SB 689 - The act creates the Missouri Clean Energy Technology Center. The primary purpose of the Center shall be to: promote the creation of jobs in the clean energy field; promote research and workforce training in clean energy at Missouri's colleges and vo-tech schools; and stimulate a conducive business climate for clean energy-related businesses in Missouri. The Center's offices shall be physically housed within the offices of the Department of Natural Resources but the Center shall be independently run by a 13-member board of directors. Six of the 13 members shall be appointed by the Governor, with two presidents of a Missouri college or university, one president of a community college, one engineer or scientist with clean energy knowledge, one venture capitalist with clean energy knowledge, and one CEO of a Missouri-based clean energy company. The other seven members of the board shall be the directors of the Departments of Natural Resources, Economic Development, and Labor and Industrial Relations, the president of the University of Missouri system, and the directors of the Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology Center (MARET Center), the Missouri Energy Initiative, and the Missouri Association for Workforce Development.
The board may employ staff and consultants as it determines necessary to fulfill its duties and the board has rulemaking authority. The board may accept, invest, and distribute funds as it determines appropriate to its mission.
The Center shall hold an application process for the investment of funds in research, workforce training, and job development in the clean energy field. The Center shall promote clean energy programs that encourage economic self-sufficiency for low and moderate income individuals and communities. The act allows the Center to establish the Missouri Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Institute and an Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program for existing entrepreneurs wanting to cross over into the clean energy field.
The act creates the Clean Energy Seed Grant program, the Green Jobs Initiative, and the Pathways out of Poverty Initiative. The act also requires the Center to conduct a study by February 1, 2012, of the clean energy sector in Missouri to investigate the current state of the sector and determine workforce needs in the future.
The act creates the Missouri Alternative and Clean Energy Investment Trust Fund, which shall be administered by the Center. An advisory board made up of 15 people appointed by the Governor with interest and experience in clean energy shall advise the Board of Directors on use of the fund. The act lists the approved uses of proceeds of the fund, which include making qualified investments in clean energy research and business development, making loans and grants available for such purposes, funding clean energy sector studies, and funding the administration of the Center. The General Assembly may annually appropriate up to $2 million to the Trust Fund.
ERIKA JAQUES