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Archive for the ‘Green Jobs News’ Category
The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor has just released a major publication titled - Why Green is your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career! It’s a comprehensive manual to assist women of all career levels succeed in our developing green economy. The extensive, well organized guide delves into all things green – education, occupations, entrepreneurship, job search methodology and career planning.
What is a green job? Green jobs are generally defined as jobs that restore, protect, or conserve the natural environment.
Forty years after the Beatles released the song Here Comes the Sun, the USA is putting the sun to work for us, “…and I say it’s all right”. Solar Power is on the move with several important announcements this week.
The White House will now be a solar house … again. Energy secretary Steven Chu and Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley announced that the White House will have solar panels installed early next year. The panels will provide both hot water and electricity. Nancy Sutley, Environmental Quality Chair, stated that the “federal government has to lead by example“.
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced final approval to the Lucerne Valley and Imperial Valley Solar Projects in California. The projects are deemed “smart from the start” by environmental groups and are the first ”large-scale” public lands solar projects. The Imperial Valley Solar Project is expected to produce 709 megawatts which can supply power to 212,700 – 531,750 homes with clean energy. When completed, the Lucerne Valley Project is expected to produce 45 megawatts to power between 13,500 – 33,750 homes. The projects will create 600 jobs during the construction phase and 100′s of permanent positions.
The Department of Interior announced the approval October 25th of the 1000 megawatt Blythe Solar Power Project. It will be the largest solar energy project to be constructed on public lands. Solar projects on publics lands, announced this month alone, will produce 2800 megawats of power for 2 million homes in California and the Southwest.
How about this announcement as we transition from fossil fuel to clean energy in the USA? Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s office announced that a 49.9-megawatt solar 
farm, the Turning Point Solar project, will be built on the site of a former strip mine in Ohio. Up to 600 jobs will be needed during the construction of the project. The $250 million operation is expected to achieve full capacity in 2014. Solar energy and green jobs are coming to Appalachia.
Here Comes the Sun “sun, sun, sun, here it comes”…
The Center for American Progress and Energy RM jointly released a ground-breaking report this month advocating a conprehensive, sustainable energy efficiency initiative to help get America back to work. The initiative has the potential of creating 625,000 jobs over the next decade with $500 billion in new investments to improve home/office building energy efficiency resulting in $64 billion in energy savings.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 59% of residential buildings and 54% of commercial buildings in the USA were built before 1980. Buildings consume more energy than any other segment of the economy. That’s more than either transportation or industry. The potential market for energy efficiency is opportune to retrofit and improve existing buildings to save valuable resources and support programs for sustainable development, energy independence, and environmental protection.
However, the energy efficiency initiative will not happen on its own. States need to make the first move. They need to implement energy policies to initiate, encourge, develop and sustain energy efficency programs. The 50 page report highlights ten key energy efficiency policies that “are already providing numerous real-world examples of how policy-driven energy efficiency markets can create a new industry to power job creation in the construction sector profitabily and sustainably”. However, “no state has fully developed the potential of their energy efficiency market to create clean energy jobs, let alone the federal government”. The report recommends that the states lead the way.
The construction industry has been especially impacted by the recession with unemployment around 25%. Residential construction unemployment hovers around 38%. Additionally, construction related businesses in retail and manufacturing are significantly impacted as well. The report, “Efficiency Works – Creating Good Jobs and New Markets Through Energy Efficiency”, addresses a core problem with the economy today. Housing burst the economic bubble. Housing and commercial energy efficiency programs can help get us back on track. 
Wind Farm near Lyman, Wyoming
The United Steelworkers, BlueGreen Alliance and American Wind Energy Association jointly released a report this week outlining their vision for a national long range plan to create tens of thousands of additional jobs in wind energy. The report, titled “Winds of Change: A Manufacturing Blueprint for the Wind Industry,” acknowledges the significant growth in wind energy but states that growth could be significantly greater with responsive, long-term incentives and policies in place. The authors of the report strongly advocate that Congress take decisive action to attract the investment needed for long-term wind industry growth and jobs creation.