CSUB breaks ground on Energy Innovation Building

A new facility that will serve as the hub for energy research at California State University, Bakersfield has moved a large step closer to becoming a reality.

The university held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday to celebrate the start of construction on the new Energy Innovation Building (EIB) on campus. The 56,000-square foot, three-story facility will be located south of the Science III building and is expected to open in 2027.

"Today, we will dig our shovels into the soil to launch a construction project that will expand the footprint of this university, both in terms ofour physical composition and the more transcendent realm of progress, possibilities and audacious thinking," said President Vernon B. Harper Jr. "Friends, we are breaking ground on more than a building - we are breaking ground on a bold vision for this region. With the Energy Innovation Building, Kern County is staking its rightful claim as California's leader in the advancement and evolution of the science of energy."

Sen. Shannon Grove said the students who will utilize the new building will be "the mind resource - and the human resource - for the energy capital of the entire United States one day, out of this building that will be built behind us."

The EIB will serve as the home for the California Energy Research Center as well as Extended Education and Global Outreach. There will be 20 new offices for faculty and administration.

More than 10,000 square feet of the Energy Innovation Building will be devoted to teaching labs and over 8,000 for research space. It will also include 1,500 square feet of student collaboration space as well as a 240-seat hall where the university can host research symposiums, conferences, academic competitions and other events.

"It's so exciting to celebrate this important milestone with so many of our friends and partners in Kern County," said College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering Dean Dr. Jane Dong. "This has been an amazing journey, and what inspired me is how our community came together to transform the dream into reality."

Thursday's groundbreaking was the result of a decade-long effort by CSUB and community leaders to obtain approval and funding for the project. Thanks to these efforts, the university was able to secure an $83 million allocation from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature as part of the 2022-23 state budget to help fund the facility.

" Ten years ago, when CSUB put the construction of this building atop of our wish list, the project was just that - a wish. Today, we are gathered to witness what happens when a wish is reinforced by the resolve of a university and a community of leaders," said President Harper.

Mayor Karen Goh said the EIB will give rise to new ideas and technologies that will have a significant impact on energy production in the region.

"Today, we're celebrating the rise of our workforce as CSUB prepares students for long-term success in the evolution of energy and in innovation," she said. "This center gives us an opportunity to create a workforce of people who will boldly innovate and find solutions to problems that our minds can't even conceive of today."

To Mayor Goh, the Energy Innovation Building serves as an example of what can be achieved when CSUB and the community work together to execute a shared vision.

"When education, industry, government, and our community come together, we don't just wish. We don't just imagine what's possible. We build it," she said.