WASHINGTON - The push to clean up the world's energy sector to fight climate change has always presented an existential threat to oil and gas producing regions like Texas.
But there is a new train of thought that the losses suffered by the state's oil producers might be to some degree mitigated should Texas manage to attract the burgeoning electric vehicle manufacturing industry.
Already Tesla is constructing a gigafactory outside Austin, to produce not only electric cars but pickup trucks and batteries. The tech company is planning on employing 5,000 workers once the factory is up an running next year. And there could be plenty more jobs coming, according to a new report from the trade group Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance.
The alliance claims there are already more than 7,000 Texans employed in the electric vehicle sector, with that number projected to climb to 13,000 by 2024. Driving that growth is an estimated 30,000 Texans working in industries with skill sets needed for the electric vehicle industry.
“Texas has a significant opportunity to capitalize on a growing electric transportation sector to drive economic recovery, securing thousands of well-paying jobs for Texans,” said Suzanne Bertin, managing director at TAEBA.
But Texas would need to attract a lot of electric vehicle manufacturing jobs if it is to come close to matching the state's oil and gas industry.
Even after massive layoffs this year due to low oil prices, there are close to 150,000 oil and gas workers in Texas, according to the the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.
And there is plenty of competition to attract electric vehicle manufacturers, not only in the United States but around the globe.
A collective of electric vehicle companies that includes Amazon, DHL and Uber put out a release Monday outlining what governments should do it they are to attract the electric vehicle industry to their region, including installing more charging stations and establishing support from power regulators.
“Businesses need supportive policies at all levels of government to ensure the EV transition takes hold at the scale and speed necessary to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis," said Alli Gold Roberts, director of state policy at Ceres, the non profit leading the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance.
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December 15, 2020 at 10:10PM
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