Stronger US Renewable Electricity Standard needed, new study shows

5 February 2010

A 25 per cent 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, according to a new study of CEOs in the renewable energy field. Job growth in the wind, solar, biomass, waste-to-energy and hydropower industries would particularly benefit the Southeastern US and manufacturing states whose senators have questioned the viability of renewable electricity, according to the study.

The Job Impacts of a National Renewable Electricity Standard study conducted by consulting firm Navigant Consulting, released by the RES Alliance for Jobs, found that a 25 per cent by 2025 national RES would support an additional 274,000 renewable energy jobs or the equivalent of a cumulative 2.36 million job-years of work over a no-national policy option. The total is also significantly higher than the expected jobs supported in the current House and Senate provisions under consideration in Congress.

In addition, the study found that without stronger near-term targets than currently envisioned, industries like wind will experience flat job growth and long-term stagnation, while the US biomass industry could collapse altogether.

The RES Alliance recommends raising near-term RES targets in federal legislation to 12 per cent in 2014 and 20 per cent in 2020.

‘This new analysis proves what advocates of a national renewable energy policy have long been saying,’ said Don Furman, senior vice president for development, transmission, and policy at wind energy company Iberdrola Renewables. ‘A strong Renewable Electricity Standard is crucial to create a stable investment environment and grow this highly promising sector. Without a strong RES, the US wind industry will see no net job growth, and will likely lose jobs to overseas competitors. A target like 25 per cent by 2025 would allow American wind companies to support double the amount of jobs than without a policy – about 125,000 additional jobs. That’s a gain our country cannot afford to pass up.’

According to the study, states that stand to gain the most from a strong RES include Southeastern states like Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee Georgia and Florida that can benefit from substantial biomass and municipal solid waste-to-energy. Traditional manufacturing states like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana also stand to gain from growth in a wide range of technologies, said the company. Midwestern states like North and South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois that are home to major wind resources will also benefit, according to the report.

Western states where solar, wind and hydropower have significant growth potential, states with no current renewables standards or targets and states that would lose renewable electricity jobs unless a national policy is passed, also all stand to gain from a strong RES.

The study emphasises 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.

‘A strong RES will complement tax benefits and ensure both the preservation and creation of jobs throughout rural America,’ said Robert Cleaves, CEO of the Biomass Power Association. ‘Currently, tax credits for the biomass industry remain a critically important element for a renewable technology that now supplies half of the nation’s renewable energy.’

The report adds that 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 report analysis clearly shows that an RES of 25 per cent by 2025 results in significantly expanded job opportunities in renewable energy,’ said Lisa Frantzis, managing director for renewable and distributed energy at Navigant Consulting, which conducted the study. ‘Each renewable technology will support jobs in different regions across the country, with the bottom line being a marked increase in job opportunities nationwide.’

The findings come as lawmakers and advocates note the rapid expansion of competing cleantech industries in China and the European Union.

RES Alliance Members Include AES Wind Generation, American Wind Energy Association, Applied Materials, Biomass Power Association, Bluewater Wind, BP Wind, Covanta, E.ON Climate & Renewables, enXco, Gamesa Technology Corporation, General Electric, Horizon Wind Energy, Iberdrola Renewables, Invenergy, Large-scale Solar Association, Mesa Power, National Hydropower Association, NextEra Energy Resources, Pattern Energy Group, Renewable Energy Systems Americas, REpower USA, Ridgeline Wind Power, Solar Energy Industries Association, Vestas, and Wind Capital Group.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: energy efficiency, Renewable Electricity Standard

This story was published on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 1:20 pm and is filed under North America, companies, energy efficiency. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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