THE STANDARD FOR NEW ENERGY JOBS

Stronger National Renewable Electricity Standard Needed for Significant Clean Energy Job Stability and Growth, Study Finds; Higher near- and long-term targets would support 274,000 additional jobs nationwide; Southeast, traditional manufacturing states to benefit most
February 4, 2010 (Business Wire)

"CEOs representing America’s renewable energy industries announced a major new study showing that a 25% by 2025 national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would support hundreds of thousands of new American jobs and prevent a near-term collapse in some industries. Job growth in the wind, solar, biomass, waste-to-energy and hydropower industries would particularly benefit the Southeastern U.S. and manufacturing states whose Senators have questioned the viability of renewable electricity.

"The Jobs Impact of a National Renewable Electricity Standard study, conducted by independent firm Navigant Consulting, Inc…and released by the RES Alliance for Jobs, found that a 25% by 2025 national RES would support an additional 274,000 renewable energy jobs - the equivalent of a cumulative 2.36 million job-years of work – over a no-national policy option. This total is also significantly higher than the expected jobs supported in the [pending] House and Senate provisions…[T]he study found that without stronger near-term targets…[the New Energy industries] will experience flat job growth and long-term stagnation…[and] the U.S. biomass industry could collapse altogether. The RES Alliance recommends raising near-term RES targets in federal legislation to 12% in 2014 and 20% in 2020…"

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"Southeastern states like Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee Georgia and Florida…[will] benefit from substantial biomass and municipal solid waste-to-energy…Traditional manufacturing states like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana…will gain from growth in a wide range of technologies…Midwestern states like North and South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois, [are] home to major wind resources…"

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"[In] Western states like Colorado, Arizona, Oregon and California…solar, wind and hydropower have significant growth potential [with a strong RES]… [It will drive new growth in states] that do not currently have renewables standards or targets like Indiana, Florida, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama…States that would lose renewable electricity jobs unless a national policy is passed, like Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, Oklahoma and South Carolina [will also beneifit]…"

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"The study emphasizes that while tax credits continue to play a critically important role in preserving the viability of existing facilities, an RES is needed in order to support both near- and long-term investments…The benefits of an RES for Southern states are significant, given skepticism among many Southern Senators about the benefits of a national energy policy for their states…

"The RES Alliance/Navigant Consulting study is the first to examine the job impacts in these five industries across states in both the near- and long-term. Its findings come as lawmakers and advocates note the rapid expansion of competing cleantech industries in China and the European Union…In June 2009, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy Security Act (Waxman-Markey), which would set a national RES of 20% by 2020 and allow up to 8% of the standard to be met through energy efficiency improvements. Also in June, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed the American Clean Energy Leadership Act with a target of 15% by 2021 and allow up to 4% of the standard to be met through energy efficiency improvement…"