Are California’s green jobs going out of state?

Proponents of California’s laws and regulations to fight global warming say the effort will create new green jobs in the state.

But at this week’s Jobs & Economy Town Hall Meeting in Brea, Irvine relocation expert Joseph Vranich expressed his doubts that those jobs will stay here. The event was  sponsored by state Sen. Bob Huff.

Vranich has developed a reputation for tracking companies leaving California and taking their jobs with them. His list is up to 140 companies that have expanded elsewhere or moved out completely.

Within the green jobs sector, Vranich notes:

Amonix in Seal Beach plans to build $20 million factory and create 280 jobs near Las Vegas. This is part of $9.5 million in federal stimulus money the company is getting that will also create 156 jobs in Arizona. [Former vice president, Al Gore is listed as a partner.]

MiaSolé of Silicon Valley is planning one of the largest solar factories in Georgia along with 1,000 jobs.
“I could tell similar stories about Solaicx, SolarWorld, Schott Solar, Barefoot Motors, CalStar Products and Mariah Power. Most of these “green” companies are financing their departures from California, in part, with federal tax credits designed to create jobs,” Vranich said.
Here’s what Vranich’s list reports on these companies:

Solaicx: A green energy manufacturer in the Silicon Valley received $18.2 million in federal tax credits and earlier this year said it will expand its manufacturing plant in Portland, Ore.
SolarWorld, a maker of solar technology founded in Camarillo, consolidated manufacturing in Oregon after that state offered property tax abatement and business energy tax credits. The company will employ about 1,000 in Oregon by 2011.

Schott Solar: will close its sales and customer service office in Roseville and relocate the office to Albuquerque, N.M.

Barefoot Motors: a small “green” manufacturer moved from Sonoma to Ashland, Ore.

CalStar Products Inc.:  the Newark (Bay Area) company received $2.44 million in federal clean energy tax credits in January, and said it plans expansion in the Mississippi Valley and East Coast. In late 2009 CalStar opened a plant in Caledonia, Wisc.

Mariah Power: manufacturer of small wind turbines, moved from California to Nevada and in 2009 teamed up with another company to begin production in Manistee, Mich.

Source: Orange County Register
May 11, 2010

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