It is well known that California is the third highest oil and gas producing state in the nation, and Kern County produces 70% of the oil and gas in California. What may be less well known is that the region is also home to significant wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels energy generation, earning it the nickname of “the Energy Capital of California.”

Kern County has:

• More wind turbines than any other county in the nation
• The world's largest solar plant with other projects in the works
• The state's largest biofuels plant and other biofuels innovations
• The Coso Geothermal Project

There are more than thirty major energy companies in the area, and CSUB and CERC have strong existing partnerships with many of them.

Kern County is also one of the top agricultural producing counties in the state making it an ideal laboratory for the many scientific challenges at the nexus of agriculture, energy, and water.

Thus, a focus on meeting these challenges is naturally consistent with the CSUB mission to increase overall educational attainment, enhance the quality of life, and support economic development in the region.

A focus on energy also capitalizes on existing CSUB resources and expertise. CSUB has established programs in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, computer and electrical engineering, economics, geological sciences, general engineering, mathematics and statistical science, and physics. CSUB faculty members from multiple departments have energy-related research expertise and an impressive track-record of peer-reviewed publications and grant writing; areas of specialization include energy economics, exploration, production, generation, carbon sequestration, and impact, among others. CSUB students have access to courses centered on energy issues across the curriculum, including Renewable Energy Production, Fundamentals of Power Systems, Fundamentals and Transport in Petroleum Engineering, and Energy Economics and Policy, to name but a few.