Get Into Energy Career Pathways
Energy jobs offer promising opportunities to both experienced and new workers. The industry as a whole is projected to experience growth in the coming years, particularly with the increase in public investments in renewable energy, clean energy generation, energy efficiency and the Smart Grid. The growth in demand coincides with the large projected retirements in the industry. Energy employers will need skilled workers for traditional energy as well as future energy-related generation, transmission and distribution positions. These are jobs that are active, hands-on, rewarding and are available in every state in the country. In addition, they are jobs in an industry where adding new skills translates into additional opportunities to make more money. As new technologies are created, workers will need new skills to install and operate the new energy systems, and this means new job opportunities in a stable and growing industry.
Greening of the Industry: Energy Efficiency, Generation, Transmission, and Distribution
This brief document, provided by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, details the types of green jobs in electric and natural gas utilities.
Job Impact of a National Renewable Electricity Standard
This study, conducted by Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI), found that a 25% by 2025 national RES would result in 274,000 more renewable energy jobs over no-national RES policy. This additional employment is equivalent to 2.36 million additional job-years by 2025. The study found that new jobs would be supported by renewable energy in every region of the United States and that the biomass, hydropower and waste-to-energy industries, in particular, would see significant job gains in the Southeast. Without stronger near-term targets than currently envisioned, the study found that industries like wind will experience flat job growth and long-term stagnation, while 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.
In this report, the authors examine how investments in clean energy—including energy efficiency measures such as residential and commercial building retrofits, public transportation and a smart grid electrical transmission system, along with renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass power—create major new employment opportunities in comparison with spending equivalent amounts of money within the traditional fossil fuel sectors, i.e. oil, natural gas and coal. We then assess the impact on low-income families of seeing their household energy bills go down as a result of investments in energy efficiency retrofits. We finally also consider how investments in improving public transportation systems can reduce transportation costs for low-income families.
The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy
This paper examines the impact of curbing CO2 emissions on broader economic considerations—jobs, incomes, and economic growth—through the lens of two government initiatives this year by the Obama administration and Congress. The first is the set of clean-energy provisions incorporated within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, initiated by the Obama administration and passed into law by Congress in February. The second is the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), which is now before Congress.
Our analysis in this paper shows that these two measures operating together can generate roughly $150 billion per year in new clean-energy investments in the United States over the next decade. This estimated $150 billion in new spending annually includes government funding but is notably dominated by private-sector investments. We estimate this sustained expansion in clean-energy investments triggered by the economic stimulus program and the forthcoming American Clean Energy and Security Act can generate a net increase of about 1.7 million jobs. This expansion in job opportunities can continue as long as the economy maintains a commitment to clean-energy investments in the $150 billion per year range. If clean-energy investments expand still faster, overall job creation will increase correspondingly.
Clean-Energy Investments Create Jobs in Pennsylvania
Investments in a clean-energy economy will generate major employment benefits for Pennsylvania and the rest of the U.S. economy. Our research finds that Pennsylvania could see a net increase of about $6.1 billion in investment revenue and 72,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in clean-energy investments.
Energy Training Partnerships Grants – Map
Map from the Department of Labor showing where Energy Training Partnership Grants have been awarded and whether they provide statewide coverage or serve a specific county/city within the state.
NEPA Energy Industry Partnership
This website offers interesting webinars about clean energy financing and projects in Pennsylvania.
Clean Energy Saves Americans Money (Natural Resources Defense Council)
“Clean energy is the real solution to unpredictable prices. Clean energy is cheaper and cleaner than oil, and the amount of fuel we can get from clean energy measures dwarfs what can be scraped from drilling. New NRDC analysis shows that, unlike dirty fuel options, clean energy strategies can actually save drivers money while reducing our oil dependency and slashing global warming pollution from the transportation sector.”
