News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

There is a steady trend towards going green among global companies. Ernst & Young, found that an approximate of 5 percent of transnational companies’ net revenue is spent on green high tech alternatives.

The question that might still be pondering in our minds is ‘what about the job market for clean tech?’

In America the green tech industry employed an average of 770, 000 employees in 2007. The trend is augmenting, having had a steady trend of 9.1 percent rise employment in the sector during 1998 to 2007. Other industries on average have experienced a job rise of only 3.7 percent, based on Pew Charitable Trusts.

The so-called clean tech jobs are found in sectors such as solar, smart grid, wind power and bio-fuels. In the American list, California is the leader in job growth, having geothermal, solar PV and wind sources of energy. However, many other states could easily engage in the expanding market. This includes states such as Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas and Indiana.

In America, October 2009, having unemployment figures at 10.2 percent, the emergence of the renewable industry is quite critical. According to the Blue Green Alliace report, the job potential across the states by year 2025 is the creation of 850, 000 jobs, considering that a quarter of the energy supply is from renewable energy.

Solar

Based on Blue Green Alliance Report, Texas, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and New York are the states where solar energy will have the highest growth.

SunPower employs around 5,400 staff, raising it to one of the top providers of clean jobs. Moreover, other companies are also increasing the employment market, such as BP who recruits over 2,200 employees to deal with solar energy.

A recently established solar plant in Albuquerque, N.M, in 2009 by SCHOOTT Solar has already recruited 300 employees. According to James Stein, (vice president of government affairs at SCHOTT Solar North America) it is expected that the market can increase four times as much. Moreover, this will be done through competition with the Chinese manufacturer, Suntech Power. The latter is going to set up its plant in proximity of Phoenix by 2010.

Biofuels and Biomaterials

Based on Blue Green Alliance Report, the most likely states for biomass manufacturing are Texas, California, Ohio, Oklahoma and New York.

Bio-fuels and Biomaterials are mostly in the field of the establishment of ethanol plants. Companies such as Range Fuels, is going to set up one in Georgia as early as by next year, Oteros is having a pilot plant in Chicopee, Mass and Mascoma is about to launch a plant in Kinross, Mich.

Conservation and Efficiency

More than 100, 000 jobs will be created based on the recovery acts, in manufacturing, distribution and installation of insulation. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, a report produced by the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton stated that the green industry is likely to generate directly or indirectly (support) 7.9 million jobs in the coming four years.

Smart Grid

According to KEMA, the development of smart grid is going to create 280, 000 jobs in the United State by year 2012. This will include jobs such consumer energy management, digital data management, grid monitoring, smart meter networking and renewable energy integration. These works are all related to the development of smart grids across the continent.

Wind

The United State was the first one to reach a wind power capacity of more than 25, 000 MW, that did thereby create 35, 000 jobs, in 2008. This brought the employment figures in the sector to new heights, 85, 000. North Carolina Wind working ground concluded that the installation of every 100 MW wind power capacity would create 310 permanent manufacturing jobs and 67 installation jobs and around 9 operations and maintenance occupations. This would mean that if in the U.S. 20 percent of energy supply was from wind power by 2030, then more than 500, 000 jobs would be created with an additional three million jobs for the research, development and construction in the field.

Salaries in the Green Tech Field
Salaries of green jobs that are similar to those in the fossil fuels industry are around 20 percent less, based on research carried out by the PERI (Political Economy Research Institute).

Based on Clean Edge, salaries on average are as follows:

Solar PV; employees Average $40, 000 entry-level – $75, 000 Mid-level

Bio-fuel; recyclable material collector $38,100; boiler operator $61,100

Smart Grid Workers; Network operators $46, 400 ; and hardware design engineer $87, 700.

Wind Power Sector; Sheet metalworker $50,300, field service engineer $62,400.

The real future of green tech jobs is insignificant. U.S is actually at a record rate with millions of people who are unemployed and the figures of employment opportunities in the green tech field are only in thousands. It would take years before the renewable energy industry accounts for a significant portion of the U.S market.

Reference;

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20091129/clean-tech-jobs-spring-investment-pours-and-factories-are-transformed