STUDY FORECASTS 297,000 GREEN JOBSEstablishing standards for the amount of the nation’s energy to come from renewables will create lots more jobs like these, a new study says.The debate over the potential for green jobs creation in this country continues.This week the Union of Concerned Scientists weighed in, with a report that said that a national “renewable electricity standard” set at 25 percent by 2025 would translate into 297,000 new green jobs.A “renewable electricity standard” refers to the objective of producing a certain percentage of the nation’s electricity from sources like wind power, solar panels, wood chips and dams. President Obama has endorsed a 25-percent-by-2025 standard, and the issue is expected to be included in forthcoming energy legislation.Some jobs would be lost in fossil-fuel industries like coal or natural gas. If those are factored in, according to the report, the net number of jobs gained becomes 202,000.“There were three times as many jobs produced in renewable energy than there would be if we followed a business as usual path and used more fossil fuel generation,” said Jeff Deyette, an analyst with the group’s clean energy program.The reason, Mr. Deyette said, is that more expenditures go into manufacturing, equipment, installation and maintenance for renewable energy systems than they do for fossil fuels. “Obviously, the mining sector has become incredibly mechanized in recent years,” he said.When asked about the flip side of this scenario — that renewable energy could be viewed as inefficient because it required more labor per unit of energy than fossil fuels — he said, “Jobs for dollars is essentially the trade-off there.”Environmentalists also argue that renewable sources such as wind and solar power benefit from having “free fuel.”Other studies, including one by several academics that was released earlier this month, argue that green-job creation scenarios of environmental and renewable-industry groups are over-hyped. That study was paid for by the free-market, pro-business Institute for Energy Research.To view the original Green Inc / New York Times article please click hereFor the very latest in green energy jobs please click here |