Renewable Energy

Report: Tackling climate change nets 4.5 million jobs

• Aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency can net 4.5 million new jobs by 2030. These jobs are not limited to certain regions or sectors – they are widely dispersed throughout the U.S. in virtually all industries and occupations.
• Hot jobs spurred by this new economic growth span a diverse range of skills and experience and include: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, administrative assistants, machinists, cashiers, management analysts, civil engineers, and sheet metal workers.
• Renewable energy and energy efficient technologies could displace approximately 1.2 billion tons of carbon emissions annually by 2030 – the amount scientists believe is necessary to prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change.
• Approximately 57% of carbon emissions reductions would be from energy efficiency and 43% would be from renewable energy.
• Energy efficiency measures can allow U.S. carbon emissions to remain about level through 2030, while renewable technologies can provide large reductions in carbon emissions below current levels
• Industries showing the largest job gains include: construction, farming, professional services, public sector, retail, truck transportation, fabricated metals and electrical equipment.
• The construction industry directly benefits from almost all the growing renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors as well as from improvements in overall economic growth due to energy savings. Farming directly benefits from biomass and biofuel technology growth.
• Many of these jobs can not be easily outsourced due to the on-site nature required by these roles.
• The greatest numbers of renewable energy jobs are generated by solar photovoltaics, biofuels, biomass, and concentrating solar power sectors.

The report suggests that policy can play a significant role in both generating jobs and mitigating carbon emissions.

“For job growth the status quo is no match for innovation,” said Mr. Collins. “Congress can help get the economy back on track with smart energy policy - reduce energy consumption in buildings by 50%; adopt an aggressive national renewable portfolio standard; commit to end dependence on foreign oil by 2025; and implement an upstream cap and auction system to manage greenhouse gases at the points where they first enter the energy economy.”

This report analyzed the job potential of improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry, and assessed six renewable energy technologies: concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, wind power, biomass, biofuels, and geothermal power. Estimates in this report refer to net jobs since advancing new energy technologies can both create new jobs and displace jobs from less efficient industries. This report suggests that, in total, more than 4.5 million more jobs can be created by tackling climate change than would be lost.

This new report builds on the findings of ASES’ groundbreaking report Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions From Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030 edited by Chuck Kutscher.

DOE, Treasury Provide Guidance on Direct Payments for Renewable Projects

DOE and the U.S. Department of Treasury issued guidance last week on the process for renewable energy project owners to receive direct federal payments in lieu of tax credits. Most large renewable energy projects are eligible to receive federal tax credits, and prior to the economic downturn, it was common for such projects to receive financing from third parties that would benefit from the tax credits. But with most companies now earning lower profits and expecting to pay lower taxes, that tax-credit financing has dried up, making it more difficult to take advantage of the tax credits. To address that issue, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorized the Treasury Department to make direct payments to companies that create renewable energy facilities and place the facilities in service on or after January 1, 2009. See the February 18 article from this newsletter on this aspect of the Recovery Act.

The Treasury Department has set aside $3 billion in Recovery Act funds for the direct payments, sufficient to support an estimated 5,000 facilities using biomass energy, solar energy, wind power, and other types of renewable energy. The agency is not yet accepting applications for the direct payments, but by releasing the guidance documents now, the Treasury Department aims to give businesses ample time to prepare their applications. The agency intends to launch a Web-based application process in the coming weeks. See the DOE press release and the terms and conditions, guidance, and a sample application for the direct payments on the Treasury Department Web site.

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DOE to Invest $49 Million in 24 Solar Projects and Solar Training

DOE will invest up to $27 million to help train solar installers.

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Solar Hot Water and More for Home Installations

Water heaters are only the beginning for residential solar thermal.

Devices and appliances for capturing the sun's heat are going to likely start performing more and varied tasks, according to solar advocates at the Fifth Annual German California Solar day that took place in San Francisco yesterday. Right now, solar thermal is primarily deployed to heat water for pools, showers or household appliances, but in the future expect to see it used to heat rooms, purify water or other things.

In part, the increased experimentation with solar thermal technology derives from the fact that, compared to photovoltaic panels, solar thermal has been overlooked. Only about 180,000 solar water heaters and other solar thermal devices exist in the U.S., according to Ed Murray, CEO of Aztec Solar. Only 1,000 get installed yearly in California, although many homes in Los Angeles and Berkeley were equipped with solar water heaters in the 1920s, before a large network of natural gas pipelines existed.

Approximately 75 percent of the homes in the U.S. could take advantage of solar technology, said Jane Davidson, a professor at the University of Minnesota and the director of the Solar Energy Laboratory.

But, oops, there's the price. Solar thermal systems in the U.S. cost about $150 a square foot, she said. Without subsides, they are only currently economical in parts of the Southwestern U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.

"In most of the U.S. it is less expensive to use natural gas or electric," she said. Piling on the chores, therefore, can help spread the costs.

But a growing number of consumers in Germany and Austria are beginning to buy combo systems, said Werner Koldehoff, a board member of the German Solar Industry Association. In these, hot water goes to the heater, and some of it goes through pipes in the floor to provide space heating. A conventional solar water heater might cost €6,000 to €8,000 while a combo system can run €10,000 to €15,000.

Some customers have also begun to harness heat to run solar air conditioners. The Hotel Belroy Palace in Spain has a floor heater/water heater/solar air conditioner, he noted. Air conditioning is in the early stages, but manufacturers are already popping up.

"That is the future of solar thermal. It is not only water," he said.

European communities have additionally started to deploy solar thermal water/heating systems for multifamily buildings and communities. Marstal, Denmark has erected 18,000 square meters of solar collectors which provide 30 percent of the town's heating, he said. In all, the system can provide the equivalent of 12.8 megawatts of power in terms of heat. (Warm wastewater from the shower, whether solar heated or not, can also be used to warm incoming water – Zeta Communities has a pre-warmer like this in its beta home.) Like solar air conditioning, community systems are in the early stages.

Later, solar thermal could be used to purify and/or desalinate water, he noted. Industrial equipment for hot water and steam is also coming from Ausra and eSolar.

One issue that will need to be ironed out, however, is storage. PV panels can just shuttle power to the grid. There is no heat grid. Heat also needs to be stored seasonally – harvested in summer and consumed in winter. One solution may be chemical storage, i.e., fuel cells, said Davidson.

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