Green energy workers conduct solar panel demonstration in Las Vegas

Luis Cejudo is a utility worker who’s lived in Las Vegas for many years. As a father of two, he knows well the economic demands of raising kids.  That’s why he is proud of the good-paying job he holds with SolUp, a company that installs solar panels in Las Vegas.

Cejudo and a co-worker, Omar Cejudo, recently performed a demonstration of their daily work with SolUp, in the southwest part of town to show what it takes to work in his field. 

“We installed three panels [during the demonstration], the same way that we do a regular house,” said Cejudo. “This type of roof is called the shingle roof.”

Cejudo spoke about his job with passion as he held on to his safety gear with both hands; he talked about how grateful he feels to be earning the best salary he’s ever had. 

“We get paid pretty good, compared to all the other jobs that I’ve had. This one has been the one that pays best,” Cejudo said. “I have kids, so I spend it on them. I can take them on vacations.”

When asked about safety and the danger of working on roofs, Cejudo said, “It’s a little dangerous if you’re scared of heights, but I’m not; I’ve been doing it for six years. You get used to it. You enjoy it. I love it. I love it.”

Cejudo and many other workers like him in Nevada and across the country are benefitting from the money trickling down from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which is set to deliver more than 15,000 jobs and $12 billion in investments locally.

The law’s tax credits and incentives are creating a clean energy jobs boom, creating jobs and economic benefits that are making their way to  low-income communities in Nevada. 

“While lowering costs for families, investing in disadvantaged communities and reducing climate pollution across the state of Nevada, I said this at the very beginning, and I’d love to say this again, that the Made in America clean energy boom is happening right here in Nevada, and it’s happening now,” said Tiffany Hsieh of Climate Power.

SolUp’s Chief Operating Officer, Steven Hamile, was present at the Oct. 31 demonstration and praised the Biden administration’s policies. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act has had a substantially positive impact and with the Biden administration’s forward thinking philosophies and processes in the green energy and sustainable space, we think that this industry is poised to take off,” he said.

All the speakers present at the event assured that this is only the beginning—not only for protecting our planet, but simultaneously creating some of the top-paying jobs in Nevada and across the nation. Over 40,000 clean energy jobs are projected to be created in the state over the next decade.

Nevada has long been a leader in solar manufacturing and is now becoming a central player in battery manufacturing in the US. Last November, Redwood Materials (headquartered in Carson City) received the final tax credits for the planned expansion of its Storey County Campus battery manufacturing facility. The $1.1 billion expansion is expected to create 700 new jobs.

Furthermore, the White House has announced a $1.3 billion investment to improve Nevada’s electric grid. And last month, the White House designated Reno as one of 31 regional tech hubs that will catalyze investment in technologies critical to economic growth, national security, and job creation.

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