UCLA Luskin Center and USC to release L.A. clean-energy jobs report at mayoral summit

As part of the Los Angeles Business Council’s " Mayoral Housing, Transportation and Jobs Summit —Building LA’s Workforce ," research teams from UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation and USC will release a new report indicating that while Los Angeles has a trained workforce ready to perform clean-energy solar jobs, city leaders have so far failed to enact policies that would take advantage of this resource and create employment for these workers.

The report, presented by the LABC, recommends the adoption of a solar feed-in tariff program, which would enable business owners and residents to install solar panels on their rooftops and sell surplus energy to their local utility.

In addition, three leading candidates for the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral election will participate in a moderated discussion focusing on their plans to bring high-quality jobs to Los Angeles.

The following research team leaders from UCLA and USC will formally release the solar jobs report and participate in a panel discussion on the study’s findings:

Also, the following mayoral candidates will take questions on jobs, transit and housing from Los Angeles Times editor-at-large Jim Newton. They will be joined by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and current mayor of San Antonio.

UCLA and USC researchers previously stressed the need for a rooftop solar program in Los Angeles and outlined its potential benefit to low-income Angelenos. They have indicated that a robust program could create $2 billion in local investment and 16,000 job-years with minimal impact on ratepayers. The current study and past studies are available on the LABC website.