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Building a Clean Energy Economy |
President’s Day was a good time to reflect on the spirit of past leaders who inspired people and shaped a brand-new country. The men and women who explored new frontiers and established communities in the Wild West relished change and worked hard to meet the challenges they faced. More recent leaders brought us all into the Information Technology Age, expanding economic opportunities and creating new industries and trades.
Honoring this history, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 today at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Climate change, our economic crisis and the myriad consequences of our nation’s dependency on fossil fuels require us to move to a new frontier. Settling in a clean energy economy, the Clean Technology Age, will create unimagined opportunities and jobs, renewing and strengthening our nation’s economy.
These new jobs and opportunities are desperately needed: our nation’s unemployment rate has risen to 7.6%, and the average unemployment rate in the South is now over 8.5%. These statistics are not our destiny: we can repower our economy with new energy systems that encourage efficiency, transportation systems that provide cleaner and cheaper options and buildings that improve quality of life while saving consumers money.
Our future will require hard work, and more importantly, it will require workers. Familiar roles from entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to electricians, welders, homebuilders, construction workers and bus drivers will expand. New titles like Solar Panel Installer, Electric Vehicle Technician and Energy Efficiency Consultant will continue to emerge. Combining existing skills and expertise with the knowledge and resources we need to build a clean energy economy will turn white and blue-collar jobs into well-paid green collar jobs.
In 2007 the Blue Green Alliance (a partnership between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club) published a report showing that a commitment to renewable energy will yield new jobs in the Southeast and other parts of the country. In Florida, for example, 1,617 firms already manufacture components that build wind turbines, solar panels, and other renewable energy infrastructure. The report concludes that a concentrated 10 year renewable energy development program could create anywhere between 16,000-30,000 jobs for each of our Southeastern states.
Another recent study, this one published by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment Security Division, found that a $1.9 billion investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy could create 45,000 new jobs in Tennessee alone. Furthermore, a recent analysis of North Carolina’s modest renewable energy standard shows that renewable energy sources, such as solar or bioenergy, create more long-term job opportunities than conventional energy resources, such as coal.
Moreover, the economic impact of developing our region’s clean energy potential extends beyond the direct job opportunities created in one particular sector of the economy. Indirect economic consequences expand the benefits of investing in clean energy even further.
For example, a University of Georgia study of the economic impact of a 50 million gallon cellulosic ethanol production facility in Treutlen County, Georgia demonstrated significant indirect economic benefits. Plant construction would create a one-time economic impact that includes 313 direct jobs and 176 jobs indirectly. Total annual labor income for those 489 jobs would exceed $19.5 million (or an average of roughly $40,000 per job). On an annual basis, the facility would provide roughly 69 jobs, but the facility’s economic impact is expected to create 375 additional jobs throughout Georgia’s economy.
A clean energy future that taps into these opportunities is not inevitable, but neither was the emergence of a unique, new country that exceeded everyone’s expectations—including those of the leaders and pioneers who risked everything to see it to fruition. Although we are addicted to oil and overly dependent on dirty energy from coal, we have the tools we need to provide worker-training programs and incentivize investments in a clean energy economy. Now is our time to head boldly into a new frontier!
Colin Hagan
February 17, 2009
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Southern Solutions for a National Renewable Energy Standard |
“Yes We Can: Southern Solutions for a National Renewable Energy Standard”
A report released today by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy confirms that eleven Southeastern states can tap homegrown clean energy resources to meet a significant percentage of electric power demands.
In fact, with existing renewable energy supplies and untapped potential, the Southeast has the capacity to meet a robust renewable energy standard (RES) using sustainably-harvested biomass, wind, solar (PV and thermal), landfill gas and hydroelectric energy. An RES is a market-based mechanism that requires electric utilities to generate a specific percentage of energy from clean, renewable sources.
Earlier this month, Reps. Markey (D-MA) and Platts (R-PA) introduced legislation to implement a robust RES with the goal of 25 percent renewable energy generation by 2025. Not only would this policy diversify our energy mix, and thus improve our national security, it would create millions of new job opportunities throughout the Southeast and reduce our global warming pollution at the same time.
In 2008 the Blue-Green Alliance (a partnership between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club) published a report showing that a concentrated program to develop the Southeast’s renewable energy resources could create between 16,000-30,000 jobs per state here in the Southeast over the next decade. New markets for farm and forest biomass will create additional income for farmers and forest owners, renewing their communities as well.
Our desire to be energy independent is nothing new. The Southeast has a rich history of independence, leadership and a strong rural character. Now our region’s renewable energy resources are poised to contribute to a clean energy future. The time for delay and distraction is over. Now is the time to develop our region’s renewable energy potential!
Urge your members of Congress to support a robust national RES today!
Jennifer Rennicks
Thursday, February 12
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Congress Must Pass Green Economic Recovery Package |
The media's two favorite words right now seem to be "economy" and "stimulus." That's because yesterday the United States Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an $825 billion economic recovery package, by a vote of 244-188. President Obama and Congress are developing this recovery package to help relieve state budgets, create jobs rebuilding our nation's aging infrastructure and equip our nation to meet this century's technologic demands.
For this package to help our nation recover long-term economic stability it must be a down payment on our transition to a green economy. If we are building new power lines, we should make sure they are designed to convey clean, renewable energy from "hot spots" to population centers. If we are investing in transportation infrastructure, we should make sure that we are using this opportunity to mobilize new public transit and alternative transportation options. This $825 billion investment in our economy must help improve our energy security, help consumers save money and begin to put America to work solving climate change with clean and renewable energy.
Investors agree. In fact 44 investors managing more than $1.7 trillion in assets, including the Florida State Treasury, wrote to Congress urging them to include long-term incentives for clean energy in the recovery package.
In the next few days, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on this package which includes important investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean transportation:
- More than $37 billion for energy efficiency;
- More than $25 billion for renewable energy, and;
- $12 billion for public transit and clean transportation options.
Energy efficiency is an important component of our country's energy strategy, but nowhere is it more than here in the Southeast where we are one of the least efficient regions of the country. These new investments, including $7 billion in grants for local governments and states to implement energy efficiency programs, will help homeowners and low-income families lower their energy bills.
The recovery package also bolsters businesses in the Southeast that are creating jobs and installing renewable energy technology in our communities. Wind turbine manufacturers like GE Energy in Greenville, SC and solar manufacturers like Sharp Solar in Memphis, TN will benefit from these investments and incentives for renewable energy development.
The House of Representatives made a step forward with these clean energy provisions and nearly $3 billion in additional funding for public transit options like passenger rail and efficient buses. Y Now the Senate will consider the economic recovery, and it looks like they have already increased the package's support for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Call or write your Senators today!
Colin Hagan
January 27, 2009
(Updated: January 29, 2009)
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Welcome to CleanEnergy.org |
Welcome to cleanenergy.org, the website of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). While we all share concerns about our economy, it is also an exciting time as new leadership takes over in Washington. DC. For SACE, we are excited about the focus on “green jobs” and clean energy. Myself, our board and our staff all feel strongly that we need a clean energy revolution in this country and across the world. We hope to make cleanenergy.org a useful tool for you and others in your community as we all help bring this revolution forward. Please explore our site for facts, updates and opportunities to learn ways you can become more involved.
I hope in the coming weeks to be able to share my insights here on this blog about our challenges and successes. I also plan for other SACE staff members to give you their first hand view of working in the trenches as we push the clean energy agenda and remake our country’s energy future.
If you believe that we need more energy efficiency, more renewable energy, smarter grids, cleaner fuels and real solutions to global warming, then please bookmark this site and join us in our efforts.
Thank You
Stephen A. Smith
January 26, 2009
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