Kern Business Journal October/November 2012

Kern County’s community colleges, four-year universities and private colleges are responding to the skyrocketing demand for high-skilled and educated workers, particu-larly for the booming energy industry.

According to U.S. Census data, only about 9.8 percent of Kern’s population has a bachelor’s degree. That means many of the area’s high-paying jobs in engineering and technical fields are hard to fill.

Kern wind industry alone is expected to generate thousands of new jobs this year. Who will fill these jobs?

The Kern Community College District and Taft College are just two local education-al institutions that have stepped forward with training and academic programs.

With training funded by grants through the U.S. Department of Labor, the KCCD’s Clean

Energy Center is focused on providing skilled workers for wind and solar energy, and the utility industry. More than 400 workers have finished the KCCD program since its inception

in 2010. Partici-pants complete up to 740 hours of instruction in 22 weeks of hands-on training in three programs: Pow-erTech, WindTech and SolarTech.

At Taft College, instruc-

tors and administrators recognize that the nationwide shortage of students graduating in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics hinders Kern’s and the nation’s

economic recovery and business growth.Supported by grants from the U.S. Depart-

ment of Education, Taft College created the STEM program, which works with college-age and high school students, and industry partners, to improve education in critically needed fields of study and prepare students to succeed in college and industry.

“We are responsive to businesses’ training needs. Whether it’s the cutting edge of clean energy, nursing and emergency medical fields, or engineering and science-based training, our mission is to listen to industry and provide students the competencies that match those demands,” said Kern Community College District Chancellor Sandra Serrano.

To learn more about these and other train-ing and education programs in Kern, please turn to page 19.

KERN Business Journal

Vol. 1, No.1 Oct/Nov 2012

Energy efficient Bakersfield’s new courthouse

Page 23

Cover Story

Economy boomsKern becomes recovery ‘star’

Signs point to an economic boom in Kern County — the “surprise star” in the Central Valley’s

recovery from the Great Recession.

Much of the boom is being fueled by the energy industry – Kern’s traditional oil and gas sector, as well as its renewable energies.

But all of Kern County’s economic eggs are not in the energy basket. Building is booming and companies are relocating to the area. They are being lured by Kern’s cheaper office space and land, its location near urban centers and markets, and its streamlined regulatory processes.

In year-over-year construction employment growth, Bakersfield leads the country. From July 2011 to July 2012, payrolls spiked almost 23 percent. Statewide it grew only 5 percent.

This summer, Kern County was just 5,600 jobs from matching its 2007 “housing bubble” peak employment.

From 2000 to 2010, Kern’s population grew to 839,631 — almost 27 per-cent — while the state’s grew only 10 percent.

Certainly agriculture and energy will continue to be the cornerstones of Kern’s economy. But there is no denying the “star power” that comes from the area’s eco-nomic diversity and influx of new industries.

--Kern Business Journal

Kern Business Journal

P.O. Bin 440

Bakersfield, CA 93302

Business at a Glance ...............................3

Kern’s ‘Green’ Businesses ........................6

SCE’s Mega-Battery ..................................7

County Energy Financing ...........................8

Critical Path Transmission .........................8

Kern’s Economic Outlook ........................10

County supports local vendors ................11

Hydrogen Energy Plant ............................14

Chamber Events .....................................15

In the Oil Patch ......................................16

Wind Energy Overview .............................18

Taft College STEM ..................................19

Radar tracks birds ..................................20

Local bank expands ................................22

In the Workplace ....................................24

Nurturing Entrepreneurs ..........................25

Solar Energy Overview ............................26

Solar Bike Takes Off ...............................28

Air District Rewards Innovation ................30

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage

PAIDBakersfield, CAPermit No. 578

INSIDE

Photo courtesy of the American Wind Energy Association

Students prepare to practice wind rope rescue and tower climbing in the college-industry Clean Energy Center collaborative.

Renewable energy issue

Education, job-training power Kern’s industries

Kern wind energy alone

is expected to generate

thousands of new jobs.

2 K E R N B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L OCT/NOV 2012

OCT/NOV 2012 K E R N B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L 3

Showcasing Kern County business and industry

Vol. 1, No.1 • Oct./Nov. 2012

Kern Business Journal is published by

The Bakersfield Californian.

Copies of the bi-monthly journal are available from

The Bakersfield Californian, Kern Economic Development

Corp. and Greater Bakersfield Chamber

of Commerce.

To subscribe, call 392-5777.

Publisher Ginger Moorhouse

President/CEO Richard Beene

Senior Vice President Revenue and Marketing

John Wells

Editor Dianne Hardisty

Kern Business Journal Sales Mark Hitchcock

Art Director Glenn Hammett

To submit a story [email protected]

Advertising contact [email protected]

KERN Business Journal

John Wells

Kern Business Journal: Written for, by businesses

Welcome to the first edition of the Kern Business Journal, a product of the Specialty Publications Division of The Bakersfield Californian, with the cooperation of the Kern Economic Development Corp., the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce and the County of Kern.

Kern County’s diverse economy, which is supported by a growing number of innovative companies and creative, hard-working entre-preneurs, is helping fuel the economic recovery of California and the southern San Joaquin Valley, as well as the entire nation.

Kern’s businesses and industries have unique stories to tell. And The Bakersfield Californian will help them tell their stories through the pages of the bi-monthly Kern Business Journal.

This inaugural edition focuses on Kern’s vast renewable energy industry, which has been likened to a modern-day “Gold Rush.”

For more than a century, Kern has been recog-nized as one of the nation’s leading producers of oil

and gas. But in recent decades, the area’s abundant wind, solar, biomass and geothermal resources have been harnessed to make the county the nation’s energy capital.

In this edition, you will read how Kern’s massive wind and solar project’s are helping California reach its goal of providing 33 percent of the state’s energy through renewable sources by 2020. You will read how this renewable energy boom is creating thousands of new jobs and how the Kern Community College District, working with government agencies and private companies, is helping train workers for these high-paying jobs.

Readers also will get a better understanding of some of the chal-lenges facing renewable energy development in Kern, particularly the shortage of transmission lines to transport generated electricity from production fields to customers. Southern California Edison’s Tehachapi demonstration project, which proposes to use huge batteries to ease transmission congestion, is detailed inside this edition.

And then there are those people who keep dreaming up brand new ways to generate the power America needs. Journal readers will get a

close-up view of how Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) proposes to build a cutting-edge, renewable energy power plant in what is now a farm field on the county’s west side.

The award-winning energy conservation and pollution-cutting efforts of numerous local businesses are spotlighted in the journal’s reporting of the Kern Green Awards. And certainly a jewel in the area’s design and conservation crown is the new U.S. Courthouse in Bakers-field, which is expected to earn “Gold” LEED certification.

But the journal’s first edition is not just about energy. Business readers will find tips on a variety of topics. A regular journal feature will be “In the Oil Patch,” a question-and-answer session with a leading local oil and gas executive.

Journal articles are contributed by businesses, as well as written by journal staff. The publication is edited by veteran journalist Dianne Hardisty. Mark Hitchcock is handling advertising.

The journal is written for business owners and managers, economic development advocates, investors, and elected and appointed public officials. The “themes” of upcoming journal editions are: Logistics/Transportation, December; Value-Added Agriculture, February; Health Care, April; Aerospace, June; Energy (Oil), August; and Commercial Real Estate, October 2013.

To submit a news article or suggest editorial content, email Dianne Hardisty at [email protected], or call (661) 330-2417. To place an advertisement in the Kern Business Journal, email Mark Hitchcock at [email protected], or call (661) 599-3365.

Although each edition of the Kern Business Journal will have a “theme,” opportunities will exist for the publication of articles not re-lated to the “themes.” As events, projects and developments occur, and new programs are started, stories from all Kern’s business and industry sectors will be published. So, if you are working on a really great local project, suggest or write an article for the Kern Business Journal.

— John Wells is The Bakersfield Californian’s senior vice presi-dent of revenue and marketing. He also is a member of the Kern Eco-nomic Development Corp. board of directors.

John Wells

Business at-a-glance

Houchin launches building naming opportunities

Houchin Community Blood Bank has launched a new phase of its ongoing fundraising campaign that provides additional ways for businesses and individuals to help build Houchin’s 42,000-square-foot centralized facility on 5 acres of land donated by Bolthouse Properties in the new Seven Oaks Business Park on Buena Vista Road. The project is expected to be completed by early 2013.

Opportunities now are avail-able to name features in the new facility to recognize major contribu-tions toward the goal of raising $3 million to $5 million in cash and pledges. Bricks are also being sold to recognize smaller, individual and business contributions ranging from $150 to $5,000. A list of these and other opportunities to contribute can be found on the Houchin Community Blood Bank

website at www.hcbb.com or by calling Greg Gallion at 323-4222.

The 60-year-old blood bank’s operations are presently housed in four separate locations. The new complex will consolidate laboratory, quality assurance, manufacturing, distribution, information technol-ogy, community development, telerecruiting and transportation all under one roof.

“The efficiencies that will result will help Houchin keep pace with Kern County’s rapidly expanding need for blood and blood prod-ucts,” said Greg Gallion, Houchin’s president and chief executive officer. “Advanced medical proce-dures, such as cancer treatments, have drastically increased the local need for blood supplies.”

Energy summit features investigative reporter

Author and investigative journal-ism professor Amanda Little will

be the keynote speaker at the 6th Annual Kern County Energy Sum-mit on Wednesday, Nov. 14, in the Bakersfield Marriott at the Conven-tion Center.

Little, who teaches at Vanderbilt University, spent three years travel-ing the country to study the creation, innovation and challenges associ-ated with America’s energy network. Little chronicled her findings in her 2009 book, “Power Trip: The Story of America’s Love Affair with Energy.”

“Amanda is an investigator and a journalist. She really dug into the topic of energy and I think Kern County business leaders will find her presentation to be more than

just a primer, but a thorough examination of the origin and transformation of our coun-try’s energy network,” said Richard Chap-man, presi-dent/CEO of

Kern Economic Development Corp.“Kern County has played a

starring role in the nation’s energy network, beginning with the earli-est California oil discoveries by wildcatters in the early 1900s, and now with the expansion of renew-able energy developments in the county,” he said. “In order for us to determine where we are going, lo-cally and nationally, with traditional and renewable energy, it’s impor-tant for us to remind ourselves of how we got here.”

In addition to sharing her findings, Little will detail the impact energy has on Kern County’s economy, in

particular the energy, agriculture and warehousing/distribution sectors.

The focus of the Kern Economic Development Corp. energy sum-mit is to give attendees a better understanding of why an energy-independent future requires part-nerships among all energy fields. Registration is available online at www.kedc.com.


enXco name changes to EDF Renewable Energy

enXco, an EDF Energies Nouvelles Company, has announced a name change to EDF Renewable Energy. The new brand name is a natural progression of the integration pro-cess with the EDF group, the leading electricity company in the world.

Ten years ago, EDF Energies Nou-velles, the EDF subsidiary special-izing in renewable energy, acquired enXco, initiating tremendous growth in the company throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. At the time of the acquisition, the EDF group (Electricité de France) owned 50 percent of EDF Ener-gies Nouvelles. EDF acquired the remaining 50 percent of EDF Ener-gies Nouvelles in August 2011, and enXco is now fully integrated within the group under a new name, EDF Renewable Energy.

EDF Renewable Energy is main-taining the delineation between the development group and the operations and maintenance (O&M) group -- formerly enXco Service Corp. - by changing the name of the O&M group to EDF Renewable Services. The services division will continue to perform all required O&M for wind

and solar energy projects. With more than 6 gigawatts of power under contract, EDF Renewable Services is the leading provider of third-party op-erations and maintenance services in North America.

EDF Renewable Energy special-izes in wind, solar, biomass and biogas project design, development, construction, operations and main-tenance. It develops, builds, owns and operates renewable energy proj-ects in the U.S. for its own account as well as for third party ownership.

--EDF Renewable Energy

10 Bakersfield companies on Inc. 5000 annual list

Energy, construction and technol-ogy were the big winners among the Bakersfield companies that landed on this year’s Inc. 5000 list. The list is compiled by Inc. magazine, which annually ranks 5,000 companies by percentage of revenue growth over

a three-year period, in this case, from 2008 to 2011.

To make the list, compa-nies must apply and supply infor-mation about revenue, hiring

and other growth measures. Ba-kersfield had 10 companies on the list, up from nine in 2011.

The fastest growing local busi-ness on the list was Hathaway LLC, an independent oil producer in Bakersfield that grew 266 percent over the past three years. That

Amanda Little

Houchin Community Blood Bank’s new facility takes shape on Buena Vista Road.

Chad Hathaway

Continued on page 8


With over 4,500 MW of development expertise, EDF Renewable Energy is the trusted leader in the development and operations of wind and solar energy projects.

As part of a global organization, we bring a depth of experience to every project.

Through our O&M affiliate, EDF Renewable Services, we ensure the performance of your investment over the long-term. With over 6,000 MW of energy under contract, we are the trusted leader to maximize project profitability.

We are proud to deliver renewable energy projects to Kern County and provide local jobs and economic benefits.

TRUSTED LEADER IN PROJECT DEVELOPMENTAND OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

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Kern businesses, individuals honored for being ‘green’

By Allie Castro

The contributions Kern County busi-nesses and individuals have made to improve the community’s environment were honored during Kern Green’s recent annual awards banquet. The event noted the accomplish-ments of more than 33 public and private businesses and 11 individuals.

The awards celebrated community-nom-inated businesses and individuals in Kern County that are leading the way towards sustainable living. They highlighted the ways they are keeping Kern County green.

Winners included:

Grimmway Farms Energy Efficiency

Partnering with PG&E since 1990, Grimmway Farms has utilized the most up-to-date technologies to ensure that their op-erations are as energy efficient as possible. Their energy savings to date are: 12,000 kilowatts and 95,105,000 kilowatt hours, which equals approximately 64,000 tons of CO2 removed annually.

Bakersfield Public Works DepartmentWater Conservation

The city’s upgraded Wastewater Treat-ment Plant No. 3 in southwest Bakersfield created a process that can produce up to

2 million gallons of tertiary treated water per day. That water is being used to irrigate soccer fields in Sports Village Park and also will be used for median landscape irrigation surrounding the treatment plant.

Aera Energy LLCSolid Waste Reduction and RecyclingAera was the first company in Kern

County to be certified as a zero-waste facil-ity. The company’s efforts include green construction practices and materials, battery and hazardous waste collections, and water-less plumbing fixtures. Almost all materials that enter or leave the facility have been reduced, reused or recycled.

E & B Green SolutionsPollution PreventionBakersfield-based E&B Green Solutions

markets products that are derived from plant matter, are safe for the environment and the product user, and are completely biodegrad-able. The company spreads its message at conferences, meetings, and trade shows to introduce companies to renewable, environ-mentally friendly and commercially viable products.

ChevronSustainable Purchasing

Chevron helps reduce the company’s car-bon footprint by supporting local businesses and minimizing packaging in its mailroom. During Chevron’s biennial health fairs, more than 60 local vendors are brought in to help generate local revenue and encourage attendees to purchase locally. The company also contracts with vendors who have a clear environmental commitment and purchases products made from recycled content.

Granite ConstructionGreen Building and Design

Showing its commitment to green build-

ing practices, Granite Construction’s office on James Road is a Kern Green certified building. The primary building uses 80 percent recycled steel, and 100 percent of the building’s steel will be able to be reused in the future. The company also trains its employees to fulfill Granite’s environmental objectives.

Harvey HallIndividual Eco-volunteer

Four-time co-chairman of the an-nual Great American Cleanup Committee, Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall has stayed busy speaking to the public about litter removal and city beautification, and coordi-nating such events as the Mayor’s Freeway Cleanup, which has more than 2,600 vol-unteers picking up more than 7,700 bags of trash along our roadways.

IKEAOverall Green

The home furnishings retailer IKEA has fitted its 1.8-million-square-foot warehouse in the Tejon Ranch Co.’s industrial park, located in southern Kern County, with solar panels and low-energy bulbs, and replaced all lighting in its cranes with LED lights. The company also teamed up with Golden Empire Transit and Tejon Ranch to create a transportation program for its workers.

Greater Bakersfield Green ExpoGreen Service

A countywide annual event, the Greater Bakersfield Green Expo educates the public

Continued on page 7

Photo courtesy of Grimmway Farms

Solar panels are among the technologies used by Grimmway Farms to achieve energy efficiency.

Photo courtesy of the City of Bakersfield

Upgrading of Bakersfield’s Wastewater Treat-ment Plant No. 3 produces tertiary treated water that irrigates soccer fields and median landscape.

Photo courtesy of the Aera

Aera Energy LLC has been certified a zero-waste facility.

Photo courtesy of Chevron

Trans-West Security Services Inc. is one of Chevron’s vendors that uses fuel efficient vehicles.

Californian file photo Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall, right, receives the Iron Eyes Cody Award from Keep America Beautiful from Mathew M McKenna, the orga-nization’s President and CEO.

Photo courtesy of Tejon Ranch

Many features in IKEA’s warehouse-distribu-tion center in the Tejon Ranch Co.’s industrial park save energy.

Photo courtesy of Granite Construction

Granite Construction’s new office on James Road is a Kern Green certified building.


on how to create a sustainable lifestyle. It brings together local artists, environmental-friendly vendors and thousands of area residents. The next Green Expo will be held in conjunction with the annual Bakersfield Great American Cleanup on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Greater Bakersfield Green Expo also is working with the city’s school districts to implement a new recycling pro-gram, as well as setting in motion a number of ongoing recycling projects, such as the Ronald McDonald House E-Waste Event.

Tom HarlanEco Co-worker

Tom Harlan has brought a personal passion for sustainability to the Aera Energy offices. He was a key player in the “Green Certification” and “Zero Waste Certifica-tion” that Aera has achieved over the last two years. He also helps his coworkers learn more about sustainability by hosting educational sessions, creating zero-waste newsletters and implementing “reduce reuse recycle” fairs.

Kevin CrosbyEco Educator

Having received over $74,000 in grants to support Environmental Club activi-ties, Kevin Crosby’s students have written environmental blogs, volunteered for litter

removal projects and sponsored the Falcon Energy Fun Run on the Independence High School campus. Crosby also received a grant from Chevron to film two public service announcements about solar energy that aired over the summer on KETN.

A local non-profit organization commit-ted to protecting the environment through education and awareness, Kern Green works with residents, schools, businesses and other local non-profit organizations to demon-strate the social, economic and environmen-tal benefits of integrating green practices in daily work and professional life. It has established a “Green Business Certification” to offer a structured program that provides free tools, resources and technical support for businesses that seek a targeted approach to greening their operations.

Kern Green has partnered with organiza-tions, such as Keep Bakersfield Beautiful, Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, Kern Economic Development Corp. and Pacific Gas & Electric to promote a more sustainable future in Kern County. The Kern Green awards were presented in August dur-ing a dinner at Aera Energy.

For more information about Kern Green and the Green Business Certification program, go to www.KernGreen.org or call 412-3780.

— Allie Castro writes for Kern Green, a Bakersfield-based non-profit organization.

Continued from page 6

Photo courtesy of Aera

Tom Harlan cheers on co-workers during an Aera “reduce reuse recycle” event.

SCE tests one of the world’s largest batteriesBy Lori O’Neill

Lithium-ion batteries have been used for years to power hybrid and electric vehicles, but they have not yet been proven for large scale utility purposes. That may soon change with Southern California Edison developing one of the world’s largest battery energy storage systems.

SCE’s battery energy storage system will demon-strate the effectiveness of an 8 megawatt, 4 hour (32 megawatt hours) lithium-ion battery with smart inverter technology to improve grid performance and assist in the integration of intermittent energy resources, like wind and solar energy.

At the intersection of East Tehachapi Boulevard and Williamson Road is SCE’s Tehachapi Wind Energy Storage Project. Here is where this potential method of managing variable energy resource integration is being investigated. The project is principally funded by SCE and the Department of Energy.

Once this project is completed, SCE will evaluate a wide range of applications for lithium-ion batteries, which may spur broader demand for the technology. Viable energy storage solutions will allow for a smarter grid, assist in the integration of intermittent renewable resources and encourage job growth in the energy sector.

More importantly, the Tehachapi Wind Energy Stor-age Project may also help to bring lithium-ion battery production to a scale that can make this form of large energy storage more cost-effective.

SCE’s Antelope-Bailey 66 kilovolt system (the site location was selected because it is part of the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area) is currently capable of delivering over 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy and is where up to 4,500 megawatts of wind resources will be able to come online by 2015.

Construction crews have been on-site since Febru-ary. On May 3, the Tehachapi Wind Energy Storage Project reached a milestone with the completion of the concrete foundation for the battery energy storage system facility. Since then, the structural framework, including columns and panels of the 6,000-plus square foot air-conditioned facility that will house the battery energy storage system, has been installed. In addition, to the battery energy storage system, transformers, break-ers, cabling and other interconnection equipment will be installed as the site is readied for operation.

The full system deployment is planned for the first part of 2013 and the Department of Energy demonstra-tion period will continue into 2015. During this time, SCE will test the battery energy storage system to determine its capability and effectiveness to support 13 operational uses including: provide voltage support and

grid stabilization; decrease transmission losses; diminish congestion; increase system reliability; defer transmis-sion investment; optimize renewable related transmission; provide system capacity and resource adequacy; integrate renewable energy (smoothing); shift wind generation output; regulate frequency; and, addres spin/non-spin replacement reserves, ramp management, and energy price arbitrage.

Most of the applica-tions either shift other generation resources to meet peak load and other electricity system needs with stored electricity, or resolve grid stability and capacity concerns that result from the interconnection of variable energy resources.

The results of this project will help determine the effectiveness of some of the capabilities of energy storage and demonstrate the performance of the lithium-ion bat-teries in actual grid level system conditions, the capability to automate the operations of the battery energy storage system, and integrate its use into the utility grid.

— Lori O’Neill is manager of project demonstra-tion and testing in advance technology for Southern California Edison.

Photo courtesy of SCE

Above: Southern California Edison’s energy storage system facility is under

construction in Tehachapi.

Left: Bird’s eye view of the battery storage facility.


Transmission line critical to energy developmentBy Thomas O’Connor

The formal environmental permitting process has begun on what is proposed to be the first independent transmission line to be built for the California Independent Sys-tem Operator (CAISO) grid for the purpose of serving renewable generation.

The AV Clearview Transmission Project is designed to come on line by late-2016 and will be capable of delivering over 2,000 megawatts of renewable generation from the Antelope Valley and eastern Kern County to the electrical load center in Los Angeles and beyond.

The need for additional transmission to serve Kern County’s wind and solar industries has been well documented. Kern County has permitted more than 7,000 mega-watts of renewable energy projects, with more than 3,900 megawatts already on line.

Despite receiving all necessary county approvals, many new generation projects will face challenges connecting to the existing transmission facilities, including Southern California Edison’s new Tehachapi Renew-able Transmission Line, which stretches from Tehachapi into Los Angeles County.

Additional transmission lines are criti-cal to enabling the continued development of wind and solar projects in the region, said Zack Scrivner, chairman of the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

“We have always been an energy county -- traditionally oil and gas, but now also wind and solar,” said Scrivner. “Wind farms are some of our largest property tax payers, and the construction and maintenance jobs

employ many local people. This renew-able resource is a boon to Kern County, our desert region, and our state.”

The California cities of Lancaster and Pittsburg, along with support from Kern County, have partnered to form the High Desert Power Authority (HDPA), a joint powers authority for the purpose of devel-oping independent transmission projects to serve the desert community. The AV Clear-view line will be HDPA’s inaugural project.

Stretching nearly 40 miles through the Antelope Valley, from Edwards Air Force Base to the Vincent-Lugo transmission line, south of Highway 138, AV Clearview will also include an overhead connection between the SCE Windhub substation, west of Mojave, and the Kramer substation at Kramer Junction.

The HDPA involved Edwards Air Force Base early in the design process, choosing to route the line underground, along road rights-of-way, through previously disturbed land, and above ground, where deemed practical.

“The AV Clearview Project offers a myriad of benefits for Southern Califor-nia,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Par-ris. “From a local standpoint, this project promises multiple opportunities to jump-start economic development throughout our region, providing hundreds of jobs via the transmission project, as well as nearby solar projects, which are currently awaiting connectivity. More importantly, the project provides the necessary infrastructure to har-ness our region’s valuable solar resources.”

The environmental review and permitting

process for the project is expected to take approximately 14 months, with construction due to start in January 2014. Completion of the project is slated for late-2016, support-ing new projects planning to go on line by Jan. 1, 2017 to be eligible for IRS tax-credit incentives and funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

This accelerated schedule is essential to solar and wind projects in the western Mo-jave Desert, which are depending on a new transmission line to secure financing.

Kern County’s state Sen. Michael Rubio noted that the AV Clearview project will bring new construction jobs to the region earlier than other proposed transmission projects.

“It is essential that the California Inde-pendent System Operator (CAISO) support this project, so that the state can achieve its 33 percent Renewables Portfolio Standard policy goals,” said 16th District Sen. Rubio, D-Shafter.

In addition to completing the environ-mental review process, HDPA must succeed in getting AV Clearview line approved for inclusion in the CAISO statewide plan.

Kern County Planning and Commu-nity Development Director Lorelei Oviatt, whose department will lead the environ-ment review, acknowledged the need for more transmission in the region.

“We need to serve the pressing needs of our renewable developers,” said Oviatt, add-ing that there now are no alternatives.

— Thomas O’Connor is a consultant to the AV Clearview project.

Cut utility bills, while cutting costsBy Allan Krauter

Kern County businesses looking to cut their utility bills have a new option: the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program that lets them start saving electricity costs immediately, while gradu-ally paying back the cost of clean energy improvements through their property tax bills.

The PACE program enables commercial property owners -- and, in some cases, residential property owners with no mortgage or Federal Housing & Finance Agency (FHFA) non-conforming mortgages – to finance energy and water efficiency building upgrades and renew-able energy systems without large upfront investments. PACE financ-ing provides up to 100 percent of required capital for projects.

The right property improve-ments can transform existing energy expenses into thousands of dollars of positive cash flow each year, since the amount of money saved on energy often exceeds the cost of financing. Funds can be used for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation upgrades to office, industrial, agricultural, multi-family residential and other commercial properties.

Two programs -- Figtree Energy Resource Company and Califor-niaFIRST -- have been approved by the Kern County Board of Supervi-sors to provide PACE financing for property owners in unincorporated areas of Kern County. Figtree and CaliforniaFIRST will offer flex-ible financing terms that empower property owners to work with local contractors to improve commercial buildings. As a result, PACE financ-ing stimulates local economies and creates local jobs, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the benefit of all Californians.

Property owners qualify for long-term financing based on the value of their property. The land-secured PACE financing eliminates the need for personal guarantees.

PACE’s fixed-rate financing requires no money down and no minimum credit score. Participat-ing property owners will pay back their financing through a voluntary assessment on their property tax bill for up to 20 years. Although the billing mechanism is the property tax bill, the PACE program does not rely on public funds and does not increase taxes. If the property is sold before the PACE financing is paid off, the outstanding balance can be transferred to the new owner.

Property owners should work with a qualified contractor to develop a scope of work for en-ergy- or water-saving projects. For preliminary approval and analysis of available financing, interested property owners should contact: Figtree PACE at www.figtreecom-pany.com, or 877-577-7373; and CaliforniaFIRST at www.California FIRST.org, or 510-692-9995.

— Allan Krauter is a legislative analyst in the Kern County Admin-istrative Office.

Business at-a-glance (continued)

earned it the No. 1,182 spot. Hathaway sister company Pay-zone Directional Services, which drills for oil and gas horizon-tally, also made the list, ranking 3,972 with 37 percent growth.

Other Bakersfield companies on the list included: APAC Rub-ber; Moneywise Wealth Manage-ment; Lightspeed Systems; Gazelle Transportation; Klassen; Electrical Systems and Instru-mentation; PLCs Plus Interna-tional; and ARRC Technology.


Patients, families provided iPads at SJCH Cancer Center

The Cancer Center at San Joaquin Community Hospital has been awarded a $40,000 grant to provide iPads for patients and families during cancer treat-ments. The iPads will be pre-loaded with news and research applications for users to stay updated on current medical infor-mation, as well as entertainment options, including books, movies and music. In addition, Wi-Fi

access throughout The Cancer Center will allow patients and families to access the internet via the iPad or any web-enabled device.

“As we get closer to open-ing our new Cancer Center, the excitement just continues to build,” said Jarrod McNaughton, vice president for marketing and development. “The full scope of how iPads and tablets will im-pact health care and cancer care hasn’t even been realized yet.”

The grant, distributed by the Innovations Department of

Adventist Health – the hospital’s parent organization, located in Roseville, Calif. – provides funds to hospitals introducing new processes, products, services or organizational structures that help advance the organization’s mission.

The iPads will be available when The Cancer Center opens at the beginning of 2013. In addition to treatment areas, iPads will also be available in the Wendy Wayne Resource Library.

— San Joaquin Community Hospital




Economic Outlook

Kern County enjoys strong 10-year runBy Mark Evans

How far has Kern County’s economy traveled in the past decade? How much success have we had “digging out” from the Great Recession? Where are we headed?

We’ve had a good 10-year run. IHS Global Insight estimates that Kern County’s growth rate from 2001 to 2011 will average 7.0 percent, the 12th highest rate among

metro areas. Fresno ranked 141; Modesto, 208; Stockton, 205; and Sacramento, 181.

Kern’s private sector employment grew by 11.4 percent over this pe-riod. While Kern ranked eighth among the largest 100 metros in this regard,

Fresno ranked 36; Modesto, 74; Stockton, 50; and Sacramento, 77. Despite a 27 per-cent increase in Kern’s population between 2000 and 2010, income grew sufficiently to increase per capita income by 38 percent, compared to the state average of 27 percent. Median household income increased by 23 percent, the same as for California.

Bakersfield’s recovery from the Great Recession also has been relatively strong. The Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor ranks Bakersfield’s recovery as the 22nd strongest among the 100 largest metros. Fresno ranks 99; Modesto, 93; Stockton,

68; and Sacramento, 92. Our 6.9 percent employment increase

is the second largest increase among the top 100: Fresno ranked 82; Modesto, 98; Stockton, 16; and Sacramento, 88. While we are essentially the median city with respect to recovery of Gross Metro Product (rank of 51 out of 100), other valley cities are significantly below the median: Fresno ranked 82; Modesto, 85; Stockton, 98; and Sacramento, 95.

Historically, Kern County’s economic performance paralleled the Central Valley’s. We need look no farther than our main economic drivers to explain why medium-term growth and short-term expansion are outperforming the rest of the valley. GMP originating in the mining/energy sector more than tripled between 2001 and 2009, while ag-related GMP more than doubled.

From April 2011 to April 2012, Bakers-field had the largest increase in manufac-turing jobs among the top 100 metros (13.7 percent). Rather than being an independent source of strength, this reflects the strength of energy and agriculture. Two-thirds of the job increases were in nondurable manu-facturing, which consists primarily of food processing and petroleum products.

The Associated General Contractors of America reported that between June 2012 and June 2011, construction employment increased by 23 percent in Kern County – the largest increase in the nation - with

transportation infrastructure, healthcare, and school projects leading the way. Much credit can be given to the influx of federal funding into the Thomas Roads Improve-ment Program, named after former Con-gressman Bill Thomas.

Looking aheadKern County residents share the na-

tion’s trepidation. Cal State Bakersfield re-ported that after strongly increasing in the fourth quarter of 2011, consumer sentiment has settled at a bearish level. Likewise, the Kern County Business Outlook Index made no further improvement in the second quarter after recent modest gains.

As Fed Chairman Bernanke emphasized in his July report to Congress, economic momentum is weakening and there are two main sources of risk: the Euro-area crisis and challenges Congress faces in reining in deficits over the medium term, while taking into account short-term economic fragility.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a recession will occur in 2013 if Congress is incapable of reach-ing an agreement to prevent the spending reductions and tax increases scheduled to automatically go into effect.

— Mark Evans is a professor and chairman of the Economics Department at Cal State Bakersfield.

Mark EvansFrom April 2011 to April 2012,

Bakersfield had the largest increase in manufacturing

jobs among the top 100 met-ros (13.7 percent). Two-thirds of the job increases were in nondurable manufacturing, which consists primarily of

food processing and petroleum products.


Local businesses get county contractsBy Sandi Formhals

Local vendors are awarded most of Kern County’s routine purchases of goods and services. In the just completed fiscal year, 66.1 percent of all purchase orders issued by the county purchasing agent went to local vendors, totaling nearly $52.5 million.

These purchases reflect the county’s recognition that buying local makes eco-nomic sense. They also reflect the success of a years-long strategy to encourage local vendors to bid for county contracts.

While the county purchases goods and services locally, whenever possible, it is obligated to its citizens and taxpayers to ob-tain the maximum value for each purchase. It also is bound by state law to conduct procurement in an open, fair and competi-tive manner. The Kern County Purchasing Division does this by soliciting requests for quotations from all known sources, both local and non-local, and by advertising these bidding opportunities on its public website.

To enhance local procurement, in 1996 the Board of Supervisors adopted an ordi-nance that provides a 5 percent preference to local vendors on competitive bids for all goods. In 2010, the Board of Supervisors took this local vendor preference one step further by applying it to bids for all goods and services, except public works projects. The Public Contract Code requires that public works projects in California may only be awarded to the lowest bidder that meets specifications.

The county’s local vendor preference applies when the announced low bidder who meets specification is non-local and at least

one local vendor’s bid falls within 5 percent of the low bid and also meets specification.

In this situation, every qualifying local vendor who has submitted a bid within 5 percent of the low bid shall have the option to submit a new bid in an amount less than or equal to the low bid. The local vendor whose new bid is lowest receives the contract.

A local vendor is any business that: • Has had an office or distribution point located in the county for at least six months prior to the bid.

• Employs at least one full-time or two part-time employees who reside in the county, or if the business has no employees, shall be a least 50 percent owned by at least one person who resides in the county.

• Will credit all sales tax generated from the sale to its business location in the county.

The advantage of buying locally is that county funds spent with local businesses will provide an enhanced economic benefit to the whole county. Purchasing dollars are recirculated within the local economy. Do-ing so generates taxable transactions, helps to retain and create local jobs, increases local profits, affords greater involvement and charitable contributions by local firms to local organizations, and increases individual disposable income.

Local vendors are encouraged to register online at www.co.kern.ca.us. This places vendors in the county’s electronic notifica-tion system, which sends an e-mail inform-ing registered vendors of bid opportunities that arise within their commodity listings.

— Sandi Formhals is Kern County’s purchasing manager.


Q: Jeff, what is Worklogic HR?A: Worklogic HR is an outsourcing,

technology and consulting firm with an emphasis and expertise in human resources and related employee administration services. Our clients depend on us for a multitude of business services including HR, payroll, employee benefits, safety and workers’ compensation. We also provide technology solutions and consulting services that streamline and simplify the day-to-day complexities of managing employees, while helping companies operate in compliance with the vast, ever-changing regulations imposed on employers.

Q: Is outsourcing a good thing?A: Absolutely. People outsource all the

time, for very good reasons. For example, when was the last time you changed your car’s oil, or printed your own business cards? Often you have someone with the proper expertise and equipment do those tasks for you. Outsourcing is the best thing for people in many situations. It’s logical and makes good business sense.

Q: How does Worklogic HR fit that description?

A: You will find that the average busi-ness owner got into business because they have a passion for their product or service. They’re good at what they do and believe they have what it takes to start their own business. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, small businesses have a very high failure rate. Oftentimes, these same entre-preneurs have little or no background and understanding of the infinite number of details, risks and complexities of actually being an employer. These include payroll, state and federal employer tax filings, work-ers’ compensation, employee benefits, wage and hour laws, risk mitigation, insurances, lawsuits, hiring, firing, employment law, unemployment claims, and mountains of paperwork. Every one of these details, if not handled properly, can put you out of busi-ness overnight.

Q: What can Worklogic HR do to help?

A: While the core services we deliver are pretty easy to define, it’s not a one-size-fits-all delivery model. In general, we operate an economies-of-scale model for our clients, usually serving small- to mid-sized firms that don’t have the necessary resources or expertise to handle everything in a fully compliant and efficient manner. Part of our consultation process with each client in-volves a fairly comprehensive needs analysis to determine the various “pain points” each customer has so that we can provide the best solutions for them. It could be something as simple as providing payroll services along with our technology products, or as com-plete as a shared-employer program, where-by we literally share employer responsibili-ties and liabilities with our clients. In that type of relationship, we actually have skin in the game, with respect to making sure that our clients’ human resources management, workers’ compensation and administration are operating in compliance with the law and as effective and efficiently as possible. We also provide human resource consultations and administration, with no shared liability. Each client is different. They are at different stages in their development and are unique in terms of available internal resources, chal-lenges and pains.

No matter what type of relationship we engage, our clients benefit in knowing

that they have a team of experts working for them and their staff, saving them time and money. Our clients have access to professional resources, employee benefits and insurance products that they wouldn’t otherwise have. Our clients tell us that they now have more power to attract and retain top talent. We help them compete and look, in essence, like a “bigger business.” We al-low the business to operate more smoothly, focused on growth and its core competen-cies, while Worklogic HR handles the rest.

Q: How do your clients’ employees benefit?

A: Employees want to be treated fairly, work for well-run companies, have access to good pay and benefits, and work in a more stable environment. With our help and guidance, our customers get the training they need, better technology, professional resources and employee benefits that rival Fortune 500 companies. Your average small business just doesn’t typically have that to offer its employees. Whether it’s a well-defined policy, a professionally-written handbook and job description, career train-ing, employment counseling, private online portals to access personal employment data, health benefits or a 401k, employees just sense they’re working for a better company. I think that is because they actually are.

Q: Why did you start Worklogic HR?

A: I was one of those entrepreneurs I described. Several years ago, I owned my own franchise. It was a small commercial and residential service company that I bought. I had big plans to grow it. Trouble was, the minute I started to grow and hire employees, I realized I was in over my head. I was getting so bogged down with adminis-trative duties that I couldn’t sell my services and grow the business. It was a Catch 22. Hiring a person to handle everything wasn’t in the cards financially and continuing to do it myself was killing me and my busi-ness. Eventually, I ran across a business that provided miscellaneous human resource services that could take the burden off me for a fraction of the cost of hiring someone. I was hooked.

In early 2000, with $25,000 of initial investment, I started Employer Solutions Group, which later became ESG republic. By 2010, we had grown to service nearly 200 clients and 2,000 employees. This year, we’ll exceed $80 million in sales, benefiting roughly 400 clients. We also announced our new name and brand this year to Worklogic HR. That came as a result of blending our new technology solutions into our service model, which better reflects who we are.

Q: What are your new technology solutions?

A: Our Human Resources Information System (HRIS), like so many other things

we do, was a product of necessity. About five years ago, I started to look into technol-ogy solutions to help me run my company better and more efficiently. We investigated dozens of products out on the market and concluded that HRIS systems were either chopped up into very specific task modules, or exceptionally large, expensive enterprise systems that did more than the average company required. I realized there was an enormous market of small- and mid-sized firms that were largely underserved by the HRIS industry. These firms needed function and affordability to handle the “everyday” things small businesses face. I decided to create my own.

I originally created Worklogic (the name of the HRIS system when we were still ESG republic) to be used internally by my staff to service our clients. After four years of development, we launched our first system to customers this year, while simultaneously rebranding the company to Worklogic HR.

Q: Why is Worklogic HR successful?

A: Every successful business owner should acknowledge the talents and dedica-tion of staff. I’ve been very fortunate to work with bright and hard-working people. And the demand for my company’s services has increased. More rules and regulations exist, especially in California, today than ever. We live in an incredibly litigious state, where businesses are challenged with new laws, administrative burdens and the risks of lawsuits. More and more business owners are starting to recognize the risk pool they’re swimming in, and fear they will drown.

There was a time when business was easier. Those days are long gone. My clients, such as Bakersfield’s iconic Luigi’s Restaurant and the Bakersfield Condors, realized that they needed help to “do busi-ness right” in today’s business environment. These companies, and hundreds just like them, know that they’re good at driving their businesses, but that they need a mechanic by their side to keep everything in tune.

Q: What’s next for Worklogic HR?

A: Something I’m very thrilled to announce is that we’ve also partnered with David Blaine, a prominent Bakersfield employment law attorney, as well as Katy Raytis and Robin Paggi, who are working directly with Worklogic HR to provide legal consulting and human resource consulting services (Worklogic HR Legal Solutions) to clients throughout the state.

And, we have built the “Inspiration Lab” at our corporate office in Bakersfield, where we provide live trainings, monthly lunch-and-learn sessions, and seminars to clients and individuals. The Inspiration Lab is a state-of-the-art facility offering a comfort-able and relaxed setting using the latest technology to provide live streaming videos and webcasts so that we can continue to of-fer education and valuable resources to more and more people.

Having the in-house legal counsel and Inspiration Lab fundamentally changes, or at least greatly expands, who we are, what we do and how we compete in the marketplace. We want to continue to differentiate our-selves and stand out as a leader and valued resource to our clients.

In celebration of the new Worklogic HR brand, the Legal Solutions Division and our new Inspiration Lab, we will be holding an open house Nov. 7. Go to www.worklogicHr.com/events for more information.

Worklogic HRA conversation with Worklogic HR President & CEO Jeff Thorn

Business Profile


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What These People Know About Human ResourcesCould Save Your Business.

Human Resource management is a critical part of any business. Doing it right can be the difference between success and failure. Attend one or all of these upcoming Human Resources training seminars and learn how to protect your business,

develop better employees and create a more productive workplace.

Avoiding the Top 20 Employer Pitfalls

November 8th, 9-10:30am

October Lunch & Learn:Workplace Violence

October 24th or 25th, 12 noon -1pm

Call 661-695-5163 to register or for more information.

4029 Coffee Road • Bakersfield, CA • 661.695.5163 • worklogiclegal.comWorklogicHR Legal Solutions is a division of The Blaine Law Group, PC

Katy RaytisEsq.,Attorney

David BlaineEsq., SPHR Attorney

Robin PaggMA, SPHR-CA, CPLP, CPC

Training Coordinator

800-828-4187www.worklogicHR.com

Locally Owned Since 2000

ThinkBiggerTaking your small or medium sized business to the

next level is easy with Worklogic HR. From the solid

foundation of a basic Human Resources Information

System to comprehensive co-employment

solutions, Worklogic HR helps increase your

efficiency and profitability while giving you more

time to focus on your core competencies. With a

wide choice of affordable, customizable HR

management and business administrative solutions,

Worklogic HR provides everything your small

business needs to become a bigger business.

Human Resources – BenefitsWorkers’ Compensation

Safety – Payroll – Human Resources Information System

Nine Week HR Fundamentals Training Course

Every Tuesday, 9-12 noonOctober 23rd – December 18th

November Lunch & Learn: Showing Employee Appreciation�November 14th or November 15th,

12 noon -1pm


Energy

Hydrogen project hopes to break ground in 2013By Mark Lerdal

The Hydrogen Energy California project (HECA) has been revitalized, taking another step forward in its goal of generating clean energy for the state’s electric grid, while creating jobs and economic benefits for Kern County.

Since its acquisition last year by SCS Energy LLC – one of the nation’s leading independent developers of clean power – proponents of the project have made significant modifications to improve HECA’s design, the economic viability of the project and benefits to Kern County.

Because of its importance to the U.S. as an alternative energy project of the future, HECA is co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and ad-ministered by the National Energy Technol-ogy Laboratory. The project is supported, in part, by a $408 million grant that was competitively awarded to HECA in recogni-tion of its importance in addressing the issue of climate change, while providing local and regional benefits.

As with the previous design, instead of conventionally burning fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases into the air, HECA will use a unique, state-of-the-art gasification process for converting coal and petroleum coke (a low value by-product of oil refining) into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2), which will then be separated.

The hydrogen will be used as a clean fuel to generate nearly 300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 160,000 homes. More than 90 percent of the resulting CO2 will be captured and transported to the nearby Elk Hills oil field, where it will be permanently stored and used for enhanced oil recovery, enabling the production of an estimated 6 million additional barrels of in-state domestic oil per year. The combination of these systems al-lows HECA to prevent more than 3 million tons of greenhouse gases from escaping into the atmosphere per year, the equivalent of eliminating 650,000 cars from the road.

This process, known as carbon capture utilization and storage, is an alternative energy solution that is essential for advanc-ing California’s long-term climate strategy and building a low-carbon energy economy. Harvard professor and climate change expert Dan Schrag cites a compelling argument for why carbon capture and storage is such an attractive technology.

“Capturing CO2 from existing and new facilities, and keeping it from getting into the atmosphere, is an incredibly important strategy for transitioning this world from a fossil-fuel intensive economy with high emissions to a low-carbon economy,” Schrag told a California Energy Commission pro-ceeding in Sacramento in June.

Revised designHECA’s improved project design will

also allow the plant to create 1 million tons of fertilizer a year to meet in-state agricul-tural needs. Imported fertilizer costs to California have jumped by as much as 25 percent during the past few years, driven largely by transportation costs. This much needed local source of fertilizer will not only support Kern County’s agricultural economy, but also significantly reduce the need for costly foreign imports of this criti-

cal farming necessity.The production of fertilizer adds a

tremendous economic advantage. By operating around the clock, HECA can vary the amount of power and fertilizer that is produced, which allows for maximum efficiency and ultimately also makes the

power and the fertilizer more affordable for everyone.

When SCS filed its amended application for certification with the California Energy Commission, Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, called HECA “an innovative business model

that improves the economic viability of the project. HECA intends to ramp up the facility to produce more electricity during peak hours of need in order to maximize the energy and capacity value of the plant. This is an example of the kind of creative think-ing we will need to solve the climate crisis.”

In addition, this flexible power output can support renewable energy sources serving as a low-carbon base load source of electricity, and will become even more important as additional solar and wind are added to the grid in California and the rest of the country.

Carbon dioxide injection for enhanced oil recovery has been used successfully in the U.S. for nearly 40 years. However, the HECA project will, for the first time, integrate a number of commercially proven technologies into a single, multi-purpose operation, which makes carbon capture and utilization storage both affordable and practical.

Jan Gillespie, a professor in Cal State Bakersfield’s Department of Physics and Geology, and an expert in identifying fields for enhanced oil recovery, says that Elk Hills is “one of the best in the country for this activity.”

“Kern County is the epicenter of oil production in Southern California and for producing and storing gas underground. I like the idea of using a product that would otherwise be considered waste and putting it to good use,” Gillespie said.

Since its inception, HECA has been ac-knowledged as a safe, efficient and cost-ef-fective way to produce clean energy. HECA will be designed, constructed and operated to meet or exceed the most stringent local, state and federal environmental, safety and health standards, including all San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District requirements.

Continued on page 15


Project benefitsOverall, HECA represents a $5 billion invest-

ment in California’s infrastructure and construction industries, including the $3.9 billion HECA facility and millions of dollars in new tax revenue to the state and county for the life of the facility.

During nearly four years of construction, HECA will create thousands of high quality jobs in Kern County and the region, as well as approximately 200 full-time permanent jobs when completed. When fully operational, it will generate $52 million in an-nual labor income and $239 million in total annual economic impact to Kern County. HECA recently entered into a project labor agreement (PLA) with lo-cal and state building and construction trade councils, which will benefit thousands of local workers and re-turning military veterans, ensure the highest quality of craftsmanship, and strengthen the regional economy.

“The men and women of the building trades are eager to get to work,” says Bob Balgenorth, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. “This is an important project not just for Kern County and California, but it is a model for the rest of the country and the world. It shows that we can provide a reliable source of energy, lower our carbon footprint, grow our economy and create good jobs.”

HECA’s environmental benefits are just as impres-sive. In addition to preventing the release of green-house gas emissions into the atmosphere, HECA will preserve California’s valuable fresh water resources and improve local clean groundwater availability by using brackish, non-potable water and eliminating waste water discharge.

Bakersfield Mayor Harvey L. Hall recently praised the project’s potential for being able to provide citizens with an outstanding alternative source of power.

— Mark Lerdal is president of Hydrogen Energy California LLC.

The California Energy Commission has the jurisdiction to license the Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) plant proposed for construction in western Kern County, near the town of Tupman.

The CEC is evaluating details of the proposal and will conduct hearings as part of its power plant licensing process, which incorporates requirements equivalent to those of the California Environmental Quality Act. Engineering and environmental aspects of the proposal will be considered.

The state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources will separately consider issuing a permit associated with the injection of carbon dioxide produced from the plant’s gasification process into a nearby oil field.

The CEC preliminary staff assess-

ment and San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s findings are expected to be filed in late October, with workshops scheduled in November. The deadline for commenting on the preliminary staff as-sessment of the HECA proposal is Nov. 28, with a final staff assessment and environ-mental impact assessment expected to be filed in January.

Information about the project and regulatory procedure can be found on the CEC website at www.energy.ca.gov/siting-cases/hydrogen_energy People interested in being notified of project events and filings can sign up at the website address. Additional assistance can be obtained from the CEC public adviser. Email [email protected]

HECA also has established an informa-

tion center at 189 E. Front St., Buttonwil-low, which is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 661-764-6442.

“We believe community awareness and involvement is essential to the project’s progress during the regulatory permit-ting process,” said Mark Lerdal, HECA president.

Jim Croyle, chief executive officer of SCS Energy, has said public discourse and pushback is an expected and even welcome part of the process to get projects like this approved. To that end, the company has held informational workshops and hearings to provide opportunities for people to ob-tain information, view the project site and offer comments.

— Kern Business Journal

HECA at-a-glance• Located about 7 miles west of Bakersfield, near the town of

Tupman in western Kern County.

• An integrated gasification combined cycle power plant that plans to manufacture hydrogen to generate 300 megawatts of electricity and to produce low-carbon nitrogen-based products, such as fertilizer.

• A gasification technology would be used to convert coal and petro-leum coke to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen-rich syngas fuel would be used to generate electricity and produce urea in liquid and pellet form, and other products for agricultural and manufacturing uses.

• The proposed plant would capture about 90 percent of the carbon dioxide produced from the gasification process and transport it for use at the adjacent Elk Hills oil field for enhanced oil recovery and sequestration.

• The Hydrogen Energy California Project (HECA) originally was proposed in 2008 by Hydrogen Energy International LLC. In 2011, SCS Energy California LLC acquired 100 percent ownership of HECA, redesigned some aspects of the project and submitted an amended application for certification in May 2012.

• If regulatory agencies approved the project, HECA proponents an-ticipate beginning construction of the plant in August 2013. Operation would begin in September 2017.

Source: Excerpted from information provided by Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) and the California Energy Commission.


THE CALIFORNIAN

43

58

58

33

119

Buttonwillow

Tupman

Brackish Water Source

Elk Hills Oil Field

PG&E Midway Substation

PG&E/So Cal Gas

CO2 injection location

7TH STANDARD RD

ADOHR RD

STOCKDALE HWY

Tule Elk Reserve State Park

PG&E Midway Substation

PG&E/So Cal Gas

Tule Elk Reserve State Park

5

2 MILES

NBuena Vista W

ater Storage DistrictCalifornia Aqueduct

Kern River

Proposed project site

Bakersfield

Kern County

Detailarea

Source: Hydrogen Energy California (HECA)

Proposed Hydrogen Energy California project

HECA hearings, reviews scheduled

October and November chamber events

Two Bakersfield-based cham-bers of commerce organizations have scheduled member and com-munity events during the months of October and November.

Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Bakersfield Cham-ber of Commerce announced sev-eral events have been scheduled during October and November. These events include:

Oct. 9 -- Online Freebies and Tools, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the chamber office, 1725 Eye St.

Oct. 16 -- 2012 Oil & Gas Con-ference, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center.

Oct. 25 -- 2012 Bakersfield Business Expo, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., in the Rabobank Conven-tion Center.

Nov. 13 -- Labor and Employ-ment Law Forum, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., in the chamber office.

Nov. 15 -- Chamber Mixer, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Coco-nut Joe’s, 4158 California Ave.

For additional information about these events, go to the chamber’s website www.bakersfieldchamber.org

Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Oct. 10 – Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at 4 p.m. for Worklogic HR, at 4029 Coffee Road.

Oct. 10 – Business Network-ing Mixer hosted by Wells Fargo, from 5:30 pm. to 7:30 p.m., at the Wells Fargo downtown loca-tion, 1300 22nd St. For more information contact 633-5495.

Oct. 24 – Free business seminar, “Moving on Up,” hosted by KCHCC, Brown Armstrong and law office of Jose A. Guerrero, at Brown Armstrong Public Accoun-tants, 4200 Truxtun Ave., Suite 300, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. RSVP to [email protected] or call Art at 324-4971.

Nov. 14 – Business network-ing mixer hosted by Double Tree Hotel, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Double Tree Hotel, 3100 Camino Del Rio Court.

For more information about the Kern County Hispanic Cham-ber of Commerce and events, go to the website www.KCHCC.org.

Chambers of commerce in outlying areas of the county are invited to submit calendar events to the Kern Business Journal at [email protected].


Robert MorrisSVP, Credit Administrator

Charles GrayVP, Relationship Manager

Jesse ValenciaAVP, Relationship Manager

Michael O’DohertyVP, Relationship Manager

Scott BeginVP, Manager

Brian SabinVP, Manager

0912

John TaitSVP, Regional Manager

Carolyn CordreyAVP, Relationship Manager

4600 California Avenue 93309 | 661-281-03251301 17th Street 93301 | 661-281-03009100 Ming Avenue (Suite 120) 93311 | 661-663-86633911 Coffee Road 93308 | 661-589-9040

Chad Hathaway founded Bakersfield-based Hathaway LLC in 2001. The company acquires and develops oil and gas properties that still contain an economically recover-able amount of reserves. In 2005, he founded Payzone Directional Services in Bakersfield. Payzone provides directional oil and gas drill-ing services to oil companies in the western United States. Hathaway LLC and Payzone Directional Services are included in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately-held companies in the U.S. In the Energy Sector, both companies ranked in the top 100.

Chad Hathaway is the fourth generation of the Hathaway family to enter into the oil industry. The Hathaway family has been in the oil business since the early 1900s, mak-ing their start in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. He serves on the board of the California Inde-pendent Producers Association (CIPA).

“In the Oil Patch” is a regular Kern Busi-ness Journal feature that asks local industry leaders to comment on developments in Kern County’s oil fields.

Q: Why did you pursue a career in oil exploration and production?

The oil and gas business has fascinated me since I was a young child. Throughout my life some of the most memorable mo-ments were in the oil fields of Kern and Los Angeles counties with my father and grand-father. I always looked up to the way they were able to survive though very difficult economic times and many years of low oil prices. Our family business was sold almost

10 years ago. My father is happily retired and my venture into the business was not at his urging, by any means. I started my oil and gas company because I felt I had what it took to be successful utilizing the principles of efficiency and sound financial planning. I truly enjoy the challenges I face daily and am stimulated by them. Lastly, I wholeheart-edly believe what I do is very important to our country. Without access to affordable energy our nation as we know it will come to a screeching halt.

Q: Why are you personally opti-mistic about the oil industry in Kern County?

I love Kern County and feel we have a community that supports our industry extremely well. The political climate also understands our plight and that’s very im-portant to an industry often misunderstood and over-regulated. They understand how im-portant the high-paying jobs, tax revenue and community support our industry provides are. I don’t believe the price of oil will stay

high forever. But as long as it does, we will continue to re-invest in Kern County. I also feel those of us positioned to ride the next several years of volatile oil and gas prices will be well positioned for the next genera-tion of energy needs.

Q: What single development or innovation has greatly impacted or improved the oil industry in Kern County?

I believe steam enhanced oil recovery (EOR) made the largest impact on the Kern County oil industry. A majority of our oil and gas fields are heavy oil fields. The oil is exceptionally thick and does not move to the wellbore very well unless heat is applied to it in order to lower its viscosity. Steam heats the oil and drops its viscosity to a point where it is mobile enough to enter the wellbore and subsequently be pulled out. Until the application of steam was perfected, many of these larger oil and gas fields were in a state of serious decline and borderline economical to produce. Steam enabled several of these fields to come back to life and recover incredibly high percent-ages of the original oil that was in place. It’s extended the lives of these fields by decades. Another byproduct of the application of steam in Kern County was the amount of very talented thermal EOR engineers who have learned and perfected the trade here. Many of them have also become pioneers in several of the world’s newly emerging heavy oil steam EOR fields.

In the Oil Patch

Kern’s oil industry reach felt around the world

Photo by John Harte

Chad Hathaway is the founder of a rapidly-growing Bakersfield-based oil company.


Investing in environmentalsolutions for stronger communitiesAt Wells Fargo, we believe when our communities do well, we do well. We recognize that our environmental impact goes beyond how we operate. As a fi nancial services company, we can infl uence positive change by strengthening our environmental leadership in three focus areas:

Encouraging stronger communities: Where we live

� Wells Fargo Environmental Grant Program — giving $100 million in grants and increasing volunteerism by 2020 to support the environmental work of nonprofi ts, and providing Wells Fargo team members an opportunity to improve their communities

� Financing for community projects — increasing lending and investments to community projects with environmental benefi ts

Accelerating a “greener” economy: Where we do business

� Environmental fi nancing — providing $30 billion of fi nancing by 2020 to environmentally benefi cial business opportunities

� Environmental and social risk management — promoting responsible ways of doing business together with our business customers

� Customer engagement — increasing customer education and engagement on cost-saving environmental opportunities, with a focus on paper reduction and residential energy effi ciency

Reducing the environmental impact of our operations: Where we work

� Environmental performance of our operations — increasing economic effi ciency and environmental performance of our operations

2020 goals include:• 35% of our leased and owned buildings LEED® certifi ed• 65% recycling rate• 40% increase in energy effi ciency• 35% reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions

� Supply chain relationships — working with our suppliers to achieve greater transparency, as well as improved environmental and social performance

� Team member engagement — creating a culture of sustainability at Wells Fargo by increasing team member environmental stewardship in our communities, at work, and in our daily lives

To learn how Wells Fargo can support your business contact:Ben Hanson, Senior Vice President, Regional [email protected] or 661-637-2605

In approaching our responsibility, we seek to ensure that as we do business, natural resources are protected, and environmental, social, and economic needs are part of our everyday decisions. In this integrated approach to sustainability, we are committed to fi nding new ways to minimize our energy consumption, address climate change, use renewable sources of energy, and inspire others to do the same so that, together, we can leave our planet healthy for future generations.

Contact us� wellsfargo.com/environment� blog.wellsfargo.com/environment� [email protected]

© 2012 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. ECG-713449

Together we’ll go far


Wind energy blows strong, despite political uncertaintyBy Linda Parker and Peter Kelley

Kern County has a rich history of utiliz-ing wind energy. Kern County was one of the first area’s to develop utility-scale wind farms in the early 1980s and California, until 2000, had more wind energy installed than the rest of the country combined. Today, California ranks third nationally in overall wind installation, behind Texas and Iowa.

Kern County made a major contribu-tion to California reaching a milestone this year, with wind energy growing to provide 5 percent of the state’s total electrical needs. Since 2002, wind capacity in California has more than doubled and has accounted for 80 percent of renewable energy capacity built to meet the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) through 2011.

The $5 billion investment companies have made, so far, in Kern County to develop wind energy projects is a boon for cleaner air and greener energy, and also for creating jobs and retooling manufacturing here and across the country.

In California, of the 921 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity built in 2011, almost 700 MW of added capacity came from the Kern County Wind Resource Area (KC-WRA), with large new projects also installed in Solano, Contra Costa and Riverside coun-ties. This year will see even more growth, with several additional projects slated for Kern County’s Wind Resource Area. This will create jobs, support public works and boost local economic activity.

This year, wind energy will generate more than 3,000 jobs in Kern County – in-cluding direct jobs in construction, opera-tions and maintenance, and indirect jobs that support business-to-business investment. The Kern County wind industry will pump $60 million in annual property tax revenues into our local economy.

The wind turbines that have transformed economies, such as Kern County’s, with jobs, lease payments and local taxes remain popular with Americans.

Over 80 percent of people surveyed regularly tell pollsters they want more wind power. Utilities have locked in favorable long-term electric rates, as the cost of wind-generated electricity has dropped with taller towers and longer, carbon-reinforced blades.

Natural gas prices may temporarily be at historic lows, but electricity from new wind farms now costs less than half as much as from new coal-fired plants. The International Energy Agency reported in June that wind energy’s cost is expected to continue to fall.

And wind farms produce stably-priced, low-cost power for 20 years or longer. That protects ratepayers against fuel price volatil-ity in the same way a long-term, fixed-rate mortgage protects homebuyers. It will help California meet its 33 percent renewable energy standard at a price we can afford. And along with other sources, such as solar and geothermal power, it will ensure we will never run out of energy.

In 1992, Congress first approved a federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) to help foster the development of clean, affordable renewable energy projects, such as wind power. Since passage of the PTC, the wind industry has been able to lower the cost of wind power by more than 90 percent, provide power to the equivalent of over 12 million American homes, and foster development in all 50 states.

But America faces a steep drop in wind power installations next year because of con-tinued uncertainty over what Congress will do about this key piece of tax policy during its post-election, lame duck session.

The tax credit reduces the price of wind power by 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour deliv-ered to consumers. It has helped American wind power keep growing in the face of 90 years of permanent policies that favor com-peting forms of energy. It more than pays for itself just in local, state and federal tax payments, besides the advantages of making clean power with no fuel.

This key tax credit has been repeatedly extended since 2004, but it expires at the end of the year and Congress, so far, has failed to act on an extension. The resulting uncertain business climate already has driven down projected U.S. wind farm installations for 2013 by more than three-quarters, versus this year’s bumper crop.

The thousands of companies that make U.S. wind energy components and install them – fueling the U.S. economy with up to $20 billion a year of private investment – have been through this boom-bust cycle before.

This time, however, is different because of the larger scale of the industry that puts 37,000 U.S. jobs at risk within the next few months. And, many of those jobs are now in manufacturing, as made-in-the-U.S.A. content in wind turbines has skyrocketed from 25 percent in 2005 to nearly 70 percent today.

Wind supporters are encouraged by the strong bipartisan support for keeping those jobs and expanding homegrown energy sources – under an “all-of-the-above” ap-proach to keeping America powered up.

Sixteen Republican freshmen in Con-gress, including some elected with Tea Party support, recently wrote House leaders to urge the PTC be extended as soon as possible to avoid imminent layoffs and plant closures. The recipients included House Speaker John Boehner and Bakersfield’s own Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Whip.

A bill to extend the PTC for four years has been cosponsored by 25 House Republicans, most recently by California’s Brian Bilbray of Imperial Beach, a member of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The long-term business fundamentals for wind energy remain strong, despite the

uncertainty over policies in Washington.Wind now installs more new electrical

generating capacity than any source, other than natural gas. And gas prices historically have been the most volatile. Within five years the market for U.S. gas is expected to expand overseas, as ports are refitted for export of more liquid natural gas (LNG).

So far, the U.S. is ahead of schedule to get 20 percent of its electricity nationwide from wind turbines by the year 2030 – as the George W. Bush administration projected. A diverse portfolio of energy sources favors utilities and consumers.

Kern County’s wind industry will remain an important part of that, today and in the future. For more information about the wind industry and how Americans can get involved in supporting its development, go to www.PowerofWind.com.

Kern County’s substantial wind resources and supportive clean energy policies lay the foundation for a promising future for wind. But wind’s ability to deliver on this promise depends in large part on decisions that will be made by California and federal policy-makers in the coming months.

Congress must craft a sensible renewable energy policy that provides a stable business climate for the renewable energy develop-ment process. With the failure so far to extend tax relief for wind power beyond this year, several promising wind energy projects are not likely to come to fruition in 2013, resulting in lost jobs, local tax dollars and lost clean energy from wind generation.

The Kern County wind industry is com-mitted to making increased wind genera-tion here a reality. The power of wind is too important to Kern County’s economy, job creation and our own energy independence to let this opportunity pass by.

— Linda Parker is executive director of the Kern Wind Energy Association in Kern County. Peter Kelley is vice president of public affairs for the American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C.

Photo courtesy of the Kern Wind Energy Association

Wind energy projects line the mountainsides, canyons and desert floor in eastern Kern County.


Wind turbine on site and ready for assmebly.


College district meeting industries’ demand for workersBy Michele Bresso

Hundreds of employees are on the job at more than 60 companies in Kern County and across the nation thanks to the training programs of the Kern Community College District Clean Energy Center.

The Clean Energy Center is designed to meet alternative energy industry needs for skilled workers in wind energy, solar energy and the utility industry. The training pro-gram is a “bargain” for workers. Valued at $10,000 per person, training is provided free to participants through a U.S. Department of Labor grant.

More than 400 workers have finished the program since its inception in 2010, said Bob Johnson, Kern Community College District clean energy training manager. Participants complete up to 740 hours of instruction in 22 weeks of hands-on training in three pro-grams: PowerTech, WindTech and SolarTech.

The PowerTech training program offers instruction in basic electricity, industrial mathematics, working with specialized tools, teamwork and communication. Once trainees complete the PowerTech course, they may seek employment or continue training in solar or wind energy.

The WindTech course trains participants for entry-level positions as wind turbine technicians. Training includes an introduc-tion to wind technologies, electronics and troubleshooting, industry environmental awareness, turbine mechanics and controls, and generators and gear boxes.

The SolarTech course prepares train-ees for building, installing, operating and maintaining solar systems for utility-scale, commercial and residential applications. Instruction includes an introduction to solar photovoltaics, safety, electronics and trouble-shooting.

Johnson said the Kern Community Col-lege District Clean Energy Center provides work-ready employees with both hard and soft skills that meet employers’ demands. The program’s success is measured in its ratio of hired workers. According to Johnson, 80 percent of program participants find em-ployment after completing their training.

“We treat trainees as if they’re already on the job,” Johnson said. “Students wear their safety gear, show up for training on time, and learn how to be good employees. If they miss more than three days, they’re out of the

program.” The realistic training pays dividends

for employers, according to Tina Genel, trade recruiter for CLP Resources Inc., a nationwide skilled trades staffing company headquartered in Reno, Nev., with an office in Bakersfield. Genel said that the Kern Community College District Clean Energy Center program provides the training her employer clients are looking for.

“As a recruiter, I need people that can go into the work environment with both education and knowledge. The Clean Energy Center program has the tools, the teachers, the facility and the training program to meet the needs of employers. I will continue to use and network with this training program.”

The Clean Energy Center holds orienta-tion sessions on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. in the center, located at 2100 Chester Ave., Bakersfield. Orientation is followed up with intake processes that ensure employers get a solid workforce. Potential trainees complete WorkKeys testing, a computerized, perfor-mance-based assessment of real-world skills. The test includes reading comprehension, as-sessment of test takers’ ability to locate infor-mation on charts and graphs, as well as basic and applied math. Of those who pass this se-ries of tests, half are selected for the program through a lottery system, a requirement of the Department of Labor funding. Drug testing is also a part of the intake process.

Employers taking advantage of this ready workforce run the gamut. Alternative energy employers like EDF Renewable Energy, Terra-Gen and Sunpower Corp. have hired Clean Energy Center trainees. Utility compa-nies, such as PG&E and Southern California Edison, are program supporters. Other busi-nesses, including Chevron, Halliburton, Sch-lumberger, Home Depot, Mojave Pipeline Company and Rain for Rent, are benefitting from the program by hiring trainees who graduate with a marketable skill set and the desire to put those skills to use.

The Clean Energy Center training is an example of how the Kern Community College District and its three colleges — Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso Community College and Porterville College — meet their missions in the communities they serve.

“We are responsive to businesses’ train-ing needs. Whether it’s the cutting edge of clean energy, nursing and emergency medi-cal fields, or engineering and science-based

training, our mission is to listen to industry and provide students the competencies that match those demands,” said Kern Com-munity College District Chancellor Sandra Serrano.

For information about the Kern Com-munity College District Clean Energy Center

training program or about hiring program participants, visit the website at www.the-cleanenergycenter.com or call 661-336-5058.

— Michele Bresso is the Kern Commu-nity College District’s associate vice chan-cellor of government and external relations.

Program at-a-glance

Trainees enrolled in Kern Community College District’s Clean Energy Center can chose from the following training programs:

PowerTech -- Foundation training for entry-level positions with utilities and utility contractors. Training includes: basic electricity; industrial mathemat-ics; working with specialized tools; teamwork; and communication. Certifi-cates received include: OSHA 10 card; Hazwoper; First Aid; and CPR.

WindTech -- Prepares participants for positions as entry-level wind turbine technicians who operate, install and commission wind turbines. Instruction includes: introduction to wind technolo-

gies; electronics and troubleshooting; industry environmental awareness; turbine mechanical; generators and gear boxes; turbine controls; wind industry specific tools; tower rescue; principles of lubrication; and E-learning through Ama-trol.com. Certificates received include: Torque; Lubrication; and Tractel Height Safety and Rescue.

SolarTech -- Prepares participants for positions that require building, installing, operating and maintaining solar systems for utility-scale, commercial and residen-tial applications. Training includes: solar photovoltaic basics; solar electronics and troubleshooting; safety; and special-ized tools for solar trade. Certification re-ceived include: Trainees will be prepared to take the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) entry-level examination.

Photo courtesy of the American Wind Energy Association

A student participates in a rope tower climbing exercise at Airstreams Renewables.

By Val Garcia

The nationwide shortage of students graduating in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is hindering economic recovery and business growth, including in the Central Valley. With millions unemployed across the nation, this skills gap in STEM fields is alarming.

Taft College, located in western Kern County, serves many regional industry sectors, including energy, petroleum, agriculture, aerospace, biotechnology and food processing.

Several years ago, a small group of Taft College faculty and staff identified a need to strengthen the college’s STEM curriculum and improve linkages between secondary and postsecondary institutions, and industry and labor.

“The college believed these steps would facilitate more transfer and degree attainment for students, while addressing the needs of regional employers looking for skilled, high tech

employees,” said Dena Maloney, Taft College’s superinten-dent-president. “The results are impressive.”

During the past five years, Taft College has provided mul-tiple career and degree pathways in STEM-related fields to the communities in western Kern County. The college received over $16 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Education to support this educational initiative. These funds have provided seed money for a variety of new academic pro-grams in science, engineering, math and technology.

In addition, the college partnered with industry to provide financial and technical support for these new opportunities. To date, these partnerships have led to over $300,000 in private contributions to the college’s STEM effort.

Maloney noted that a highlight of the college’s effort is the Taft College K-12 STEM Outreach Program, which is a partnership that includes school districts, educators and corporate partners, all working toward improving student interest and fluency in technical fields.

The K-12 STEM program is an extension of a national initiative to support student success in two-year, and four-year degree programs, certificate programs in technology, math, science and engineering. Teacher training is also part of this national program.

Data from the 2010-2011 academic year indicated K-12 STEM program participants demonstrated a higher level of achievement as measured by grade point average and scores

for the California Standards Tests in English language arts and math.

And in a time when student interest in school is a con-cern for educators, parents and businesses alike, the STEM students had about half the absences of other non-STEM students in the same schools.

The impact of this educational program does not stop in the classroom. Analysis of the performance of the first group of STEM students, who are now sophomores in high school, reveal that they formed their own STEM Club, appointing club leaders.

“Leadership skills, such as these, are increasingly important in the workforce,” said Maloney. “Imagine these students bringing these technical and leadership skills to your business!”

To date, the K-12 STEM program at Taft College has pro-vided an estimated 10,000 hours of education and program-ming to more than 400 students in western Kern County. The K-12 STEM program works to fulfill a major goal of Taft College: To engage the community, at all levels, in order to support the long-term educational, social and economic development of West Kern.

— Val Garcia is Taft College’s assistant dean of instruc-tion. For more information about the STEM program, call 661-763-7945.

Taft College closing learning gap in scientific fields


Radar response to bird-turbine collision

By Dianne Hardisty

Adam Kelly says his wife calls him a “geek biologist.” An expert in avian behavior, Kelly has combined his “bird man” knowledge with advanced radar technology to seek an important balance: protecting endangered bird species, while allowing Kern County’s renewable energy industry to develop and prosper.

The chief technology officer of Florida-based DeTect Inc., Kelly and company scientists are working with Kern County wind energy developers to keep the endangered Cali-fornia condors and other “protected” species, such as golden eagles, from flying into spinning turbine blades.

“We can’t eliminate all bird strikes,” said Kelly during a recent interview. But the goal is to give developers the information they need to find suitable locations for their wind projects. DeTect radar monitoring may also continue after construction.

Information about bird behavior is critical for Kern’s booming wind energy industry. With the success of decades-long efforts to restore the endangered condor population, the bird is expanding its habitat. The 20-pound bird, which has a wing span of more than nine feet, is soaring closer to wind energy areas.

Wildlife officials may issue permits for “incidental takes,” or deaths, resulting from some birds colliding with turbines. But no such permit is issued for condors. In fact, a condor death from such a collision could result in criminal charges.

A single death “would be a major disaster,” Mark Tholke, an executive with Tehachapi developer EDF Renewable Energy, told Forbes magazine in January.

EDF Vice Chairman Jim Walker, who Forbes identified as a longtime industry leader in efforts to reduce wind farms’ impact on birds, was quoted by the magazine as noting that the wind energy boom and the restoration of the condor population “is about two big successes …. It’s our responsi-bility on the wind-industry side to let these two coexist.”

And that is the focus of extensive research, including the work being done by DeTect.

Founded in 2003 by a group of biologists, DeTect advises a variety of companies and public agencies, including the U.S. Air Force and NASA.

A collision between a space shuttle and a turkey vulture in 2005 resulted in NASA hiring DeTect to set up radar equipment and monitor avian activity around launch sites during more than 20 subsequent launches.

For the Air Force, the company operates the U.S. Avian Hazard Advisory System (www.usahas.com) which monitors bird movement and issues collision alerts in flight corridors.

While the system has not prevented all collisions, Kelly said the Air Force rate has gone from one collision between a bird and an aircraft every 18 months to one in every three years.

Last year, DeTect began receiving calls from Tehachapi developers concerned that condors were expanding their range into wind farm areas. The company already had de-ployed radar systems on the Texas coast, where wind parks were being developed and opponents predicted millions of birds would be killed.

Kelly said monitoring in that area revealed the birds were flying at elevations far above the turbines and mostly passing through unharmed. That information, combined with adaptive management strategies, such as temporarily shutting down selected turbines, minimize losses. The same results have been realized in Spain, where DeTect monitors bird migration and advises wind park operators.

DeTect’s radar systems are among the many preventative measures being developed by researchers to protect wildlife.

“The stakes are high for both sides,” Ashleigh Blackford, senior wildlife biologist for renewable energy at the Fish & Wildlife Service in Sacramento, told Forbes.

— Dianne Hardisty edits the Kern Business Journal.


The rays from a setting sun burst through the blades of wind turbines in eastern Kern County.

Tehachapi firm trains workersBy Bill Deaver

A Tehachapi firm has created a viable busi-ness, training people for jobs in the county’s booming renewable energy industry.

Jeff Duff, president and chief operating officer of Airstreams Renewables, recently briefed East Kern Economic Alliance members on his firm’s development of the first accredited curriculum for training wind energy industry employees.

“We try to provide the highest quality train-ing to our students,” Duff said.

Training focuses on safety and preparing stu-dents for careers in the industry. Ninety percent of Airstreams’ students are military veterans and an increasing number are women veterans.

“We have one or two women veterans in each class and they are gung ho!” Duff said. “Veterans and people who have worked in agri-culture are good prospects for these jobs. They know how to get things done!”

Duff said the firm is expanding into larger quarters and is providing training services for other industries, including Ikon Aircraft of Tehachapi, which has developed an amphibious sport aircraft it plans to manufacture.

“We’re also expanding our services into Texas,” which has a major wind energy indus-try, said Duff.

Welders are in high demand for Kern Coun-ty’s renewable energy and petroleum industries, Duff said. “Welding is the number one job in Kern County right now.”

Although the company was created to train employees for renewable energy, Duff said “40 percent of our graduates” find work in Kern’s oil industry, one of the largest in the nation.

The city of Tehachapi’s efforts to attract industry have resulted in increased business for Airstreams. “We train 40 people each month,” Duff said.

Duff estimates that Airstreams is making a $1.2 million impact on the Tehachapi economy. Some of that economic impact is from students who come from throughout the U.S. and live in the city while attending classes. In addition to local motels and other housing, Airstreams owns four homes the company rents to students who need a place to live during their training.

“Students fly in from all over the U.S.,” Duff said, adding that students don’t just receive train-ing, they get jobs. He contended the company, which offers years-long, ongoing placement as-sistance, has “an 88 percent job placement rate.”

In addition to Airstreams, Paulette Rush of the Kern Economic Development Corp., said the Tehachapi High School has an engineer-ing and manufacturing academy -- “THEMA” (Tehachapi High Engineering and Manufactur-ing Academy) -- that trains students for careers in industry.

“My son just graduated from it,” said Rush, noting that the Kern Community College District also offers training for renewable energy careers.

The Kern County Regional Occupational Program based in Mojave works with local high schools, employers, and the county’s Career Service Center in Mojave to offer training for careers at area businesses and industries. The center works with employers to develop training tailored for their specific needs and often uses instructors from the business requesting training.

The East Kern Economic Alliance was formed to attract new jobs and help retain exist-ing industries in the region. The group works closely with the Kern Economic Development Corp. and the Greater Antelope Valley Eco-nomic Alliance to promote Eastern Kern as a good place to do business.

— Bill Deaver is chairman of the East Kern Economic Alliance.

Photo courtesy of Dianne Hardisty

De-Tect Inc. avian expert Adam Kelly stands in front of a screen showing bird activity around a wind park in Spain.


The right choice for good health

Kaiser Permanente is uniquely structured to give you everything you need–all together in one easy-to-use package. See how having the right partner can make all the difference...

Choosing your doctor

Making an appointment

During your visit

Getting other services

Visiting a specialist

Remembering your doctor’s instructions

Asking routine questions without a visit

Your experience... With some health plans...

We help walk you through the process of becoming a new member, including choosing a doctor who’s right for you. You can even view all our doctors’ profiles online.

Schedule or cancel routine appointments with your doctor - by phone, online, or from your mobile device.

Your doctor, backed by a secure, innovative electronic health record system, is up to speed and ready to take care of you.

At all our Kern County locations, your doctor, lab services, X-rays, and pharmacy are under the same roof, so you can save time and do more in one visit.

When you arrive, your specialist will have your health information right at his or her fingertips, making your care virtually seamless.

You get a printed summary report at the end of each visit. You can also view details of your visits online whenever you want, including most test results.

Email your doctor’s office, and get a reply normally within 48 hours.

Pick from a list of names, often based on nothing more than if he or she accepts your insurance.

Call. Get placed on hold. Call back. Seeing your doctor starts to seem like trying to win a radio contest.

Your doctor flips through a file full of papers, asking things you’ve already answered or can’t remember.

You drive all over town to take lab tests, get X-rays, or fill prescriptions. You’ve spent half your day in the car.

Show up with your fingers crossed that your primary care doctor faxed or mailed your records.

Take lots of notes during your visit, listen carefully and trust your memory later.

Call your doctor’s office. Leave a message. Hope you don’t miss the return phone call.

With Kaiser Permanente... *

Along with getting excellent care, as a Kaiser Permanente member, you have access to lots of prevent ive health resources like classes, wellness coaching, and more. (Some classes may require a fee.) To lea rn all about the many benefits of membership, visit kp.org/thrive or call 661-334-2005.

*These features are available when you receive care at Kaiser Permanente facilities.


Valley Republic Bank adds branchFor southwest Bakersfield businesses and

professional clients, neighborhood banking is now just around the corner. This summer, Valley Republic Bank opened the doors of a new branch in one of the southwest’s premier neighborhood shopping areas.

The 2,700-square-foot office will serve customers from Valley Republic Bank’s sec-ond location in the Grand Island Village Cen-ter, at the corner of Ming Avenue and Buena Vista Road. The bank’s main office is located at 5000 Cali-fornia Ave. The full-service branch office includes a drive-up window and is staffed with veteran employees.

“Its close proximity to our current customers’ homes and businesses made it a natural choice,” said Valley Republic Bank’s President and CEO Bruce Jay, who added that “providing our customers uncommon service with a local flavor in a most convenient, professional set-ting is what we do. This branch is one more example of that commitment.”

Valley Republic Bank was conceived in the years preceding one of the worst financial crises in American history. The bank’s found-ers applied for a new charter in December 2007. A few months later, many financial institutions and the national economy nearly collapsed.

The bank’s local board of directors, which is comprised of successful and well-respected Kern County business men and

women, persevered through these difficult times to get the new bank chartered. Valley Republic Bank is the last start-up bank to be approved in the western United States.

With a shared commitment to service and relationship-based banking, Valley Repub-lic opened its California Avenue branch in February 2009, with $25-million in capital. The bank has since flourished and the second quarter 2012 financials show record earn-

ings and total assets approaching $300-million.

“We stimulate the local economy by redeploying local deposits into loans for local busi-ness, which allows them to grow and create more jobs,” said Jay, who is quick to place the bank’s success in the hands of good tim-ing and strong leadership.

“Our expansion plans were based on a detailed and compre-hensive strategic plan,” said Jay,

noting that after a few years of record-setting growth, Valley Republic Bank’s board and management felt the opening of the second branch at Grand Island was needed.

Its financial strength recently earned Valley Republic Bank a spot on the MSN-Money.com list of “The 359 Safest Banks in the United States.” The bank joins just 15 other California banks that achieved a zero “Texas Ratio Score.” The score was initially developed to predict possible future bank failures based on a ratio related to “bad” loans. A score of zero means a bank has no “bad” loans. The bank was the only financial

institution located between Los Angeles and Sacramento to receive the recognition.

Eugene (Gene) Voiland, chairman of Val-ley Republic Bank’s board, credits the strong entrepreneurial spirit of the bank’s clients for its ongoing success.

“When one of our customers walks through our doors with a sound, well-prepared business plan, they know we can

help fund them in weeks, rather than months. Community banks represent roughly a third of the banking industry, yet we’re responsible for more than 60 percent of all loans to small businesses,” said Voiland, adding that he is a firm believer that this practice will fuel eco-nomic growth and recovery in Kern County.

— Kern Business Journal

Photo courtesy of the Valley Republic Bank

Bakersfield-based Valley Republic Bank has opened a branch in southwest Bakersfield, at the corner of Ming Avenue and Buena Vista Road.

Bruce Jay


Courthouse features energy-saving innovationsBy Steve McConnell and Matthew Somerton

From small towns to urban centers, the nation’s courts serve the pursuit of justice across the land. As architects, we believe fed-eral courthouses reflect societal values and are a vital part of the built environment.

This summer, we welcomed a new U.S. Courthouse to Bakersfield. Designed under the federal General Services Administration Design Excellence Program, the building provides Kern County with a modern justice facility that invites public access through a distinct portico and reflects civic values of quality and stewardship. The building also addresses energy conservation and is expected to achieve LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council.

The sustainability strategy developed for the courthouse marries modern technol-ogy and lessons from pre-modern “best practices” for buildings in hot climates. This high-tech/low-tech approach allows for public spaces and workspaces that maximize human comfort while dramatically reducing the amount of resources required to operate the building. In the end, this design approach enables the building to reduce energy con-sumption by 45 percent relative to a compa-rable new building.

The low-tech, or “passive,” performance aspects of the design arise from simple goals: stop solar heat gain from entering the build-ing to minimize mechanical cooling, provide ample daylight to reduce the need for electric lighting, and do all this through spaces and forms that elevate comfort and experience.

A key innovation in this effort is a pro-

gressive use of tilt-up concrete, a relatively low-tech construction method adapted and crafted through a collaborative design-build process. The articulated white concrete pro-vides a well-refined finish, a robust structural frame and deep recesses, protecting it from direct sunlight.

Furthermore, this construction method helped enable the project’s completion in half the typical time for such a project—just 30 months, instead of the usual 60 for typical federal courthouse projects.

High-tech solutions boost energy efficien-cy and provide comfortable interior environ-ments. For example, the courtroom is the first in the GSA’s portfolio to use 100 percent LED lighting, and the entire building is wired with daylight sensors that optimize light levels

and avoid unnecessary use of electric lights. Within office areas, the design team intro-duced active chilled beams, another first for a GSA courthouse, which circulates cold or hot water throughout the building to cool or warm air wherever needed.

In the tall lobby space, a radiant floor heating system is used in winter months, and a displacement ventilation system delivers cool air through low wall registers. Both of these energy-efficient systems are designed to provide conditioning only where useful, and avoid the common pitfall of trying to warm or cool all of the air in a tall space.

Finally, a rooftop solar hot water system provides 30 percent of the building’s demand, and a photovoltaic array of solar panels sup-plies 13 percent of the building’s electrical

needs. While new technologies enable great

leaps in energy efficiency, the use of passive design strategies in the new U.S. Court-house in Bakersfield is critical to achiev-ing significant energy conservation. The ultimate goal of this project is to contribute to the evolving American standard for civic landmarks, which is rapidly expanding to include measures of performance, value and conservation.

— Design partner Steve McConnell and project designer Matthew Somerton work at NBBJ, a global architecture and design firm with 10 offices around the world, including locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Photo courtesy of NBBJ

Lights from the new U.S. Courthouse in downtown Bakersfield reflect on the water of the city’s Central Park at Mill Creek.


Our services�e BEC provides resources of interest to grow your business. We offer a broad scope of fee-based services and assistance relating to:

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Business & Entrepreneurship Center

Not business as usual.

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demographic makeup. �e Business & Entrepreneurship Centercan help you with that and more.

What we doBuilding a bridge to private, public and non-profit organizations, the Business & Entrepreneurship Center taps into an abundance of resources and know-how already in place, thereby enhancing its client businesses’ long-term growth and viability. �e Kern BEC strives to the entrepreneurial spirit, businesses and entrepreneurship throughout California.

Bakersfield CollegeCerro Coso Community College

Porterville College

By Holly Culhane

In business, who you know won’t guar-antee success, but it does help. The same can be said about recruiting the best em-ployees to help make a business successful.

Often who a company’s employees know will make the best hires.

Although the U.S. economy’s recovery from the “great recession” continues to be sluggish, we have been helping an increas-ing number of Kern County business own-ers fill critical positions in their organiza-tions. Some of these positions were cut in

waves of layoffs that began in 2008 and con-tinued into 2009. But as a sign of increasing confidence in the local economy, a number of companies are recruiting applicants for brand new positions. It’s encourag-ing to see businesses

expand their workforces, and adding new products and services.

Recruitment requires a multi-faceted approach. With most companies, the search begins from within – through promoting existing employees or laterally transferring employees into new jobs that use under-uti-lized skills or allow for skill development.

External job applicants – workers who are not presently employed by the company – are recruited using a variety of strategies.

They include walk-ins, “career” postings on a company’s website, print advertisements, job search engines, job boards, job fairs, and even Facebook or LinkedIn postings. Job “aggregators,” such as Indeed.com, CareerBuilder and Monster, are playing an increasing role in recruitment.

One of the most effective and underuti-lized tools for recruiting good applicants, but one that often yields a higher hiring rate, is employee referrals. In a nutshell, a company asks its existing employees to urge qualified friends, relatives and professional acquaintances to apply for openings.

According to the 9th Annual Source of Hire Study by CareerXRoads, employee referrals accounted for 26.7 percent of ex-ternal hires in 2009 -- higher than any other external recruitment technique.

Besides being effective, employee referrals entice applicants with built-in recommendations, an insider’s knowledge of a company and its culture, and an initial buy-in to a company’s vision and mission. Candidates hired through employee referrals typically have the highest retention rates.

But effective employee referral pro-grams just don’t “happen.” They need organization, communication, incentives and goals.

Organization – Keep the referral process relatively simple. Use internal com-munications, such as emails and company websites, to advertise positions. Include job descriptions and application process informa-

tion. Announce job openings first to existing employees before advertising externally.

Communication – Announce the existence of an employee referral program to the entire workforce. Make every em-ployee part of the recruitment team. Have a procedure in place to acknowledge the referrals and keep the referring employee apprised of the hiring process. Regularly remind employees that they are encouraged to recommend qualified applicants for job openings.

Incentives – Many employee referral programs offer incentives, including cash bonuses if a referred applicant is hired. I recommend that a bonus be paid only after the new hire reaches a certain milestone. That milestone may be successful comple-tion of a 3- or 6-month introductory period, and will encourage employees to recom-mend only applicants who are likely to succeed in the workplace and benefit the company.

Goal – The goal should always be to recruit the best applicants so the best work-ers will be hired. A company’s existing employees can be vital resources for helping make that happen.

— Holly Culhane is president of the Bakersfield-based human resources con-sulting firm P.A.S. Associates and P.A.S. In-vestigations. She can be contacted through her website www.PASassociates.com and through the PAS Facebook page.

In the workplace

Add existing employees to recruitment team

Holly Culhane

Tejon Ranch outlet mall moves forward

Tejon Ranch Co. has signed a letter of intent to partner with The Rockefeller Group to develop an outlet center at the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 99, south of Bakersfield, the company said in a news release. Spring 2014 was listed as the center’s targeted opening date.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to expand our partnership with Tejon Ranch Company and to de-velop what we believe will become the region’s destination retail outlet cen-ter,” The Rockefeller Group’s president and CEO, Kevin R. Hackett, wrote in the release. The two companies have previously worked together to develop industrial property.

The outlet center is expected to serve 3.2 million people living in Bakersfield and the northwest Los Angeles County communities of Santa Clarita, Valencia, Castaic, Lancaster and Palmdale -- plus the millions of people who travel that section of I-5 every year.

The Rockefeller Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd., has developed nearly 40 mil-lion square feet of commercial space in the United States. Infrastructure work has already begun on the site, and that leasing will be handled by Philadelphia-based EWB Develop-ment, according to Tejon Ranch.

--Tejon Ranch Co.


Business professionals needed to mentor studentsBy Terri Hicks

The Kern Community College District’s Business & Entrepreneurship Center is seeking energy industry professionals to mentor young Bakersfield entrepreneurs.

Business & Entrepreneurship Center is partnering with the Energy and Utility Academy at Independence High School in Bakersfield to host a roundtable event in March featuring entrepreneurial and in-novative academy students.

The event will group students accord-ing to their energy focus—solar, wind, bio-mass, hydrothermal and other alternative and traditional energy sources. High school junior and senior teams will showcase their understanding of the energy industry by giving interactive presentations as if they were business owners seeking financial investors for an energy company.

The Business & Entrepreneurship Center is seeking 75 business professionals to hear student presentations and provide feedback on students’ “soft skills,” as well as their business plans. In this real-world learning experience, mentors will evaluate students’ knowledge of their business plans, communication, public speaking and more.

Programs such as the Independence High School Energy and Utility Academy provide opportunities for students to de-velop skills companies value because they are linked to job performance and career success. These keenly developed skills may mean the difference between who can do the job and who actually gets the job.

The center is seeking volunteers to help young entrepreneurs hone their skills in critical thinking, problem solving, collab-orative team work and work ethics. These

are skills employers want their employees to have so that these employees will make a strong first impression for their company.

Volunteers from all energy fields are welcome to participate, as are business pro-fessionals from associated industries, such as banking, oil and gas accounting, and the legal field. Although the roundtable event is months away, the time to volunteer is now.

The Business & Entrepreneurship Center is a network of community college professionals working to identify and meet California’s economic development needs. Specific attention is given to providing small business assistance and encouraging youth entrepreneurship.

Kern Community College District hosts the California Central Valley BEC, comprising 14 community colleges. BEC Central Valley targets businesses that have the potential to achieve significant in-creases in sales and investment, and boost regional economic wealth.

The KCCD-hosted BEC services target businesses in key growth industry sectors common to the region, including agricul-ture, energy, health services, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and logistics.

Young entrepreneurs are motivated to succeed when they realize business profes-sionals are interested in their ideas and want to help them improve. The expertise and experience of industry professionals will provide the linchpin for student learn-ing in the March event.

— Terri Hicks is the director of the Kern Community College District Busi-ness & Entrepreneurship Center. To volunteer to mentor young entrepreneurs call 661-336-5010.

Photo courtesy of Kern Community College District’s Business & Entrepreneurship Center

Independence High School seniors (from left to right) Wala Ahmed, Monica Morales and Taylor Rose present their wind energy business plan.

Photo courtesy of Kern Community College District’s Business & Entrepreneurship Center

Local business professionals (from left to right) Ray Scott of Price Disposal, Phithoun Lau of Chevron and Sal Moretti of the City of Bakersfield listen to student presentations


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Kern potential: Nation’s solar energy leaderBy Andy Atiyeh

California continues to be a leading solar market in the United States. An abundance of sunshine, combined with supportive solar policies, has created this ideal market.

The state’s Renewables Portfolio Stan-dard (RPS) is one of the most ambitious re-newable energy standards in the country. The RPS requires retail sellers of electricity, such as Southern California Edison (SCE) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), to procure 33 percent of their retail sales per year from eligible renewable sources by 2020.

Power from solar technologies, such as photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants, is a key component of the renewables mix, and California has more installed solar energy than the next six states combined. More than $700 million was spent on solar photovoltaic installations in California in the first quarter of 2012. This figure represents 35 percent of the nationwide expenditures in solar photovoltaic installations over the same time period.

Solar power plants can be developed in a way that balances environmental protection with energy demands. The National Renew-able Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates the potential of specific renewable electric-ity generation technologies in the U.S. The laboratory found that solar has the greatest potential capacity of all renewables.

A utility-scale solar power plant can use either photovoltaic (PV) or concentrating so-lar power (CSP) technologies. PV plants rely on solar cells, also called PV cells, to convert sunlight directly into electricity. The cells are arranged on panels, which are combined

together to create one system that is called a solar array. For large electric utility or indus-trial applications, hundreds of solar arrays are interconnected to form a large utility-scale PV system. CSP plants are larger and

use mirrors or lenses to concentrate sunlight, creating temperatures high enough to drive traditional steam turbines that create hun-dreds of megawatts of electricity.

The economics of solar power are

improving. The cost of solar plants has dropped dramatically as manufacturing has increased and technology has improved in-crementally with new materials. Solar panel

Photo courtesy of the Kern County Planning Department

Panels present a geometric design in the GlassPoint Solar project near McKittrick. GlassPoint Solar is a provider of solar steam generators for enhanced oil recovery.

Continued on page 27


Your heart will be warmed when you walk along the commemorative brick path being created at Houchin Community Blood Bank’s new consolidated complex and blood drawing site set to open in early 2013.

Personalized bricks and tiles will form the commemorative path, which will accent the beautiful landscaping and water fountains in the new facility on Buena Vista Road where lifesaving blood and blood products will be collected, processed and distributed.

Donors making gifts between $150 and $5,000 can choose among various sizes of personalized bricks and wall tiles. They can be engraved as special memorial tributes, or to honor those still living. Bricks and tiles also make an ideal gift for special occasions such as anniversaries, weddings or birthdays.

To order a brick or tile, or to learn how your 100% tax-deductible gift will be permanently incorporated into the more public areas of Houchin’s new facility, call 323-4222 or go to www.hcbb.com for details.

Your hbrick pconso

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DonorvariouengravBricksannive

To order a brick or tile, or to into the more public areas o

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costs dropped 50 percent in 2011 and so far another 20 percent in 2012. Installation costs have come down, as well, with more experi-enced and trained installers.

This has largely been due to long-term extension of the solar investment tax credit (ITC), a 30 percent tax credit for solar sys-tems installed prior to Dec. 31, 2016, which encourages private sector investment in solar manufacturing and solar project construc-tion. The ITC, declining solar technology costs, and the excellent solar resource in California combine to make the state an excellent place for solar.

Kern County: a leader To meet California’s RPS goals, the

Public Utilities Commission authorized Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) to execute solar power purchase agreements with independent power producers (IPP). In total, these programs will yield thousands of megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity in California over the next five years from PV plants alone.

Kern County has a long history of being a critical contributor to the nation’s energy demands. Kern is in a distinct position to continue that leadership and greatly con-tribute to the state’s clean energy goals, particularly as a source for solar energy. It is uniquely located within both the PG&E and SCE service areas, and is part of each com-pany’s utility’s transmission systems. Both utilities can access and benefit from procur-ing solar power generated in Kern County.

Moreover, geographic features make Kern County ideal for solar power production. The

county has among the highest solar radiation levels in the United States Additionally it has a high availability of flat land necessary for rows of solar panels. Kern also has a high commitment to renewable power. The Kern County Board of Supervisors has adopted an aggressive renewable energy goal of having 10,000 MW in production by 2015. This translates into thousands of construction and operational jobs, and billions of dollars of new investment in the county. These projects will generate enough power for over 7 million people.

Kern County has taken steps to realize the full economic benefit potential of solar projects. It has an efficient project approval process. Kern’s Planning Department has

permitted more solar and wind projects than any other jurisdiction in the country. To date, eight utility-scale PV solar projects have been approved, with 35 PV projects now in the county permitting process. Also supporting the industry is the Kern Community College District, which has established training classes to prepare a workforce for jobs in clean energy.

Solar projects face the same challenges in Kern that they do anywhere else in the coun-try. The biggest challenge is the availability of sufficient transmission resources to transport the power produced by the solar projects to where it might be needed. Kern has encour-aged the development of additional transmis-sion infrastructure to eliminate this potential constraint. SCE is currently constructing a

high voltage transmission line to connect to renewable power projects being developed in the county. In addition, another brand new high voltage transmission line, the AV Clear-view line, is currently under development to access thousands of megawatts of renewable power to be generated in the Kern County.

Clearly, solar energy has a natural place in Kern County and the county is poised to continue to lead the nation as a prime source of solar generated power.

— Andy Atiyeh is president and prin-cipal of A2 Consulting, which works on a variety of U.S. and international renewable power and transmission development and acquisition projects. (www.a2ccorp.com)

Photo courtesy of the Kern County Planning Department

Wasco-based Primex Farms installed a solar panel system on its shipping and manufacturing hub. Primex specializes in nuts and dried fruit.



By H.R.E. Carter

A new bike shop in town is pedaling more than just your average 10-speed. In the landscape of hybrid and electric cars, and people turning to cycling as a green solution to everyday commuting, a newly designed solar powered bicycle has entered the Ba-kersfield scene. It’s known as Roadrunner.

Similar to what you might see cruising along the beach paths in Pismo or Huntington, the Roadrunner two- and four-person bikes are built on a pedal-powered, four-wheeled chassis. But there is no need for pedal power when the sun is shining, which conveniently is virtually everyday in Kern County.

The sporty bike has a canopy roof protect-ing its passengers from the sun, while captur-ing the energy of the sun in its integrated solar

panel. The bike can be propelled by pedal only, pedal and electric motor combination, or set on the electric motor cruise option. The Roadrunner motor is a 1,000 Watt rear-wheel-mounted electric hub motor, which is powered by the vehicle’s onboard battery pack.

On a sunny day, the solar panel can charge a completely dead battery in six hours or less. When there is no sun, or for users who store the Roadrunner in the garage, the bike can be plugged into a standard 110V AC outlet. Even braking recharges the battery through regenerative braking technology. But the best part of all is that there are absolutely no stops at the gas station and absolutely no emissions. For those wishing to be complete-ly green, if the solar-charging option is used, Roadrunner is a zero fossil fuel consumption transportation option.

Developers of the Roadrunner solar bike hope to provide families a unique vehicle for local transportation. Its primary use will be for family travel to and from nearby grocery stores or parks, or as a commuter vehicle to work and school.

Families can make these local trips fun, efficient and 100 percent emissions-free, and avoid paying high prices at the pump. But its creators also envision its use in active senior communities, to provide outdoor fun for the handicapped, at job sites, and in corporate and university campus environments.

This creative concept was designed and is being built right here in Bakersfield. The Roadrunner design was created in late 2010 from a series of conversations between WZI Inc. President Mary Jane Wilson and Vice President and engineer Jesse Frederick. The

result was the first Roadrunner being built, a new bike shop being opened on Oak Street at the Kern River Parkway, and a new company, Imaginarium Inc., being formed.

While Frederick credits the whole WZI family of engineers and technicians for bringing Roadrunner to life, the talents of Matt Eubanks, George Magarrell and Rich-ard Wilson have been critical in the transition from the protocol product, a two-seat model, to production Model 1, which was the four-person model.

The Roadrunner can be test driven at Riverbend Bikes, Boards and Bites at 2437 Oak St., where the solar bikes also are being sold and produced.

— Freelance writer H.R.E. Carter has written this article for WZI Inc.

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Bakersfield CollegeCerro Coso Community College

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This interactive workshop examines Export Control Reform regulatory requirements; how to manage export compliance, exposure, liability and risk; and offers best approaches and proven solutions for export compliance challenges and opportunities faced by U.S. businesses. Cost $195 per person.

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Carpool Bring your lunch

Ride your bike

Walk to lunch

Link your trips

Make One Change,On One Day,Every Week.

LET’S CLEAR THE AIR.

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New way to travel: Solar powered bike

Photo courtesy Roadrunner Solar Bikes

George Magarrell (standing, far right photo) and Matt Renois work on the

disk breaking system for a Roadrunner at Riverbend Bikes,

Boards and Bites.

Photo courtesy WZI, Inc.

Roadrunner RR4 four-passenger solar bike.


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Cutting-edge air cleanup ideas rewarded

By Janelle Schneider

A project to turn dairy waste into elec-tricity in Kern County, with greatly reduced pollution-forming emissions, and a ro-botic agricultural spray rig are just two new technologies that the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is funding through a grant program that can assist Kern County businesses with emission-reduction technol-ogy research and development.

The Technology Assistance Program, adopted in 2010 by the district’s governing board, is a unique grant program created to encourage innovation and development of new emission-reduction technologies throughout the valley in order to accelerate the air basin’s progress toward clean air.

Since the TAP program’s adoption, the district has awarded $2.6 million for two dozen projects during two rounds of fund-ing. Two recently funded projects are being demonstrated in Kern County:• A California Bioenergy project at ABEC

Bidart Stockdale LLC in Bakersfield to convert dairy waste into electricity, with lower levels of nitrogen oxides, at a significant cost savings, compared to zero-emission options currently being tested.

• An electric-powered, agricultural spray rig with robotic controls from the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, which will be demonstrated by Buttonwillow Warehouse Co. in Buttonwillow.

A new round of “request for propos-als” has opened, kicking off the process for considering new innovations and awarding $4 million in funding.

“This program is a valuable tool to stimu-late innovation that will directly improve the valley’s air quality and also give a boost to the valley’s economy,” said Seyed Sadredin, the district’s executive director and air pollu-tion control officer.

Creativity, innovation and expertise flourish in the valley. But with its historic economic challenges, exacerbated by a pro-tracted recession, ready funding to stimulate new technology has been hard to come by. The air district, with a demonstrated track record of out-of-the-box strategies to real-ize emission reductions in areas where no regulatory authority exists, has expanded that pioneering approach to the environmental R&D sector, encouraging technological in-novation to address some of the valley’s most vexing air-quality challenges.

“We regularly receive inquiries about

new ideas and concepts for groundbreak-ing technologies that will help clean our air,” Sadredin said. “This grant program is a response to that.”

For each funding cycle, the district solicits proposals for projects in one of three focus areas:• Renewable Energy - projects that overcome

the barriers to utilizing renewable energy, such as remote solar energy/storage, vehicle-to-grid, wind energy, or peak shav-ing systems.

• Waste Solutions - waste systems or technol-ogies to minimize or eliminate emissions from existing waste management systems and processes, including waste-to-fuel systems (such as dairy digesters and other bio-fuel applications).

• Mobile Sources - retrofit technologies for reducing particulate and/or NOx emissions from heavy-duty trucks, clean alternative fuels, vehicle hybridization, and efficiency improvements to on-road or off-road equipment.

Projects are scored in several weighted categories, which include relevance to attain-ment plans, co-benefits, technology cost-effectiveness, funding requested and leverag-ing, and project readiness. Submissions are then competitively evaluated and finalists are presented to the governing board for approval.

The initial round of funding in 2010 was awarded to six projects: a dairy biogas sys-tem; a lean NOx catalyst system for off-road construction engines; a hybrid conversion wheel loader; hydraulic hybrid drive train retrofits; a new natural gas refuse truck; a solar-powered irrigation pump system; and an ultra-low NOx system capable of accept-ing low-quality gas.

In the next round, 12 projects were funded, with grants ranging from $28,000 to $350,000.

“We are continuing to boost the funding for this important program,” Sadredin said. “The best ideas come from the people and organizations that use the technology. We encourage all Kern County businesses with a stake in this type of R&D to come forward and get involved in TAP.”

For more information about TAP grants, visit www.valleyair.org/grants or call the grants department at 559-230-6000.

— Janelle Schneider is an air quality

public information representative with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

Drawing courtesy of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

A robotic electric-powered agricultural spray rig will be demonstrated by the Buttonwillow Warehouse Co.



Hospital to have both a Nationally Certified Stroke Center, along with our Nationally Accredited Chest Pain Center under the same roof.

Hospital-based 64-slice CT scanner.

Hospital to perform open-heart surgery.

Nationally Certified, hospital-based Diabetes Education.

Hospital-based Free Mobile Immunizations Program.

Full-treatment Grossman Burn Center.

Gold Standard Bariatrics Program.

And coming soon, The AIS Cancer Center at SJCH, Kern County’s first comprehensive, hospital-based cancer facility.

San Joaquin Community Hospital knows “firsts.”

The AIS Cancer Center at SJCH

Documents

Kern Business Journal October/November 2012