CA Legislature Greenlights McNerney’s Bill to Create More Clean Energy Jobs
The California Legislature has approved Sen. McNerney’s SB 787, which is designed to create more clean energy jobs in the state.
Under SB 787, state agencies, labor unions, environmental organizations, and clean energy industries will coordinate supply chain development for three key sectors: batteries, offshore wind, and building-decarbonization technologies.
“The Trump administration is denying climate change and torpedoing clean energy projects nationwide. California can step up and continue to grow its global leadership in the fight against climate change,” said Sen. McNerney, D-Pleasanton. “SB 787 will help California meet our clean energy goals while also creating family-supporting manufacturing jobs, accelerating the deployment of affordable clean energy, and advancing economic development goals across every region of the state.”
The state Senate early today approved SB 787 on a 29-8 vote, after the state Assembly voted 53-9 in favor of the bill on Friday evening. SB 787 now goes to the governor’s desk for consideration. If signed into law, SB 787 would take effect March 1, 2027. The legislation is sponsored by the United Auto Workers (UAW).
“UAW is committed to an equitable vision for decarbonizing California’s economy. Part of that vision is growing good union manufacturing jobs in the industries of the future, while accelerating clean energy deployment and bringing down the price of energy for working class Californians,” said Mike Miller, director of UAW Region 6, which represents 100,000 members across various industries in California. “With SB 787, we’ve sponsored a bill championed by Senator McNerney that will go a long way towards reaching these critical goals in an affordable manner. We’re proud to be joined by a broad coalition of unions, environmentalists, businesses, community groups, counties, utilities, and other organizations who have linked arms in supporting this commonsense measure.”
California has established ambitious goals for building a green economy that accelerates the deployment of affordable clean energy and provides quality jobs. However, the state lacks a comprehensive approach to building the clean energy supply chains and workforce needed to achieve its goals.
If combined with strong planning and implementation policies, these clean energy goals could also support strong economic growth and quality jobs across the state. According to the CEC’s SB 525 Offshore Wind Strategic Plan, California has the potential to reach 11,280 supply chain jobs by 2045 for offshore wind alone. The state’s GDP could grow upwards of $5 billion.
SB 787 formalizes partnerships between state agencies, labor, environmental organizations, and clean energy industries to coordinate supply chain development for of batteries, including electric vehicle and grid-scale batteries, along with building decarbonization technologies and offshore wind.
Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and his 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.
