Marcos Rodriguez and Rachel McLaughlin – The Kern Community College District made Kern County proud by bringing home a prestigious E+E Leader Award on April 1. The award, which honors global energy trailblazers, recognizes our leadership in developing an innovative energy portfolio that includes on-site solar energy, battery storage, EV chargers and a microgrid, which allows district facilities to run independently from the main electrical grid in an emergency or power outage.
KCCD undertook this project to save money on energy costs and redirect the savings to student educational programs. In partnership with renewable energy company ForeFront Power, the district will save $8 million over 20 years, provide cutting-edge STEM education for students, and create local jobs.
KCCD’s new 4.6 MW energy portfolio extends across 24,800 square miles and powers daily operations for more than 30,000 community college students. Through its partnership with ForeFront Power, KCCD paid nothing up front to develop this massive energy project. Moreover, the district secured a low, fixed rate for electricity that will protect it from utility rate increases for decades. So at no cost to the community, all county residents will see a long-term, net financial gain in the form of more affordable education, more local jobs and energy security.
The KCCD project terms were made possible in part by federal tax credits for on-site solar generation and energy storage. Unfortunately, those tax credits are now at risk of being revoked by Congress, despite their proven ability to strengthen local economies like ours. We thank Bakersfield’s own Rep. Vince Fong for his longtime support for local energy production, including these tax credits, and we call on Fong’s colleagues in Congress to join him in maintaining this support for American energy.
KCCD’s energy plan is a case study of how federal, state and local cooperation builds prosperity in American communities. KCCD is geographically one of the largest community college districts in the United States. It provides affordable education and career pathways to tens of thousands of community college students, as well as family-supporting jobs. These are critical services for Kern County, where the poverty rate is 52% higher than the national average and many people commute long distances for school and work.
The district’s primary motivation in developing its new energy portfolio was to reduce energy costs and plow the savings directly into educational programs for students. But there were additional incentives: the local jobs created, and the long-term energy security and resilience provided by the microgrid.
A surprising additional benefit was the opportunity to use the new on-site energy assets to create hands-on learning opportunities for students. ForeFront Power funded a new renewable energy curriculum based on the solar arrays on the Bakersfield College campus. This included a collaboration with Strategic Energy Innovations to fund student research fellowships with the California National Renewable Laboratory, an energy hub developed with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Consequently, KCCD’s new energy portfolio is not only part of the district’s longstanding mission to improve local quality of life; it is also a testament to Kern County’s continued leadership in American energy production. For decades the county has been the largest oil producer in California, and the Kern River Oil Field is the fifth largest in the nation. In fact, the oil field sits directly across the street from KCCD’s new solar energy, battery storage and EV charging facilities at Bakersfield College.
Kern County has always been an energy pioneer, demonstrating to the nation how to produce home-grown American energy, reinvigorate our job market, lower costs for consumers, and provide quality education for children and adults alike. We call on our leaders at the local, state and federal levels to help maintain this winning formula for American energy dominance.
Marcos Rodriguez is executive director of facilities and operations at Bakersfield College, and Rachel McLaughlin is chief commercial officer at ForeFront Power.
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