Energy Innovation Building receives key approval

Construction of $83 million facility anticipated to start this fall

By California State University, Bakersfield

March 27^th, 2025

The California State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved the designs for California State University Bakersfield’s Energy Innovation Building, which will serve as the nexus for energy research, STEM education and community and industry collaborations with the only public four-year university in the Southern San Joaquin Valley.

Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature allocated $83 million for construction of the building in the 2022-23 California budget. Construction on the project is anticipated to start in the fall.

“I want to thank the Board of Trustees for supporting the people of Kern County and our students,” said Dr. Vernon B. Harper Jr., president of CSUB, after the board meeting at the CSU Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach. “The Energy Innovation Building will be more than a building; it will be the physical representation of CSUB’s vision for a STEM-prepared workforce to meet the opportunities and demands of the future and a hub for research, exploration and new ideas to meet the world’s energy needs responsibly and sustainably. The building will be a magnet for future students, scientists and partners, and a magnificent community space that will make the residents of Kern County incredibly proud.”

Bynum Inc. of Bakersfield will serve as project manager. Architect AC Martin of Los Angeles and Construction Contractor Swinerton of San Francisco will collaborate to design and build the roughly 56,000-square-foot, three-story building, which will be located just south of one of the university’s two existing science buildings.

About half of the space will be devoted to specialized teaching laboratories and support space for computing, materials testing, power systems, thermals and petroleum engineering. A 240-seat interdisciplinary multipurpose room will serve as a valuable resource for campus events, including research symposiums, training conferences, engineering expositions, energy lecture series and academic competitions.

The third floor will be used for department offices and support space as well as the new location of the Extended Education and Global Outreach Division. The first and second floors will be dedicated to teaching and research laboratories.

The landscape design on the exterior of the building will take advantage of the shaded north side, incorporating hardscaped and landscaped areas that will provide outdoor gathering spaces for campus events.

CSUB is working collaboratively with students, faculty, regulatory agencies and local experts to develop operational practices that promote cohabitation with the endangered San Joaquin kit fox, a beloved member of the campus community. The university is pursuing an incidental take permit with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a habitat conservation plan with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with completion for each agreement anticipated this year.