Many of the jobs created would be in parts of the country generally not assumed to benefit from renewable standards. Biomass jobs, for example, would double as a result of a 25% RES, with most of the increase concentrated in Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky.
Echoing what wind power advocates have been saying, the study also found that near- and mid-term targets—such as 12% by 2014 and 20% by 2020—are critical to ensure the U.S.’s competitiveness in the global wind industry.
The competitiveness issue was underlined earlier this week when the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) announced that China installed the most wind power capacity in 2009, deploying 13,000 MW last year compared to the nearly 10,000 MW that the U.S. installed.
“We invented this industry, and we’re giving it away because we haven’t had a national policy supporting renewables,” said AWEA Board President Don Furman of Iberdrola Renewables, speaking at the news conference called to roll out the Navigant study. China, he said, “is killing us.”
But it’s not too late. Said AWEA CEO Denise Bode regarding the latest GWEC numbers, “It is time to act now on a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) so that America can immediately create manufacturing jobs and be the world wind power leader. The economy can’t wait, job creation can’t wait, and America can’t wait.”
Message received, loud and clear–we hope.
The RES Alliance for Jobs is a coalition of businesses and organizations that support Congressional enactment of a strong federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES).
AES Wind Generation – www.AES.com
American Wind Energy Association – www.awea.org
Applied Materials – www.appliedmaterials.com
Biomass Power Association – www.usabiomass.org
Bloom Energy – www.bloomenergy.com
Bluewater Wind – www.bluewaterwind.com
BP Wind – www.bp.com
Covanta – www.covantaenergy.com
E.ON Climate & Renewables – www.eon.com
enXco – www.enxco.com
Gamesa Technology Corporation – www.gamesacorp.com/en
General Electric – www.ge.com
Horizon Wind Energy – www.horizonwind.com
Iberdrola Renewables- www.iberdrolarenewables.us
Invenergy – www.invenergyllc.com
Large-scale Solar Association – www.largescalesolarassociation.org
Mesa Power – www.mesapower.com
National Hydropower Association – www.hydro.org
NextEra Energy Resources – www.nextera.ca
Pattern Energy Group – www.patternenergy.com
Renewable Energy Systems Americas – www.res-americas.com
REpower USA – www.repower.de
Ridgeline Wind Power – www.ridgelineenergy.com
Solar Energy Industries Association – www.seia.org
Vestas – www.vestas.com
Wind Capital Group – www.windcapitalgroup.com
The RES Alliance for Jobs is a coalition of businesses and organizations that support Congressional enactment of a strong federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). The Alliance seeks to demonstrate that a strong RES would provide the national commitment to renewable energy that is needed to create certainty in the renewable energy industries, enabling manufacturers to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. economy and create hundreds of thousands of high-quality American jobs.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are currently considering a national RES as part of energy legislation. As the respective energy bills move through Congress, the RES provision is being watered down. On the campaign trail, President Obama called for a national 25% renewable electricity by 2025 standard. Representative Ed Markey originally introduced the same RES provision to the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Now, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has passed a bill that calls for 20% of U.S. electricity to be met by renewable sources by 2020, allowing 8% of the standard to be met by energy efficiency. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is considering a bill that calls for 15% of U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, allowing 4% of the standard to be met by efficiency. To signal a real commitment to renewable energy, and to foster a sound investment environment for the renewable industries in the U.S., Congress needs to pass a strong RES.
www.res-alliance.org/public/RESAllianceNavigantJobsStudy.pdf
