Governor Signs Executive Order to Create Renewable Energy and Climate-Ready Workforce

Sept. 23 — The transition to clean energy sources and new infrastructure investments by state and federal governments have led to rising construction costs and a strained workforce, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in an executive order issued Monday.

These factors, along with a push toward “climate-smart” construction, require a new workforce focused on growing the clean energy sector and strengthening infrastructure against the effects of climate change, the governor said.

His order calls for nearly a dozen agencies to jointly create a workforce development and training plan, with education programs even for elementary and secondary students on career opportunities.

By 2026, Grisham promised, the state will have 2,000 additional workers trained in “climate-friendly” occupations.

“Communities devastated by natural disasters wisely demand that we manage forests sustainably, build flood-resistant bridges, and strengthen our telecommunications infrastructure against the threat of wildfire,” the governor said in a statement about the order. “In short, they demand climate-resilient infrastructure.”

Department of Workforce Solutions Cabinet Secretary Sarita Nair wrote in an email Monday that the state’s infrastructure needs to be upgraded to “better withstand extreme heat, drought and flooding.”

As of late 2022, the state had 12,686 clean energy jobs, and in recent years several major solar companies have announced plans to build in the state, including Maxeon in 2023 and Ebon Solar in August.

There is currently no definition of “climate-responsive jobs” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nair wrote in an email. But they could include everything from wildland firefighters and forest restoration experts to electric vehicle charging station installers and engineers with sustainability training.

Ladona Clayton, executive director of the Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy, said the staff increase was the organization’s top recommendation to the New Mexico Water Policy and Infrastructure Task Force to take control of a growing water supply and infrastructure problem.

“The job is so huge now, with the water crisis, that we have to hire the right people,” Clayton said, adding that the state should do “whatever it takes” to attract talent.

“The most important workforce right now is, without a doubt, the water workforce,” Clayton said. “That’s the workforce that needs to keep the state going.”

The governor’s decision comes as a statewide workforce plan highlighted construction, energy transition and climate resilience as priority sectors for the coming years.

Nair said Workforce Solutions partners with local workforce development councils and builds relationships with tribes and prison reentry programs to ensure “broad access” to job development programs.

“In addition, several related federal grant programs focus on equitable access to clean energy infrastructure and jobs, which would include training for workers displaced by the transition from fossil fuel jobs,” Nair said.

The 2022 closure of the San Juan Generating Station, demolished earlier this year, resulted in the loss of 450 jobs in Farmington, many of them held by members of the Navajo Nation.

A 2020 study on clean energy workforce development identified the post-pandemic era as a time of opportunity in the renewable energy sector. But it warns of potential pitfalls.

“It is far from certain that these jobs will replace those lost in the transition away from fossil fuels or that they will be filled equitably by New Mexicans from diverse communities and backgrounds,” the report said. “Lessons from other states indicate that the clean energy sector lacks diversity … and is unlikely to replace all fossil fuel jobs and incomes unless deliberate policy choices are made to open training opportunities to all New Mexico communities.”

Sen. Pat Woods, a Republican from Broadview, noted that much of the recent infrastructure funding has come from oil and gas revenues, resulting in “historic investments.”

“I am pleased that the governor is putting his agencies to work and encouraging them to do their jobs, preparing and encouraging the next generation of New Mexico workers,” Woods said in a statement. “I am hopeful that these programs and funding will truly benefit New Mexico workers and provide lasting and needed improvements to our state’s infrastructure.”

House Speaker Javier Martínez, a Democrat from Albuquerque, said in a statement that the transition to clean energy “will depend on our ability to ensure that we leave no New Mexican behind – that means centering the needs of impacted communities and energy workers in our climate policies.”

He added that the Legislature “recently committed billions to infrastructure projects and made our largest investments ever in workforce development. We welcome any tools that will help us build a more sustainable, resilient and equitable future for our state.”