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SolarCity outlines Bayview training, hiring and scholarship commitments; committee to continue item
Summary
SolarCity told the Rules Committee it will pledge hiring, paid internships for Bayview residents, scholarships for City College and facility contributions for a Bayview training center; the committee continued the item to the call of the chair to finalize contracting details.
At a continuation of a previous hearing, Peter Rive, chief operations officer at SolarCity, described a four-part proposal to fulfill the company’s earlier promise to the community: prioritizing hiring from designated workforce-development programs, providing paid internships, offering scholarships for City College of San Francisco (CCSF), and contributing a training facility.
Rive said SolarCity will "commit to 50% of its labor hours" on GoSolar SF-subsidized systems coming from designated workforce-development hires, and that the company will provide "three month full time paid internships to two residents of the Bayview Hunters Point community for the next 18 months." He described scholarships for CCSF and "major facility contributions" intended to create a strong local renewable-energy training facility.
Barbara Hale, assistant general manager for power at the Public Utilities Commission, said the program administrator finds the proposed changes "very manageable" and supports continued work toward a written, contractual commitment. Guillermo Rodriguez, director of CityBuild (Office of Economic and Workforce Development), said his office will monitor hiring compliance through certified payroll and on-site checks and report back to the solar task force and PUC stakeholders.
Community leaders — including Joshua Arce of Bright Line Defense Project and representatives from Young Community Developers — praised SolarCity’s outreach and asked that local training providers be included as lead agencies to shepherd candidates into training and employment. Public commenters also urged SolarCity to follow up on prior installations reported to be nonoperational at city schools.
Supervisor Chris Daley requested the committee keep the item open to the call of the chair so the City and partners can finalize a binding agreement and related legislation; the committee agreed to continue the item to the call of the chair.
