Your Skills Can Work In The New Green Collar World
Are you one of the millions of Americans who are worried that the countries move toward green energy will leave you without a job? Believe or not, jobs like constructions workers, salespeople, marketers, accountants and even office workers will still be needed in the alternative energy field.
With the state of the economy and the change of our energy direction in the air, this may be the opportune time to rethink your career path.
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) issued a press release this month that looks at where we were, where we are, and where we are going in terms of the green job market. Here are the highlights of the publication:
The renewable energy industry grew three times faster than the U.S. economy in 2007. Solar thermal, photovoltaic, biodiesel and ethanol sectors lead the way, each with a twenty five percent annual growth.
The new ASES Green Collar Jobs report from the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) based in Boulder, and Management Information Services, Inc (MISI), an internationally recognized economic research firm based in Washington D.C., provides a sector-by-sector analysis of where the opportunities are in the rapidly changing renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. You can download the free report at: www.ases.org/greenjobs
“There’s a new sense of optimism in the green economy,” said Brad Collins, ASES’ Executive Director. “But while the U.S. could see million of new jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency, this will only happen with the necessary leadership, research, development, and public policy at the federal and state levels.”
Key steps include a national renewable portfolio standard, long-term extension of the production tax credit, effective net metering policies, and improved access to electric transmission infrastructure.
According to the advanced scenario in the report, which represents the upper limit of what is technologically and economically feasible, RE&EE would generate about 37 million jobs and $4,294 billion in annual revenue by 2030. It’s one of three forecast scenarios highlighted in this report. Under the base case (business as usual) scenario, which assumes no major change in policy or initiatives, the green job forecast is for more than 16 million jobs and $1,966 billion in revenue in the U.S. by 2030 – less than half the jobs and revenue than the advanced scenario. The third scenario assumes moderate policy improvements at the federal and state level and forecasts 19.5 million jobs and $2,248 billion in revenue by 2030.
Key conclusions from this report include:
Renewable energy and energy efficiency currently provide more than 9 million jobs and $1,045 billion in revenue in the U.S. (2007). The previous year (2006) renewable energy and energy efficiency represented 8.5 million jobs and $972 billion in revenue.
95% of the jobs are in private industry.
As many as 37 million jobs can be generated by the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries in the U.S. by 2030 – more than 17% of all anticipated U.S. employment.
Hottest sectors include solar thermal, solar photovoltaics, biofuels, and fuel cells (in terms of revenue growth).
Hot job areas include electricians, mechanical engineers, welders, metal workers, construction managers, accountants, analysts, environmental scientists, and chemists. The vast majority of jobs created by the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries are in the same types of roles seen in other industries (accountants, factory workers, IT professionals, etc).
Renewable energy and energy efficiency can create millions of well-paying jobs, many of which are not subject to foreign outsourcing. These jobs are in two categories that every state is eager to attract – college-educated professional workers (many with advanced degrees), and highly skilled technical workers.
The renewable energy industry grew more than three times as fast as the U.S. economy in 2007 (not including hydropower). Renewable energy is also growing more rapidly than the energy efficiency industry, but the energy efficiency industry is currently much larger than the renewable energy industry.
But while there is tremendous opportunity, there is also a real sense of urgency. Every year’s delay by policy-makers (2009, 2010) has a highly disproportionate and negative impact on long range growth. The longer that policy-makers delay in implementing ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, the more difficult it will be to achieve the report’s goals by 2030.
Unless quick action is taken, the U.S. risks losing millions of green jobs to other nations that offer a more serious and sustained commitment to growing its green economy. Consider the impressive results of Germany as an instructive example.
Germany’s population is about one-quarter the size of the U.S., but Germany has more renewable energy jobs and generates new jobs faster than the U.S. Germany has 5x the wind sector jobs and 4x the photovoltaic solar jobs as the U.S. Germany produces half the wind rotors in the world, one-third the solar panels in the world, and leads the world in biodiesel production.
The U.S. is in a global marketplace. If we fail to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency, the U.S. runs the risk of losing additional ground in these industries to Germany and other nations. If we refuse to address policy and regulatory barriers to the sustained development of the new energy economy, other countries will lead and reap the economic and environmental benefits. For the U.S. to be competitive in a carbon-constrained world, the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries must be a critical economic driver.
