Archive Dog Blog
Renewable Energy Leads In Job Creation
The renewable energy industry has a lot on its plate these days. Not only is our industry charged with reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign energy and helping to save the environment, but now we’re being asked to carry the weight of creating millions of new jobs too. Personally, I think this industry is up to the challenge.
The Obama administration’s stimulus package earmarks more than $20 billion for green pursuits. That’s a significant investment. Sure, the goals are lofty –doubling the nation’s renewable energy output over the next three years, for example – but that’s the point. When you combine very aggressive goals with a significant investment in renewable energy, logically one could deduce that this would spark the creation of a large number of jobs in this sector.
President Obama certainly seems to agree. His administration predicts that 3.2 million jobs will be created by the renewable energy sector over the next few years. $500 million of the stimulus package is specifically set aside for green job training. So, while we can speculate on whether or not the investment in renewable energy will translate directly to new jobs being created, the government continues to show its commitment by setting aside funds to train millions of people for these new jobs. Of note, Clean Edge, Inc., in its March 2009 report entitled “Clean Energy Trends for 2009” forecasts that the compound annual growth rate for clean energy jobs will be 16% over the next 10 years. We and our children should pay attention to that.
In addition to the financial commitment from the stimulus package, the new Middle Class Task Force (led by Vice President Biden) has indicated that renewable energy job creation is a pillar of the nation’s economic rebuilding program. When Mr. Biden kicked off the first task force meeting two weeks ago at the University of Pennsylvania, he highlighted that investing in green job creation would provide three key benefits:
- More jobs – and better paying jobs – to keep up with 21st century needs
- Lower energy costs
- A cleaner environment
Because renewable energy and energy efficiency markets represent a major, new industrial sector, green technologies will drive job growth at local, national and global levels. For example, countries like Germany and Spain have made huge investments in renewable energy, so it stands to reason that these countries will become similar hotbeds for job creation.
At the local level, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed touted green tech as a major driver for San Jose’s economic rebuilding program in his State of the City address back in January. He highlighted the fact that clean tech companies created more than 1,500 jobs in San Jose alone last year, and he expects that trend to grow this year. He even called out Fat Spaniel as one of the companies helping lead this trend. Take a look at David Goll’s piece in the San Jose Business Journal for more information.
Write back to us at “dogblog at fatspaniel dot com” to share your views.
Posted by Tom Tansy.
Tags: green jobs, stimulus plan
Welcome to Fat Spaniel
Welcome to our very first Fat Spaniel Technologies blog. This post is being written as I travel by train through Southern Germany. As nice as that sounds, I’m not on vacation; I’ll explain in a moment.
Six years ago, on January 30, 2003, I founded Fat Spaniel. The original idea was to help increase awareness of Renewable Energy and enable customers of solar electric systems to track and improve their performance. It was about showing a skeptical world that Renewable Energy is a viable source of energy and providing tools to help ensure these systems worked as promised. Our very first tagline was: “Visualize Renewable Energy”. This was both to describe the function of our product as well as indicate our desire to actively participate in helping the industry grow and succeed.
Today, through technological improvements, cost savings, public investment and innovative business models, the Renewable Energy industry has been transformed into a global, multi-billion dollar powerhouse. As one of the few bright spots in difficult economic times, our industry has landed at the intersection of some of the key issues of our time: climate change, energy independence and economic recovery.
In September of last year, I relocated to Munich, Germany, to personally launch the European Business Unit of Fat Spaniel. As I write this, travelling from our new European office, solar energy systems are visible everywhere. Farms, factories, and homes are sporting large arrays almost everywhere you look. Some estimated 14% of Germany’s grid power now comes from Renewable Energy which inspires my optimism about the future of our industry in the USA and beyond. It’s a great start, but we’ve barely scratched the surface of a massive potential market.
In early 2009, the Fat Spaniel team decided to formalize the passion and purpose that has been driving us since the beginning; to create a mission that would motivate and challenge us for many years into the future. Our vision is to enable and promote *Responsible Energy*, by making energy information easily available and ubiquitous.
An important way to move our mission forward is to share it and discuss it widely; hence the creation of this blog. Several members of the Fat Spaniel team will be posting here to share their perspective and expertise. We invite you to participate in the conversation and join our quest to accelerate the adoption of Responsible Energy.
I hope to talk with you again soon.
Sincerely,
Christiaan Beekhuis, President & Chief Technical Officer
Fat Spaniel Technologies, Inc.
Tags: Energy Education, green jobs, Responsible Energy, stimulus plan