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Fillmore Street in San Francisco; Image via Wikipedia
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the conclusions of a study just completed by the California State Air Resources Board that "going green" will be .
Under the , the state must impose a limit on the amount of pollutants companies emit and expand renewable energy. These changes, along with others, would result in 100,000 new jobs, boost the state economy by $27 billion and increase personal income by $14 billion, the study said.
This is a great example that aligns perfectly with the topic of this blog, "Keeping the lights on."
In its most recent ", Monica Sanford and Maria Stamas of the describe "passive design," the techniques for building structures that work for humans within the natural constraints of the environment. Buildings sited for optimal use of daylight, equipped with to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter, using passive ventilation systems, and so on, can use significantly less energy than "normal" buildings.
In a , supply chain executives across a range of industries agreed not only that "greening" the manufacturing process was becoming more and more cost effective, but that they expected increased profits and better quality as a result.
A whopping 95% of the 3,000 North American executives polled agree that green manufacturing will continue to expand, citing increased profits (66%) and improved efficiency and product quality (43%) as key drivers.
43% is not even a majority, but it's a sign the tide of perception is turning that going green is not a tax, but can result in both bottom line and top line benefits to companies.
Public Domain. Credit information: Hinode JAXA/NASA
Every day I get emails about "clean tech financing this" and "clean tech financing that" - last year there was over $7 billion in investments in clean technologies in the U.S. in the San Jose Merc, Paul Holland of describes some of his philosophy on clean tech investment, including a strong focus on technologies that will reduce energy demand:
"The first lesson is there's nothing wrong with a capital-efficient investment, even in clean tech. The second lesson is, look what happens when you don't pay attention to the first lesson."
Artist's conception - Manhattan covered with solar cells. If Walmart covers all its roofs with solar cells, they'll cover an area equal to Manhattan
The New York Times has a story today about before a Federal tax break expires at the end of December. The article's analysis is that they are primarily doing it for PR purposes, since PV-based energy is still a lot more expensive than conventional. The benefits of being able to say they are green are compelling. But the companies put a slightly different spin on it:
describes how Denmark has achieved energy independence, and illustrates the numerous benefits for the country, including a very low unemployment rate and a large new export market.
When the 1973 oil shock hit, Denmark got 99 percent of its energy from the Middle East. Now they get zero. The country has combined massive energy efficiency programs, such as using waste heat from power plants to heat homes (known as "cogeneration"), with alternative energy sources like windmills (20% of their energy comes from the wind now), effective use of their own petroleum resources in the North Sea, and incentives for lowering energy use via high taxes on gasoline.
A details the way that traditional high carbon industries, such as coal, are shedding jobs while renewable energy and energy efficiency industries are adding jobs.
An estimated 2.3 million people worldwide currently work either directly in renewables or indirectly in supplier industries. The solar thermal industry employs at least 624,000 people, the wind power industry 300,000, and the solar PV industry 170,000. More than 1 million people work in the biomass and biofuels sector, while small-scale hydropower employs 39,000 individuals and geothermal employs 25,000.
It's not just those people and organizations applying clean and renewable energy who are profiting, but also those doing the work.
