping up in Texas. Proposed changes to ERCOT market rules could lead to additional opportunities for advanced energy technologies to actively participate Methodology The BW Research Energy Employment Index relies on in energy and ancillary services markets, enhancing the most recently available data from the Bureau of competition. Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Quarter 2, together with a detailed Texas also has made significant investments in survey of business establishments across the United modernizing its distribution grid.10 Penetration of States. Taken together, the data provide the most advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in Texas is at comprehensive calculation of energy-related employ- 70%, enabling other technologies such as behavioral ment available. The methodology has been used for energy efficiency and demand response to make greater local, state, and federal energy-related data collection contributions to energy savings.11 and analyses for nearly a decade, including The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census series, clean Though Texas is already a leader in advanced energy energy reports for a variety of state agencies, trade deployment, there is plenty of untapped potential that associations, and nonprofits across the United States. could bring even more advanced energy jobs to the Lone The Department of Energy also just released its first Star State. In addition to remaining untapped potential annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report, based off available for wind development, Texas ranks first in the data from BW Research’s Energy Employment Index. the nation for solar potential. However, it is only 10th in installed capacity, meaning that there is significant The Index survey uses a stratified sampling plan that is opportunity for Texas to capitalize on its world-class representative by industry code (NAICS), establishment solar resources.12 The state’s solar industry is on track size, and geography. These data are then analyzed and to become a larger part of Texas’s generation mix and applied to existing public data published by the Bureau add even more advanced energy jobs along the way. of Labor Statistics, effectively constraining the potential Business-as-usual projections from ERCOT forecast an universe of energy establishments and employment. additional 13 GW of new solar capacity additions by BW Research Partnership believes that the methodol- 2030.13 Likewise, statewide energy efficiency markets ogy used for the Index could be adopted as a supple- are at a relatively early stage of development despite mental series to the QCEW with only minor revision. the high levels of smart grid deployment that enable deep energy efficiency potential. The Index survey was administered by telephone (more than 300,000 outbound calls) and by web, with more Although it was the first state to pass an Energy Efficiency than 50,000 emails sent to participants throughout Resource Standard (EERS), Texas’s efficiency targets are the U.S. The phone survey was conducted by I/H/R among the lowest in the nation, and large customers are Research Group and Castleton Polling Institute. The allowed to opt out of efficiency programs. According web instrument was programmed internally and each to one recent study, Texas ranks 26th for its energy respondent was required to use a unique ID in order to efficiency programs and initiatives.14 Nonetheless, prevent duplication. energy efficiency already accounts for more than half of all advanced energy jobs in the state, meaning The sample was split into two categories, referred to as that potential employment in the sector is significant. the known and unknown universes. The known universe In addition, as ERCOT evolves to allow more active includes establishments that have previously been participation by advanced energy technologies in energy identified as energy-related, either in prior research or and ancillary services markets, this presents opportunities some other manner, such as membership in an industry for technologies such as demand response to provide association or participation in government programs. resources on the basis of price, not just to address grid These establishments were surveyed census style, and emergencies. their associated establishment and employment totals were removed from the unknown universe for both

10 http://www.energydigital.com/utilities/3691/Which-US-States-are-Leading-the-Way-in-Grid-Modernization 11 http://www.gridwise.org/uploads/reports/GWA_16_3rdGMI_FINAL.pdf 12 Solar Energy Industries Association, 2015 13 http://www.ercot.com/content/news/presentations/2015/ERCOT_Analysis_of_the_Impacts_of_the_Clean_Power_Plan-Final_.pdf 14 2015 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy

7 Pattern Energy Gulf Wind Farm

sampling and resulting employment calculations and It is important to note that the Index expressly excludes estimates. any employment in retail trade NAICS codes, such as gasoline stations, fuel dealers, appliance and hardware The unknown universe includes hundreds of thousands stores and other retail establishments. of businesses in potentially energy-related NAICS codes, across agriculture, mining, utilities, construction, All data in the index rely on the Bureau of Labor Statistics manufacturing, wholesale trade, professional services, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data for the and repair and maintenance. Each of these segments and second quarter of 2015. The survey was administered their total reported establishments (within the Bureau between September 15, 2015 and November 24, 2015 of Labor Statistics QCEW) were carefully analyzed by and averaged 14 minutes in length. state to develop representative clusters for sampling. In total, approximately 20,000 business establishments participated in the survey effort, with more than 8,500 providing full responses to the survey. These responses were used to develop incidence rates among industries (by state) as well as to apportion employment across various industry categories in ways currently not provided by state and federal labor market information agencies. For several industries, particularly transportation of goods, the Index utilized the methodology developed by the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). This methodology applies commodity flow data at the state level to employment within each transportation segment, including rail, air, truck, and water transport.

8 Industry Overview ADVANCED ENERGY The advanced energy industry employs 143,000 JOBS IN TEXAS workers in Texas, more than twice as many as Airlines, more than Chemical Manufacturing and Petroleum Refining, and approaching Building Construction. 15 The advanced energy economy now supports just over 1% of total statewide employment. (Figure 1.1) Employment by Industry, 2015 72,783 Energy Efficiency workers

155 143

100

60 38,975 Advanced Electricity Generation workers Airlines Chemical Manufacturing Advanced Energy Building Construction & Petroleum Reﬁning Figure 1.1

The results from this year’s survey indicated that advanced energy businesses are optimistic that they will hire more workers in the next year. Based on employer projections, Texas will see just over 152,000 workers employed in advanced energy by 18,954 2016, a 7% increase over current levels. (Figure 1.2) Advanced Transportation workers

Advanced Energy Employment, 2015 - 2016

152 143 (projected) 9,518 Advanced Fuel workers

2015 2016 Figure 1.2 2,793 Advanced Grid workers

15 BLS, Current Employment Statistics State and Area Employment, total nonfarm, Industry figures are from Q2 2015, available at http://www.bls.gov

9 “I enjoy doing my best every day processing solar equipment orders that I know will positively impact our world. I take my role seriously and take extreme care, since I am at the beginning of the process that ultimately leads the company to achieve its goals.”

Anneliese Bujanda is an electrical engineer at Spruce Finance’s Houston office, where she leads an initiative to improve the supply chain. Spruce works with a national network of channel partners to provide homeowners with financing for residential solar systems and energy efficiency and water conservation improvements. These technologies help homeowners reduce their total utility bills for power, heating and cooling, and water.

Anneliese oversees the fast-paced process that helps Spruce’s partners get what they need to complete residential projects on time, and with smooth financing. Her work ensures that Spruce Finance partners and homeowner customers have the support and services they expect.

Anneliese holds a degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela, and has more than nine years of supply-chain experience in different industries and geographies ranging from telecommunications in Caracas to oil and gas in Houston. The George W. Bush Presidential Library Spruce has 53 full-time employees in Texas, among 250 across the nation Anneliese Bujanda Supply Chain Analyst Spruce Finance Inc. Houston 10 Advanced Energy Employment by Segment

Advanced Fuels 7

Advanced Grid 2

Advanced Energy Efﬁciency: 51% Transportation 13

Advanced Electricity Generation 27

Figure 1.3

Just over half of advanced energy. Nearly three in 10 Select Advanced energy workers in Texas workers, or about 39,000 Energy Projects are employed in Energy people, work in Advanced Efficiency, which represents Generation, primarily in about 73,000 workers in wind, compared with 19% total. The share of Energy nationally. The remaining Efficiency workers in Texas, 31,000 workers are while large, is smaller than employed in the Advanced it is nationwide (70%) or in Transportation, Advanced other large advanced energy Fuels, and Advanced Grid economies like California segments. (Figure 1.3) (63%). This is because Texas has a larger share of jobs in other segments of advanced

11 As a director of strategic accounts at “Working in the solar Sunnova Energy Corp., Robyn Kenkel works to expand solar adoption by help- industry was the number- ing solar installers become sucessful one draw for me. It’s businesses. rare that you have an Robyn was one of the first employees at opportunity to be part of Sunnova, which she joined in 2013, and she’s watched the growth of solar, and something so innovative and the company, firsthand. Today, Sunnova transformational.” is the fourth largest residential solar energy company in the United States, employing 213 people in its Houston headquarters, and another 18 employees across the nation.

Robyn has held a number of roles within the company. But she’s always focused on getting clean, affordable energy to more people. She has done outreach to businesses that may not have considered installing solar before. Now, she also helps the contractors Sunnova works with make their businesses more suc- cessful. Installing solar systems requires expertise and knowledge. Robyn makes sure installers are up-to-date on the technical aspects of the job, but also ensures that Sunnova is providing them the proper resources to run their businesses effectively.

Previously, Robyn worked in the oil and gas industry as a project coordinator for a natural gas compressor station construction company. She graduated summa cum laude from the Honors College at University of Houston with a degree in psychology, and is currently pursuing her MBA in Marketing and Energy at Rice University.

Robyn Kenkel Director of Strategic Accounts Sunnova Energy Corp. Houston Sunnova

12 Segment-by-Segment Results

Energy Efficiency With an estimated 72,783 workers, who spend most of their time Energy Efficiency is the state’s providing traditional HVAC goods largest advanced energy segment. and services, but also spend some Moreover, nearly four in 10 workers of their time devoted to high (35%) spend all of their time on efficiency products. In Texas, energy efficiency work compared this segment also has a notable to California, where less than level of employment in efficient a quarter (23%) of workers do. lighting (16%) and Energy Star® Employment in this segment is appliances (10%). (Figure 2.1) principally comprised of workers Landis+Gyr

Energy Efﬁciency Employment by Technology

Other 3 Renewable Heating and Cooling: 3%

Advanced Building Materials Traditional HVAC 50 and Insulation: 7%

Energy Star Appliances: 10%

Advanced HVAC 11

Efﬁcient Lighting: 16%

Figure 2.1

13 Boyce J. Huey, CEM, is a Senior Market “I truly enjoy working with Lead for technical demand response (DR) programs at EnerNOC (Nasdaq: people who are passionate ENOC). EnerNOC is a leader in energy about changing the way the intelligence software and DR programs world uses energy and helping that compensate electricity customers for reducing their load during peak to put good ideas into practical demand periods to manage costs and use every day. I like the phrase maintain grid reliability. ‘use only what you need and use it wisely.’” Boyce joined EnerNOC in 2008, and has provided field operations leadership and technical expertise for the company’s DR programs in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida. He specializes in short-response DR programs, in which many remote- controlled solutions are deployed to provide emergency and non-emergency grid stability during periods of high demand. Most recently, Boyce was instrumental in helping to develop EnerNOC’s first Responsive Reserve Service resource for ERCOT. EnerNOC has six employees in Texas, including Boyce, and more than 1,300 worldwide.

Prior to joining EnerNOC, Boyce was a building commissioner for new construction and renovation building management systems. Boyce served six years in the U.S. Army, where he was a non- commissioned officer and Reconnaissance Specialist. He graduated from the Army Military Intelligence Academy at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. He began his civilian career at Telxon Corp. as Southwest District Service Manager based in Dallas, using technology to automate utility meter reading applications with portable tele-transaction computer systems. He left Telxon to start TechniCall, a small consulting firm specializing in building automation and remote communications for commercial and industrial clients.

Boyce J. Huey, CEM EnerNOC Inc. Senior Market Lead – Technical Demand Response Programs EnerNOC Wylie

14 Advanced Electricity Generation by Technology

Other 1 Biomass 1 Wind 44 Traditional Hydroelectric 4 Nuclear 6

Advanced Natural Gas 16

Solar 28

Figure 2.2

Advanced Electricity Generation Texas’s Advanced Electricity of solar jobs – 28%, compared Generation segment is with 56% of Advanced mostly composed of wind Generation jobs nationally. Texas technologies, which represent also has sizeable employment the largest share of the in advanced natural gas segment’s estimated 38,975 technologies (16%). (Figure 2.2) workers. Working throughout the value chain, including at About eight in 10 workers Texas’s 46 wind manufacturing (84%) spend the majority of facilities, wind energy workers their time working on advanced comprise almost half of the generation activities, while Advanced Generation segment seven in 10 (73%) spend (44%) compared to 14% of the all of their time supporting 16 segment nationwide. In contrast, this portion of business. Texas has a smaller percentage

16 For the purposes of this report, advanced energy employees are defined as workers who spend any of their time on the advanced energy portions of the business. This methodology may differ from other reports that rely on the same BW Research Energy Employment Index data. For example, The Solar Foundation, Texas Solar Jobs Census, available at www.TSFcensus.org, counts only those who spend the majority of time on solar work.

15 Lolly Bradbury has worked in the wind energy business for nine years, the last seven at AES (NYSE: AES). She currently serves as a Team Leader at the AES Buffalo Gap 3 Wind Facility near Merkel. In this role, Lolly leads operations and maintenance for the entire site, overseeing a team of seven wind turbine technicians and 74 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines. Her job duties include ensuring the safety of all site personnel and contractors, along with efficient and economical turbine operations; directing job assignments; managing inventory; reviewing financial data to improve profit and production; hiring and budget for the facility. She implements turbine enhancements, follows the ERCOT energy A Duke Energy Wind Technician market, and interacts with landowners, vendors, Los Vientos Wind Farm and other Independent Service Providers.

Previously, Lolly worked at Invenergy LLC, as a wind turbine operations and maintenance technician, following 10 years “It’s a lot of fun to work in the in the radiation detection wind industry. Throughout the manufacturing industry. She also country, wind energy is growing served in the U.S. Army. and I am proud to be part of this AES is a Fortune 200 global power broader movement.” company that has served utility customers around the world for 30 years, helping them deliver safe, reliable power. It provides affordable, sustainable energy to 17 countries through a diverse portfolio of distribution businesses as well as thermal and renewable generation facilities. AES employs a workforce of 21,000 globally, with 39 people at Buffalo Gap in Abilene.

Lolly Bradbury Team Leader, Buffalo Gap 3 Wind Farm AES Wind Generation Abilene

16 Advanced Fuel Employment by Technology

Other 5

Corn Ethanol 77 Woody Biomass 18

Figure 2.3

Advanced Fuels Texas’s Advanced Fuels segment is significant. Advanced Fuels employs an estimated 9,518 workers across the state, representing 7% of advanced energy employment in Texas. Over three-quarters of Advanced Fuels workers are involved with corn ethanol. The state’s large biofuel refining and pipeline infrastructure supports jobs in this category. Woody biomass, the second biggest technology, accounts for another 18% of the Advanced Fuels workforce in Texas. (Figure 2.3) Texas A&M AgriLife

17 Advanced Transportation Employment by Technology

Fuel Cell 1

Plug-in Electric 8 Natural Gas 48

Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid 44

Figure 2.4

Advanced Transportation Advanced Transportation technologies represent a sizeable chunk of Texas’s advanced energy economy. With 13% of total employment, advanced vehicle firms support an estimated 18,954 employees across the state. The segment is primarily split between natural gas vehicles (48%) and hybrid or plug-in hybrid technologies (44%). Electric, fuel cell, and hydrogen vehicles each comprise less than 10% of employment in Advanced Transportation. (Figure 2.4)

U.S Air Force

18 Advanced Grid Employment by Technology

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 4

Smart Grid 12 Advanced Storage 44

Other 40 Siemens

Figure 2.5 AG

Advanced Grid The Advanced Grid segment With costs for advanced storage is made up of four categories: already experiencing sizeable advanced storage, smart declines, the demand for grid, electric vehicle charging Advanced Grid technologies will infrastructure, and other advanced likely increase over time, bringing grid technologies which include, more jobs along with it. With an among other things, secondary estimated 2,793 jobs in 2015, distribution and some demand the Advanced Grid segment is response. (Figure 2.5) Many of the smallest employer of the the technologies in this category advanced energy economy in provide ancillary services, provide Texas. The biggest technology firm capacity, and enhance is storage (44)% followed by reliability and resiliency. In other grid technologies (40%). addition to providing valuable Smart grid (12%) and electrical services in their own right, storage, vehicle charging infrastructure smart grid, and demand response (4%) make up the remainder technologies will play an essential of employment in this sector. role in helping Texas integrate its large and growing variable Siemens AG renewable resource capacity.

19 Brad Bell came to Smart Wires in 2016 with eight years of experience in the energy industry. As Man- ager of Customer Solutions, he uses his extensive background in congestion management and knowledge of North Amer- ican energy markets to help utilities maximize their existing asset base “I was drawn to renewable energy and mitigate system congestion. in 2012, as I saw an opportunity to Brad began his career working at help make an impact on our world. ERCOT as a transmission planning engineer focused on correcting sys- Working with new technologies tem congestion issues in the one- presents a challenging, rewarding to three-year planning horizon. His experience with congestion manage- career. Going to work every day and ment led him into a role as the first experiencing the changes we see in Congestion Revenue Rights Engi- neer upon the implementation of the energy industry is truly exciting.” the ERCOT Nodal Market in 2010.

In 2012, Brad joined E.ON Climate as transmission manager for the SiemensSouthwest Region. Here he played an integral part in managing 2,500 MW of renewable assets in the ERCOT market. He served the ERCOT Independent GeneratorAG segment as an active participant in the ERCOT Stakeholder Processes, holding a voting seat on the Wholesale Market Subcommittee as well as participating in numerous committees and working groups. Brad is a graduate of the University of Texas, with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering.

Smart Wires works closely with utility and transmission owner partners to design and develop a Dynamic Grid that is clean, reliable, affordable, and safe, by optimizing capital expenditure, improving the integration of renewable energy, addressing near- term transmission challenges, and reducing network congestion. Smart Wires employs four employees in Texas and 70 worldwide.

Bradley Bell Manager of Customer Solutions Smart Wires, Inc. Austin

A Smart Wires technician at work

20 Market Composition

Value Chain Activity Workforce Installation firms provide the Texas’s advanced energy foundation for diverse advanced workforce is predominantly male energy employment. While (78%); 43% of advanced energy installation, maintenance, and workers in Texas are racial or repair operations represent over ethnic minorities, with the share half of the activity in Texas’s of last year’s hires significantly advanced energy economy, there higher (53%). Among new hires, is also notable representation women make up a slightly smaller in the trade, distribution, and share (20%) than overall (22%). transport (19%), as well as One in 10 advanced energy engineering and research (18%) workers in Texas are Veterans, and manufacturing (6%). (Figure and nearly two in 10 are Age 3.1) Such a large presence of non- 55 or older, 6% of new hires. installation employment is a sign of a maturing advanced energy industry that can support upstream technology work, operation and SolarCity maintenance, and other services.

Advanced Energy Employment by Value Chain

Other 2

Manufacturing 6

Installation, Maintenance, Engineering, Research and and Repair 55 Professional Services 18

Trade, Distribution, and Transport 19

Figure 3.1

21 “I’ve spent my entire career working at or for utilities because there are so many jobs available if you’re ambitious. I also think this work connects us to our communities. As a taxpayer, I want my money to go to improving education, teacher salaries, and after-school programs, not exorbitant energy costs. Energy efficiency can save school districts money without impacting comfort.”

Sadie Bronk recently became the south region’s director of central services at CLEAResult, the largest provider of energy efficiency programs and services in North America. Based in CLEAResult’s Austin headquarters, Sadie is building a bench of experts for program teams across the region to provide clients with technology solutions, innovative ideas, and evaluation support to save energy and money. In the six years she’s been at CLEAResult, Sadie has focused her efforts on working with cities and schools to help them reduce their energy costs and improve efficiency in their buildings.

CLEAResult has helped over 400 school districts across the country with Energy Master Planning, a custom benchmarking and audit process designed to identify management practices and specific upgrade projects that help organizations save money through efficiency. In Texas alone, the company has bench- marked the energy use of more than 5,100 K-12 facilities.

Before CLEAResult, Sadie spent more than 10 years at Puget Sound Energy, an electric and natural gas utility in Washington State. Sadie liked working for a utility because it linked her to her community. She worked her way up by taking on diverse and expansive projects, first as a temp, then as a street lighting assistant, and eventually as a manager. She also worked with engineers and city planners on an emergency response team.

Including Sadie, CLEAResult has 193 full-time employees in Texas, where the company is head- quartered, and more than 2,700 employees in offices across North America.

Sadie Bronk Director, South Region, Central Services CLEAResult Austin 22 Firm Size Advanced Energy Employment by Firm Size As in most states, the Small advanced energy economy 1-5 41 in Texas is largely comprised Business of small businesses. Small 6-10 22 businesses, which employ up to 24 permanent employees, 15 represent 78% of advanced 11-24 energy firms in the state. However, Texas has a 25-49 7 sizeable share of medium- sized firms as well – 15% of 50-99 6 advanced energy businesses employ between 25 and 249 Number of Employees 100-249 2 employees, indicating the advanced energy economy 250-499 5 is mature enough to support Big larger firms. (Figure 3.2) 500+ 2 Business

Figure 3.2

Hiring Difficulty Employer Hiring Experience Employers reported hiring difficulty Not at all over the last 12 months. About seven Difficult: 31% Very Difficult: in 10 firms reported difficulty finding 24 qualified workers in 2015. Just under a quarter of employers note that hiring was “very difficult.” (Figure 3.3)

The top two reasons cited for hiring difficulty include lack of experience, training, or technical skills (34%) and lack of soft skills (29%); about a quarter of respondents also noted insufficient qualifications, certifications, Somewhat or training (26%). 22% of firms report Difﬁcult: 46% difficulty hiring sales, marketing, and customer service representatives, followed by hiring managers, Figure 3.3 directors, and supervisors (21%) and technicians or technical support (19%).

23 “Today, wind is an integral part of our nation’s energy resources. To stand at the base of a fully operational turbine Dru Steubing manages is the ultimate feeling of achievement development activities for our team, the industry, and most associated with con- importantly, the community.” structing utility-scale wind projects in Texas for Apex Clean Energy. He has been developing wind projects in Texas since 2007 and building wind farms since 2001. His first wind job was as a project engineer on Indian Mesa at a time when no one seemed to know what a wind farm was.

Many factors are involved in the development of a wind energy facility, but all projects start with conver- sations. Dru enjoys the fact that every day is different and he engages at every level – working with everyone from individual landowners, community members, and local leaders to representatives at the Pentagon. When not in the field, he coordinates with a variety of stakeholders on each facet of the development process. From managing a team of experts in real estate, title, engineering, resource assessment, and technology to assisting in marketing and obtaining approvals to transport power to the end user, Dru’s job requires Employer Hiring Experience him to be a facilitator who, as he says, speaks “many languages.” The success of these projects, he notes, is almost entirely a result of the strong partnerships they maintain with the communities they serve.

When Dru graduated from Texas A&M, he started his own construction company building roads, crane pads, and foundations, specifically for wind turbines. In 2015, Dru joined the team at Apex Clean Energy.

Apex Clean Energy has 198 full-time employees, with seven, including Dru, working in Texas.

Dru Steubing Senior Development Manager Apex Clean Energy Boerne

24 Customer and Vendors Texas has a healthy ecosystem of local vendors and technologies from in-state vendors. The state’s customer suppliers, which produces a rich market for transactions base is also primarily within the state, with just under that keep advanced energy dollars within the state’s three-quarters of firms reporting in-state customers borders. The state’s advanced energy economy (74%). A small percentage of firms (2%) reported is supported by a network of local vendors and serving primarily international clients. (Figure 4.1) suppliers – 64% of employers report sourcing their

Customer and Vendor Locations

3 2

Customers 74 22

Vendors 64 26

3 7

In-State Bordering State Non-Bordering States Out-of-Country

Figure 4.1

25 Waste Management Revenue Streams Advanced energy revenue supports firms that specialize in these goods and services. About half of firms report that they are able to derive all of their revenue from advanced energy activities, and another 22% of employers attribute the majority of their revenue to the advanced energy portion of their businesses. (Figure 5.1)

Percent of Revenue Attributed to Advanced Energy Activity

Less than One uarter of Revenue 22

One uarter to Nearly Half of Revenue 7

All of Revenue 50

Half to Most of Revenue 22

Figure 5.1

26 Conclusion AdvancedWhat Energy is is From this first review of employment in Texas’s advanced AdvancedPoised for Energy? Growth energy economy, results indicate a well-developed advanced energy industry poised for further growth. At 143,000 workers, advanced energy now employs one percent of the state’s total workforce. Advanced energy employs more than twice as many people in Texas as Airlines (60,000), more than Chemical Manufacturing and $16143,023 billion industryjobs revenue last year in Texas Petroleum Refining (100,000), and approaching Building Construction (155,000).17 Employers expect to add workers at a rate of about 7% in the coming 12 months.

As elsewhere across the country, Energy Efficiency provides the largest share of advanced energy employment. But Texas also stands out in Advanced $200152,358 billion industryjobs by revenue the end nationwide of 2016 Electricity Generation, led by a notably large wind power employment base, plus a substantial solar workforce that is likely to grow. Texas also has significant employment in Advanced Fuels, with four times the national rate of jobs, primarily involved in corn ethanol and biomass. Texas has proven itself a leader in advanced energy $2009,334 billion industrynew revenue jobs this nationwide year deployment, and has the jobs to show for it. Still, there is untapped potential that could bring even more advanced energy jobs to the Lone Star State. Proposed changes to ERCOT market rules could lead to additional opportunities for advanced energy technologies to actively participate in energy and ancillary services markets, which would enhance competition. There are also huge possibilities for growth in cloud-based software for customer engagement and energy analytics. In addition, as ERCOT allows more active participation in energy and ancillary service markets, technologies such as demand response might be able to compete on the basis of price, and not just provide services in grid emergencies. As substantial as advancedLorem energy employment Ipsum in Texas is today, there is reason to believe that these jobs will grow in the future.

The Texas Advanced Energy Busi- ness Alliance is made up of companies that are making it happen. As these companies grow, so does the Texas economy, creating jobs and contrib- uting toward prosperity for all Texans 17 BLS, Current Employment Statistics State and Area Employment, total nonfarm, Industry figures are from Q2 2015, available at http://www.bls. gov/cew/apps/table_maker/v4/table_maker.htm#type=11&year=2015& qtr=2&own=5&area=48000&supp=0. Industry definitions are available at http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/2012NAICS/2012_Definition_File. pdf.

27 Appendix Advanced Energy Jobs by County (Table 1)

County Jobs County Jobs

Anderson County 318 Callahan County 106

Andrews County 269 Cameron County 800

Angelina County 457 Camp County 106

Aransas County 139 Carson County 65

Archer County 82 Cass County 147

Armstrong County 24 Castro County 65

Atascosa County 318 Chambers County 416

Austin County 163 Cherokee County 220

Bailey County 49 Childress County 49

Bandera County 65 Clay County 33

Bastrop County 269 Cochran County 41

Baylor County 16 Coke County 73

Bee County 308 Coleman County 49

Bell County 1,208 Collin County 3,263

Bexar County 7,925 Collingsworth County 33

Blanco County 73 Colorado County 122

Bosque County 57 Comal County 743

Bowie County 465 Comanche County 65

Brazoria County 1,248 Concho County 73

Brazos County 947 Cooke County 302

Brewster County 90 Coryell County 147

Briscoe County 33 Crane County 106

Brooks County 57 Crockett County 155

Brown County 155 Crosby County 65

Burleson County 122 Culberson County 8

Burnet County 359 Dallam County 65

Caldwell County 204 Dallas County 13,084

Calhoun County 155 Dawson County 171

28 Advanced Energy Jobs by County (Table 1 Continued)

County Jobs County Jobs

De Witt County 155 Goliad County 33

Deaf Smith County 163 Gonzales County 155

Delta County 14 Gray County 359

Denton County 2,265 Grayson County 547

Dickens County 24 Gregg County 1,591

Dimmit County 139 Grimes County 114

Donley County 16 Guadalupe County 579

Duval County 155 Hale County 180

Eastland County 188 Hall County 24

Ector County 1,387 Hamilton County 98

Edwards County 33 Hansford County 90

El Paso County 2,587 Hardeman County 33

Ellis County 623 Hardin County 245

Erath County 237 Harris County 27,814

Falls County 57 Harrison County 416

Fannin County 180 Hartley County 8

Fayette County 196 Haskell County 49

Floyd County 16 Hays County 857

Foard County 16 Hemphill County 188

Fort Bend County 2,334 Henderson County 441

Franklin County 57 Hidalgo County 1,681

Freestone County 204 Hill County 171

Frio County 114 Hockley County 228

Gaines County 245 Hood County 367

Galveston County 1,432 Hopkins County 147

Garza County 65 Houston County 131

Gillespie County 188 Howard County 343

Glasscock County 57 Hudspeth County 49

29 Advanced Energy Jobs by County (Table 1 Continued)

County Jobs County Jobs

Hunt County 230 Liberty County 356

Hutchinson County 335 Limestone County 73

Irion County 65 Lipscomb County 73

Jack County 155 Live Oak County 180

Jackson County 106 Llano County 155

Jasper County 212 Lubbock County 1,656

Jefferson County 1,338 Lynn County 24

Jim Hogg County 49 Madison County 90

Jim Wells County 245 Marion County 33

Johnson County 627 Martin County 106

Jones County 98 Mason County 33

Karnes County 212 Matagorda County 237

Kaufman County 314 Maverick County 147

Kendall County 269 McCulloch County 49

Kenedy County 16 Mclennan County 24

Kerr County 408 McLennan County 1,142

Kimble County 49 Medina County 171

King County 8 Menard County 24

Kinney County 16 Midland County 3,753

Kleberg County 98 Milam County 114

Knox County 122 Mills County 16

La Salle County 82 Mitchell County 73

Lamar County 171 Montague County 253

Lamb County 82 Montgomery County 2,552

Lampasas County 106 Moore County 228

Lavaca County 204 Morris County 41

Lee County 220 Nacogdoches County 408

Leon County 139 Navarro County 245

30 Advanced Energy Jobs by County (Table 1 Continued)

County Jobs County Jobs

Newton County 33 San Jacinto County 104

Nolan County 212 San Patricio County 294

Nueces County 2,260 San Saba County 24

Ochiltree County 196 Schleicher County 57

Oldham County 57 Scurry County 277

Orange County 384 Shackelford County 65

Palo Pinto County 188 Shelby County 286

Panola County 261 Sherman County 33

Parker County 662 Smith County 1,534

Parmer County 90 Somervell County 49

Pecos County 237 Starr County 114

Polk County 269 Stephens County 196

Potter County 1,061 Sterling County 41

Presidio County 33 Stonewall County 33

Rains County 33 Sutton County 114

Randall County 832 Swisher County 41

Reagan County 114 Tarrant County 7,033

Real County 24 Taylor County 995

Red River County 49 Terrell County 57

Reeves County 171 Terry County 98

Refugio County 155 Throckmorton County 16

Roberts County 24 Titus County 139

Robertson County 131 Tom Green County 889

Rockwall County 376 Travis County 8,965

Runnels County 155 Trinity County 57

Rusk County 335 Tyler County 90

Sabine County 41 Upshur County 155

San Augustine County 57 Upton County 188

31 Advanced Energy Jobs by County (Table 1 Continued)

County Jobs County Jobs

Uvalde County 106 Wilbarger County 90

Val Verde County 114 Willacy County 8

Van Zandt County 171 Williamson County 1,526

Victoria County 710 Wilson County 98

Walker County 261 Winkler County 245

Waller County 111 Wise County 446

Ward County 204 Wood County 228

Washington County 220 Yoakum County 212

Webb County 979 Young County 359

Wharton County 318 Zapata County 106

Wheeler County 196 Zavala County 8

Wichita County 1,452

Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (Table 2)

MSA Jobs

Abilene 1,310

Amarillo 2,157

Austin-Round Rock 12,811

Beaumont-Port Arthur 2,148

Brownsville-Harlingen 873

College Station-Bryan 1,310

Corpus Christi 2,941

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 31,770

El Paso 2,825

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 43,282

Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 1,684

Laredo 1,069

Longview 2,272

32 Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (Table 2 Continued)

MSA Jobs

Lubbock 1,880

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 1,836

Midland 4,099

Odessa 1,515

San Angelo 1,043

San Antonio 11,083

Sherman-Denison 597

Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR 508

Texas Nonmetropolitan Area 8,289

Tyler 1,756

Victoria 980

Waco 1,274

Wichita Falls 1,711

Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas State House District (Table 3)

District Jobs District Jobs District Jobs

1 948 13 1,353 25 899

2 796 14 227 26 2,252

3 2,187 15 1,345 27 308

4 560 16 300 28 292

5 1,110 17 1,547 29 251

6 1,199 18 761 30 1,280

7 1,320 19 988 31 1,620

8 1,199 20 1,652 32 1,831

9 1,223 21 1,312 33 1,709

10 695 22 300 34 373

11 834 23 1,806 35 1,126

12 1,507 24 413 36 567

33 Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas State House District (Table 3 Continued)

District Jobs District Jobs District Jobs

37 478 67 1,539 95 125

39 49 68 2,235 96 42

40 170 69 1,515 97 367

42 923 70 311 99 35

43 381 71 583 100 3,197

44 1,085 72 1,677 101 201

45 518 73 769 102 2,221

46 2,195 74 915 103 1,688

47 2,778 75 575 104 55

48 1,620 76 761 105 408

49 2,049 77 948 106 69

50 292 78 97 107 512

51 170 79 81 108 2,000

52 121 80 462 109 353

Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas State House District (Table 3) 53 1,555 81 2,073 110 55

54 648 82 4,115 111 118

55 663 83 1,814 112 118

56 502 84 332 114 436

57 656 85 429 116 1,798

58 1,086 86 1,531 117 478

59 737 87 1,490 118 664

60 1,717 88 1,539 119 589

61 1,204 89 69 120 1,424

62 672 90 2,408 121 2,130

63 920 91 1,038 122 113

64 637 92 1,232 124 121

65 941 93 533 126 2,681

66 706 94 671 127 826

34 Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas State House District (Table 3 Continued)

District Jobs District Jobs District Jobs

128 1,247 135 1,765 143 502

129 988 137 154 144 292

130 89 138 486 145 292

131 1,620 139 745 147 551

132 915 140 1,345 150 348

133 5,959 141 235

134 6,740 142 624

Advanced Energy Jobs by Congressional District (Table 4)

District Jobs District Jobs

1 5,807 17 3,489

2 3,836 18 4,394

3 4,499 19 5,481

4 5,921 20 3,013

5 4,652 21 3,295

6 9,008 22 3,689

7 8,440 23 1,456

8 5,172 24 4,579

9 4,575 25 4,612

10 3,353 26 1,074

11 3,150 27 1,187

12 2,139 28 6,809

13 6,444 29 2,601

14 8,151 30 4,321

15 1,898 31 10,145

16 5,831

35 Advanced Energy Jobs by Texas State Senate District (Table 5)

Congressional District Jobs Congressional District Jobs

1 5,717 19 4,059

2 14,136 20 4,302

3 4,210 21 6,922

4 3,121 22 2,604

5 3,150 23 3,202

6 3,623 24 5,706

7 7,397 25 1,949

8 3,655 26 1,009

9 2,143 27 4,609

10 6,939 28 1,836

11 10,326 29 906

12 4,456 30 3,461

13 7,334 31 1,641

14 3,784 32 1,879

15 4,043 33 152

16 2,515 34 1,197

17 3,259 35 910

18 4,043 36 2,830