Intro

• Many current fossil fuel hubs = ideal sites for renewable energy production — 1/4 counties in the U.S. with the greatest potential for both wind and solar electricity generation are also fossil fuel hubs

• Focusing renewable energy investments in specific areas of need → reduce climate obstructionism

Where are fossil fuel jobs concentrated?

• High # fossil fuel jobs across the country, but concentrated in subset of counties—TX, ND
• Often relatively well-paying, unionized

Many fossil fuel hubs could be wind and solar hubs

• "National public and private leaders—including utilities, technology companies, and educational institutions—also need to train the skilled labor and deploy the price-competitive equipment in those same places to capture" energy in resource-rich regions
• Overlap btw these places and regions with fossil fuel jobs
• Interactive tool for UT Austin counties and congressional districts: Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) project calculates the per-megawatt-hour cost of building and operating an electricity-generating plant for a variety of production technologies across the continental United States
  • Most competitive counties in wind: Plains states and Intermountain West, running from West Texas to the Canadian border; pockets in Appalachian (NC)
  • Solar: deep Southeast, Southwest, and Mountain West, particularly parts of Wyoming, Texas, and California, New Mexico
  • Middle of the country has overlap of both resources
• A quarter of competitive counties for renewables also fossil fuel hubs

Republican-leaning states and counties could benefit most in transition from fossil fuel → renewable jobs

• 91 of 155 counties w greater potential in either wind or solar = represented by Republican in HoR
• Many also in states with R senators, have representatives on relevant committees

Policies to retrain fossil fuel workers could break climate stalemate

• "If the country needs to make targeted, big bets on renewable energy investments, why not prioritize the communities that already have workers with complementary skills and experience in the traditional energy industry?"
• Recommend a three-part plan based on findings...
  1. Fed govt → establish clear goals, metrics, and standards to assist workers in economically at-risk communities
  2. Fed govt → incentivize target training efforts in "Goldilocks" counties that are fossil fuel hubs and have potential for renewables — partnerships with educational institutions, labor, etc.; tap into transferable skills (but be aware of lag in transition)
  3. Fed govt + national, local companies → ensure investments occur in Goldilocks counties — could subsidize loans, support public programs to modernize transmission networks, increase investments in local research institutions to guide innovation
• Also need to be aware of + pay attention to fossil fuel hubs without renewable potential → provide ideas for economic development