8minutenergy Renewables and IBEW 428 to Create Jobs for Homeboy Industries in Solar in Kern County

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8minutenergy is working closely with the IBEW and Homeboy Industries to bring jobs and renewable solar energy to California. Our solar farms will create 500 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs during construction.- Tom Buttgenbach, president, 8minutenergy

Los Angeles, Folsom, & Kern County, CA (PRWEB) June 23, 2014

8minutenergy Renewables, LLC, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 428, have teamed up to create jobs in Kern County, Calif. for graduates of Homeboy Industries' solar panel installation training and certification program. Homeboy Industries serves formerly high-risk, gang-involved men and women with a continuum of free services and programs, and operates seven job-training sites. Based in Los Angeles, Calif., 8minutenergy is the nation's leading independent solar PV developer with 400MW in Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and over 20 projects totaling 1,000MW under development.

Graduates of Homeboy Industries' solar program will be hired as IBEW electrical trainees at 8minutenergy's solar projects in Kern County, including the 90MW Redwood Solar Farm project and the 150MW Springbok Solar Farm. 8minutenery recently closed on $30 million in equity financing with Macquarie Capital for the Redwood solar project, and construction is slated to being in late 2014. The Homeboy Industries graduates hired as trainees will gain the skills necessary to enter into a middle-class career in the electrical trades, including family healthcare and pension retirement contributions – many for the first time in their lives.

"8minutenergy is proud to provide career opportunities to Homeboy Industries' solar program graduates," said Tom Buttgenbach, president of 8minutenergy Renewables. "The Redwood and Springbok solar farms will create over 500 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs in Kern County during construction. We appreciate the opportunity to work closely with the IBEW and Homeboy Industries to bring jobs and cost-competitive renewable solar energy projects to California."

"It can be challenging to identify stable long-term job opportunities for trainees in our solar program," said Father Gregory "Greg" Joseph Boyle, founder and director of Homeboy Industries. "8minutenergy Renewables and IBEW are to be commended for their support of our program. We look forward to collaborating with 8minutenergy and the IBEW to place our graduates in careers in solar."

“We have worked closely with 8minutenergy throughout the process of planning workforce needs for the upcoming construction phases for Redwood and Springbok solar farms," said Jim Elrod, Business Manager/Financial Secretary, IBEW Local 428, which has been serving Kern County since 1903, and currently represents nearly 600 Electrical Workers. "8minutenergy’s projects will create hundreds of good jobs for Kern County residents, and providing Homeboy Industries solar program graduates with jobs will complement the many other community outreach programs we support to get folks back to work. ”

"The Redwood Solar Farm will be the second solar project we've developed for which Homeboy Industries graduates will be hired," said Martin Hermann, chief executive officer of 8minutenergy Renewables. "We applaud IBEW and Homeboy Industries for their commitment to training and employing people in Southern California's growing solar industry."

About IBEW Local 428
IBEW Local 428 has been serving Kern County Since 1903. IBEW electricians work in a wide variety of fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government. The IBEW has members in both the United States and Canada and stands out among the American unions in the AFL-CIO because it is among the largest and has members in so many skilled occupations. For more information on IBEW Local Union 428, please visit http://www.ibew428.org, call (661) 323-2979 or send email to mail(at)ibew428(dot)org.

About Homeboy Industries
Homeboy Industries serves high-risk, formerly gang-involved men and women with a continuum of free services and programs, and operates seven social enterprises that serve as job-training sites. Homeboy Industries is located at 130 W. Bruno Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012. For more information please call (323) 526-1254, send email to info(at)homeboyindustries(dot)org or visit http://www.homeboyindustries.org.

About 8minutenergy Renewables, LLC
8minutenergy develops, finances, engineers, constructs, holds, operates and maintains solar projects. To date, 8minutenergy has closed over $1 billion in solar Power Purchase Agreements; been awarded 400MW in PPAs; secured close to 1,000MW in General Interconnection Agreements (GIA); obtained Conditional Use Permits (CUP) for 8,500 acres; and has 15,000 acres under contract. Most recently, 8minutenergy successfully concluded the development of a 260MW solar plant in Imperial Valley, Calif. - Mount Signal Solar - which is now under construction. It represents the first of three phases of an approximately 800MW-dc (600MW-ac) planned solar PV power project - currently the largest in the world.

8minutenergy's proprietary transmission, land and economic analysis process and tools helps select optimal power plant sites for accelerated permitting with counties and utilities. All 8minutenergy solar projects are located on disturbed, low-value farm land. 8minutenergy strives to ensure that its solar power projects provide low cost, clean renewable energy from the sun with low environmental impacts, particularly when compared with public lands projects on pristine desert wildlands. 8minutenergy has offices in Folsom, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and El Centro, California. For more information, please call (916) 608-9060, send email to info(at)8minutenergy(dot)com or visit http://www.8minutenergy.com.

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