GREEN JOBS and the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

The Obama Administration has made climate change and renewable energy cornerstones of its policies. From cabinet appointments such as Steve Chu as Secretary of the Department of Energy, Carol Browner, Climate and Enegy Czar and Lisa Jackson as EPA Adminsitrator, this reflects a committment to the enviroment.

Additionally, congress passed legislation last year to extend solar Investment Tax Credits (ITC) to 8 years and is expected to extend Production Tax Credits (PTC) for wind from 1 to 5 years. The $787 Billion stimulus package includes almost $80 Billion in funding and tax credits.

What does this mean to you?

Collectively, 2009 and later could see an acceleration of new clean and sustainable projects get developed, built and placed into service. At each phase, engineers and technicians are required to complete these projects. The Obama Adminstration has stated that of the 3 million new jobs created by his stimulus package, 459,00 will be in the energy industry.

If you are a younger member of the energy industry, your career should have many options with so many people due to retire in the next 10 years. If you are an industry veteran, you should feel fairly secure in your position.

An article on details of how the economic stimulus package will impact your area of the energy industry is in this section. It is good to know that cash and tax incentives are offered for: projects (wind, solar, biomass, CHP, distributed generation), energy efficiency (weatherization, lighting, etc).

 

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