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A potential source for new jobs is through the development of the nation’s smart grid. One of the effects of updating the nation’s electrical grid is that it can spur the creation of new, "green" jobs.
What’s a "green" job? According to U.S. Vice President Biden, quoted on the White House Blog: "[Green jobs] provide products and services that use renewable energy resources, reduce pollution, and conserve energy and natural resources... According to the Council of Economic Advisers, green jobs pay 10 to 20 percent more than other jobs."
In the U.S., smart grid technologies will directly aid the improvement of energy efficiency, increase energy independence, and help optimize the integration of cleaner energy resources, effectively making any job related to the deployment of smart grid a "green" job.
The job-creation estimates are impressive. Government investments of $16 billion or more in smart grid
incentives could result in the creation of up to 280,000 new jobs in the US, with 150,000 being created in the
first year alone, according to a KEMA report compiled for the GridWise Alliance. This number doesn’t include the
industries outside of the utility sector that would flourish because of smart grid, including:
> Renewable generation companies, such as solar panel manufacturers
> Automobile manufacturers that produce electric cars
> Smart appliance manufacturers
The U.S. isn’t the only nation that’s recognized the job-creation benefits of smart grid investment. In Australia, research shows that adoption of smart grids throughout electricity markets could generate nearly 18,000 jobs and grow the Australian GDP by $16 billion.
According to Smart Grid Australia, the London School of Economics claims a £15 billion (US$22.2 billion) investment in broadband, smart grids, and intelligent transport systems would offer a greater economic stimulus than investing in roads and bridges in the UK. The study found that deployment of energy-cutting digital networks
would create and maintain 700,000 jobs in the UK.
What types of job skills does someone need to take advantage of any employment opportunities created by
investment in the smart grid? There appears to be room for those with advanced degrees and for those who are
skilled in the trades.
In a recent article in The Windsor Star, reporter Derek Sankey writes:
"Careers in science and engineering will be one focus area of these green jobs as new technologies and
processes are developed, but the skilled trades will also play an important role and provide new career
opportunities for trades workers.
Green energy and construction projects will open up new careers in manufacturing, construction, operation and
maintenance of projects such as wind turbine farms, building retrofits, solar panel installation and transit-line
building, for example."
Want to know more about green jobs? You’ll find more information about green jobs at ItsYourSmartGrid.com and
at the following web sites:
1. The White House Blog: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/27/The-case-for-green-jobs/
2. SmartGrid Australia: http://www.smartgridaustralia.com.au/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=52&cntnt01returnid=15
3. The Windsor Star: http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/business/story.html?id=b1d2f039-cea7-4b6f-9485-
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