Utah's regional energy-training academies won't teach prospective workers how to dig a deep mine, or operate a strip mine, or drill an oil well. And that's the beauty of them.

As a nation, a state and a work force, we've mastered those skills. We're experts in the extraction, utilization and over-consumption of carbon-based fossil fuels. And we're paying a price -- in global warming and environmental destruction -- for going to the well and the mine too many times.

Instead, the program will train more than 1,400 Utahns for the new energy economy, teaching them the skills needed to work in industries that exploit renewable energy resources and boost energy efficiency. And it won't cost them a dime.

Utah's Department of Workforce Services snagged $4.6 million to establish the academies from the $190 million pool of green jobs-training grants, federal stimulus funds disbursed by the U.S. Department of Labor. Regional training academies will be established in Salt Lake and Davis counties, southwestern Utah and eastern-southeastern Utah through partnerships with local education groups and private employers. The training programs, which are free, will target dislocated and unemployed workers, disadvantaged youths and veterans.

The Salt Lake academy will have slots for 1,070 students, with programs focused on green construction, alternative fuels, energy management and renewable-energy transmission. In southwestern Utah, a prime target for renewable energy expansion, the academy will train 100 individuals to work in the wind, solar and geothermal resources industries.

The eastern-southeastern program will focus on alternative fuels, green construction and energy management, training 230 persons. Planning continues for the Davis County program.

There are no guarantees of employment for program graduates. But the curricula, developed by regional education institutions and based on employer consultations and employment projections, are designed to fill the needs of these growing industries and help attract them to Utah.

It's too soon to comment about the minutiae of the programs. The details, including eligibility criteria for training, are still being worked out. But the concept is sound, and the program should help address our most-pressing needs.

It will stimulate the state's economy, and help create much-needed jobs. It will help lay the groundwork for combating human-caused climate change. And it will position Utah to take advantage of its abundant and largely untapped clean-and-green energy resources.