Harvesting California's Renewable Energy Resources: A Green Jobs Business Plan

Publication Number:    CEERT-1000-2009-022

Abstract:

This report is a compilation of studies conducted in recent years looking at the amounts of jobs created by different segments of the renewable energy development and transmission and distribution grid upgrades necessary to bring our energy supply infrastructure into the 21st century. To date, the only study to look at the complete array of renewable resources available in California with a common methodology that incorporates employment figures from installation, operations and maintenance, and manufacturing was published in 2003, and was focused on the goal of a 20 percent RPS by 2010. While no single study predicts employment under the higher 33 percent RPS, together they provide compelling evidence of the major economic benefits flowing from such investments.

Despite the lack of forecast precision, the indisputable facts include: (1) All renewable energy sources generate more jobs than equivalent investments in fossil fuels – recent studies suggest from four to six times as many jobs per megawatt of installed capacity; (2) The key factors in maximizing jobs in California are policies impacting the manufacturing sector, since at present, the majority of equipment installed in renewable energy projects is imported from overseas; and (3) Under all scenarios created by academics, non-profits and industry groups, California stands to benefit the most of any state from an aggressive federal push on renewable energy and/or climate change. 

This Green Jobs Business Plan compiles the results of a series of studies that shows California could add hundreds of thousands of jobs to employer payrolls throughout the state. A large portion of the money we currently spend on imported and polluting fossil fuels can be spent instead on creating permanent stable employment for Californians. The report also discusses the critical role of new transmission. And it highlights five key regions throughout California that would benefit dramatically from a 33 percent RPS by 2020.

 The "green jobs" that flow from new large-scale investments in the whole family of renewable energy resources – primarily solar, wind, geothermal and various forms of biomass – can be developed throughout all parts of California. A 2006 analysis performed by the Renewable Energy Policy Project looked at the employment gains throughout the U.S. from reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that have been linked to global climate change. California ranked No. 1 in the country. 

 This CEERT analysis goes further by examining the degree to which California cities, counties, and the state as a whole would benefit from an aggressive build-out of the state’s renewable energy assets. The report’s findings are compiled from a number of well-regarded studies. 

Author(s):  Peter Asmus, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT)

Commission Division:    Non-CEC Document On Line (1000)

Office/Program:    External Agency

PIER Program Area:   

Date Report Completed:    February 2009

Date On Line:    07/23/2009

Acrobat PDF File Size: 48 pages, 3,500 kilobytes**