Daylighting pathways to good jobs in California's solar industry
Name
1193321567-MIT.pdf
Size
2.3 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
63f60a4b89bdfd4ba033a6334ed4b271
Author(s)
Bazaj, Neha.
Advisor(s)
Karilyn Crockett.
Date Issued
2020
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This paper identifies the opportunities for, and challenges to, creating good quality jobs for socioeconomically disadvantaged workers through mid-size solar photovoltaic projects in California. Recent policy proposals in the United States suggest that clean energy investments can address both climate change and economic inequality, but existing research calls those claims into question. This paper elaborates on the history of union organizing, project labor agreements and prevailing wage law in the solar photovoltaic industry in California, providing some insight into the opportunities for using these tools to shape job quality in the mid-size solar photovoltaic sector. In combination with key informant interviews, this will enable us to address the question: under what conditions might mid-size solar photovoltaic projects enable good jobs? My analysis suggests that union organizing, project labor agreements and prevailing wage laws are likely to play a smaller role in mid-size projects than they have in utility-scale projects, and thus additional tools are necessary to ensure that mid-size solar photovoltaic projects create good quality jobs for those that need them the most. Policymakers should consider how to attach workforce investment requirements and labor standards to any regulatory incentives for mid-size projects.
Description
Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, May, 2020
Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 53-56).
Subjects
Urban Studies and Planning.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.
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