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WASHINGTON, DC, US, November 8, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
Development of green power in two states would
provide “significant potential job gains,” according to studies
developed by the Renewable Energy Policy Project.
“The potential of an expanded renewable energy program will not
only provide significant benefits to both Ohio and Pennsylvania, but
to the nation,” says Jerome Ringo of the Apollo Alliance. “By
investing in alternative energy programs, we can end our dependence
on foreign oil while also creating thousands of good, clean energy
jobs here at home and re-invigorate the manufacturing sector.”
The studies demonstrate that federal and state incentives could
create 42,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania and 23,000 in Ohio which
would be related to manufacturing components for green power
projects, such as wind turbines and solar panels. Thousands of firms
in each state would also benefit from the expanded manufacturing
activity.
The reports validate claims that renewables have the potential to
create significant job gains in major industrial states that have
been impacted in recent years by the loss of manufacturing jobs. The
reports provide maps which illustrate the industrial sites in each
state where manufacturing jobs could be created.
“At present, the energy sector and the national policy that
determines how it evolves leaves the U.S. exposed to three major,
interconnected threats,” the reports note. “Our national security is
compromised by how we get and use energy. The inability to even
recognize climate change as a problem only makes the inevitable task
of facing the problem more difficult. Finally, the harmful effect of
our present energy policy on the domestic economy needs an expanded
and more aggressive attack to reverse the damage.”
“States are leading the way forward on energy policy but,
ultimately, the nation as a whole, will have to undertake
coordinated efforts to develop energy security and stabilize carbon
emissions,” they explains. “Solving energy problems with policies
that provide security, address climate stabilization and direct
substantial economic revitalization to our domestic economy, offers
hope for a greatly expanded political coalition.”
“A major commitment to renewable electric generation will reduce our
security exposure, stabilize climate and provide a multi-billion
dollar investment and reindustrialization program,” they add.
“Seeing an energy policy as a way to create a new thrust of
industrial activity requires looking at the renewable technologies
in a new way.”
The reports assume green power is developed to stabilize emissions
from the U.S. electricity sector, and they look at how that major
new demand for renewables will “trickle down to create new demand
for the component parts that make up the major renewable energy
technologies.” Stabilizing CO2 emissions would require the addition
of 18,500 MW of new green power projects each year, since power
generation is responsible for half of U.S. emissions.
“Renewable generation technologies are available to provide that
amount of energy but a critical question remains as to how best to
marshal private investment into those projects,” they continue. “A
major program to develop renewable energy will in turn create a
demand for the component parts that go into the renewable
developments; a major portion of the potential benefits flowing from
the development of renewable energy will go to the manufacturers who
supply the component parts.”
“It is well understood that a national program to develop renewable
energy will benefit the regions and states that have the best
renewable resource base – solar, wind, biomass and geothermal,” the
reports explain. “What is less appreciated is that a national
program will also create a demand for billions of dollars of
components, the parts that make up the finished renewable plants.
This demand could if accompanied by appropriate incentives provide
important new markets for domestic manufacturers that are already
manufacturing equipment similar to the components that go into new
renewable generation.”
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