The Stimulus means green jobs for Minneapolis

BY JANET CONTURSI

The recession may not be over, but the green economy is moving forward—now may be the time to trade your pink, white or blue collar for a new green collar job! Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better

known as the Obama stimulus, Minnesota is gearing up to increase green jobs. Workers will be needed to weatherize homes, retrofit buildings, install solar panels, and build wind turbines. The stimulus includes funds to train dislocated workers in green skills and incentives to create new green businesses.
Minnesota will spend about 7 percent of its stimulus funds on green energy. So far, only a fraction of the money has been used. “We have not seen the beginning of the impact of the stimulus yet,” said Joshua Low with the Blue Green Alliance, a Minneapolis-based national organization launched in 2006 by the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club.

The Alliance is working with Mayors Rybak and Coleman to attract green jobs to the Twin Cities. If the stimulus helps Minnesota reach its goal of 25
percent renewable energy by 2025, we could see a yearly increase in green jobs. This growth would then stimulate other sectors of the economy, creating a vast supply chain to service and support green industries. Wind turbine production is a good example of this growth potential. There are 20 separate component parts in a wind turbine, and each component has multiple subcomponents.

The manufacture of a single wind turbine involves dozens of businesses and many types of workers, including environmental engineers, iron and steel workers, millwrights, sheet metal workers, machinists, salespersons and truck drivers.
Overall, an estimated two to five additional jobs are created for every green job, according to the MN Green Jobs Task Force. “The stimulus,” Low believes, “offers incredible potential to increase employment and make sure the jobs are good jobs.” Low’s opinion is supported by a recent study of green job potential in Minnesota. The Renewable Energy Policy Project identified 280 manufacturing companies in Hennepin County alone that could make the transition to green and supply the components needed for the wind, solar, geothermal and biomass industries. They would add almost 7,000 green jobs to the economy and reduce carbon emissions by 15 percent.

What are green jobs?

Green jobs are career-track jobs that pay a family-supporting wage, use indigenous renewable fuels, and reduce carbon emissions. A green economy is healthier and can help stabilize local communities by creating and keeping
jobs at home.

More than 8 million green jobs already exist across America. In 2007, Minnesota had about 52,000 green jobs that produced about $11 billion, according to a report prepared for the MN Green Jobs Task Force. Green jobs are found in almost every industry and across mid to high salary ranges. A green economy needs clerical workers, bookkeepers, accountants, researchers, salespersons, teachers, writers, truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, roofers and many other kinds of workers.

As businesses transition from traditional to green, most workers will be able to apply their basic skills to a green economy after some additional “green” training: An electrician may need certification training to install solar electric systems, or an architect may need training in energy and environmental design. Some jobs will be unique to a green economy: The wind industry requires technicians to install and maintain wind turbines, and the solar industry needs assessment specialists and solar energy designers.

Training for green jobs

In Minnesota, there are training opportunities for green jobs through community organizations, labor unions and community colleges and universities. HIRE Minnesota is a coalition of environmental and community groups that trains low-income people for green energy jobs. Their parent organization, Summit Acad-emy OIC, offers weatherization technician training. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has apprenticeship programs in photovoltaic systems, and the Laborers International Union of North America does weatherization training.
Businesses are working with Minnesota colleges to develop programs that meet the needs of a green economy. Minn-esota’s community colleges offer degree and certificate programs in energy technical specialist, wind turbine
maintenance, solar energy assessment, building commissioning technician and biofuel production. Melinda Voss, a spokeswoman for the Minn-esota State Colleges and Universities system, said, “Student response to these courses is strong and there is industry interest in creating programs that offer flexibility to students so they can get the kind of training needed to work in the energy industry.”

The University of Minnesota is a major green player through its Institute on Renewable Energy and the Environment and its Center for Sustainable Building Research. A bachelor’s degree in engineering is needed for a management position in environmental engineering, and a master’s degree is often required for the position of executive director in an environmental nonprofit.

Minnesota’s green job strength is in renewable energy—especially wind, solar and biofuels—and in green services and products. The stimulus will give Minnesota an immediate incentive to develop green jobs, but investment in the green economy is here to stay—and the big oil companies are among the largest investors: Chevron is investing in geothermal, ExxonMobile is researching algae for biomass energy, and Shell is betting on biofuels. These companies are looking at renewables for in-house use to reduce their own petro production costs, but other investors are thinking more broadly. A fund manager at a recent alternative investment conference in Geneva was quoted by Reuters as saying: “The trend toward green investing is completely irreversible. We call it the new mainstream.” Bring on the investors and businesses and jobs will follow—it’s just smart to go green!

*******
Green Resources in South Minneapolis: Green Jobs Network: online green job board. http://www.green-jobs.net/

Bikeverywhere: publishes high quality bicycle maps.
http://www. bikeverywhere.com

Affordable Energy Solut-ions: energy assessments. http://www.-affordableenergysolutions.com/

Sundays Energy: resource for everything green. http://sundaysenergy.org/
Natural Built Home: eco-friendly building materials. http://www.naturalbuilthome.com

The ReUse Store: salvaged building items and green building products.
http://www.greeninstitute.org/programs/reusedeconstruction.htm
Janet Contursi is a freelance writer and photographer in Minneapolis. She can be reached at greentalk@live.com.