The Refinishing Touch Blog

In early January, the Obama administration announced an award of $2.3 billion in Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits, designed to stimulate job growth in the clean energy sector. While the government’s plans are commendable, they need help to succeed. Despite willing workers and an influx of funding, the clean energy movement has been slow to get off the ground. Furthermore, because the term ‘green job’ in the eco-friendly energy sector has such a vague definition and is not held up to any real standards, employers can label any job a ‘green job’ without worrying about accountability.

On top of that, many clean energy projects have been sprouting up, but often without actual jobs in tow. For example, a 36 thousand acre Texas wind farm seemed poised to create a number of jobs, using $1.5 billion of stimulus money, but the project, financed by China’s Shenyang Power Group, fell through. Although it required nearly 3 thousand workers, only 15 percent of those would have been for citizens in the United States.

Luckily, creating green energy jobs while adopting environmentally friendly practices has become a top priority for the government, and the pieces for creating a fruitful clean energy sector are there: a willing administration, an International Labour Organization that sees value in going green, stimulus money and opportunity. With more time and some redirected efforts, decision-makers can take these factors and help turn possibility into actuality.

Labels: Clean energy, government, green efforts, Green energy, Green Jobs