Are green jobs on the way?

Are green jobs on the way?

But economist urges realistic, patient approach

(By Michael Mccord via Seacoastonline.com)

Last week, Gov. John Lynch and the state Executive Council approved $5.3 million for projects designed to create green jobs and encourage efficiency for businesses and residential home owners.

What's not known is how much the multi-pronged approach of Lynch's Green Jobs Proposal will impact job creation and spur energy efficiency growth.

"This initiative is part of our strategy to create opportunities for more green jobs, lower energy costs and a more sustainable energy future for New Hampshire," Lynch said in announcing the plan for projects financed through the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund.

Some of the projects include $2 million for the Business Finance Authority to establish a low-interest revolving loan fund to help businesses and nonprofits undertake energy retrofits.

To increase public and business community education, the Retail Merchants Association will receive $1.3 million for public outreach, energy audits, demonstration projects and retrofits for older buildings — with the goal of helping businesses significantly reduce the use of fuel oil and other energy sources.

In a bid to develop and expand training of energy efficiency contractors and auditors, $174,000 will go for classes at Lakes Region Community College and five other campuses across the state. The funds will be used to offer scholarships of up to 50 percent to ensure the program is affordable.

Great Bay Community College won't be offering those classes this year, in part because the campus has been focused on completing the final stages of its relocation from Stratham to Portsmouth. But GBCC President Will Alvero said his college is planning on offering educational opportunities in the future.

"We will do some green programming and are looking at it down the road," Alvero said. "We will be taking a close look on how we can make an impact. What can we do to find a niche that allows us to be successful to help the local economy."

Alvero has no doubt the demand will be there for more green jobs and the training for them.

"Given the move towards making homes and businesses more energy efficient, it's a great direction to move," he said. "It will depend on how fast we move down this path."

One of the top goals, said Amy Ignatius, director of the state Energy and Planning Office, is to provide an economic jump-start on a number of levels with federal stimulus and state-generated funding.

"There is a lot of interest in developing non-government managed energy services," Ignatius said. "We want to be assured that when these funds are used that job training and a certification process we are considering will be in place. We won't be back to ground zero."

Ignatius said despite the economic downtown, a "market transformation process" is under way and initiatives like the latest batch of projects will help prepare the state for widescale green economic development.

"What is unusual today will be commonplace tomorrow," she said. "There's a lot of interest in developing non-government managed energy services."

A local economist said while the interest is increasing and the Seacoast is poised to take advantage of it, the development will take time to be fully felt economically. Ross Gittell of the University of New Hampshire said if the region and state become an energy technology incubator and a major environmental services provider, the economic benefits would be strong.

"The energy technology jobs, for example, in insulation, design and manufacture, could be growth areas and have significant potential to add to an already strong economic base," Gittell said. "With the entrepreneurial fundamentals already here, we could draw on the research at UNH for the next generation of energy technology use. This could lead to exports nationally and internationally. And a lot of the jobs for work in weatherization and energy efficiency you can't outsource overseas."

But, Gittell cautions against expecting too much too fast given the depth and breadth of the current economic downturn.

A lot of the energy efficiency jobs can replace some of the construction jobs lost, he said, but it can't overcome the loss of tens of thousands of manufacture-based jobs lost in the past decade.

He estimates even if the green technology sector increases by 50 percent over the next few years it will only represent 5 percent of the economy.

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