FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2010<\/p>\n
Indianapolis \u2014 Clean energy industries will provide the catalyst to create long-term, good-paying jobs in Indiana, according to business leaders from Ameresco, Duke Energy and Vela Gear Systems who took part in a roundtable discussion here last night. Their views were supported by a new Indiana public opinion survey, commissioned by the Apollo Alliance, which showed that by a 2-1 margin, Hoosiers believe that public and private investment in the manufacture of clean technologies can help revive the state\u2019s economy and create jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for Congress to pass a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill that significantly boosts clean energy demand in this country,\u201d said Kevin Leahy, managing director for climate policy and economics for Duke Energy. \u201cOnce this legislation is in place, companies like those here tonight will be poised to meet the resulting demand for clean energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The roundtable, sponsored by the Apollo Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation and the Richard G. Luger Center for Renewable Energy, identified ways that Indiana is already creating jobs in the state\u2019s booming clean energy industry, and the need for state and federal policies that will keep new green jobs in the United States.<\/p>\n
Between 1998 and 2007, clean energy jobs in Indiana grew by 17.9 percent, even as overall jobs declined by one percent. During that time, green jobs grew nearly two-and-a-half times faster than overall job creation, according to a national study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, Indiana is home to more than 1,200 clean energy companies that employ over 17,000 people across the state.<\/p>\n
According to a statewide poll conducted earlier this month by Research 2000, Indianans are strong believers in the opportunity for economic recovery posed by boosting investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. Fifty-four percent of poll respondents believe that investments in clean technologies will help revive the state\u2019s economy, while only 26 percent disagree.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new global economy will run on clean energy, and Indiana is helping lead the way,\u201d said Andrea Alderson-Bazemore, Indiana state coordinator for the Apollo Alliance. \u201cWith more investment in clean technologies and manufacturing, new industries will be born and supported right here, putting you and your neighbors back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investments in clean energy technologies have the added benefits of increasing domestic security by reducing the nation\u2019s dependence on foreign oil, and mitigating the potentially devastating impacts of global climate change.<\/p>\n
Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said that businesses, labor and environmental advocates see a common goal in bolstering clean energy. \u201cAmericans go back to work, our economy booms, and the environment is protected for future generations,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win-win situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009, would put a cap on carbon and establish a Renewable Energy Standard that will generate unprecedented demand for clean energy, its components and systems. The Senate has yet to act on its version of the climate and energy bill.<\/p>\n
The House energy bill would provide capital for small and mid-sized manufacturers to become more energy efficient and retool to expand into the clean energy supply chain. Once enacted, these investments \u2013 based on U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown\u2019s \u201cInvestments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act\u201d \u2013 will create or retain at least 680,000 direct manufacturing jobs across the country and nearly 2 million more jobs in related industries over the next five years.<\/p>\n
For more on the Apollo Alliance, visit www.ApolloAlliance.org<\/a>. To learn more about the National Wildlife Federation\u2019s work in Indiana, visit www.indianawildlife.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n CONTACTS:\u00a0 Sam Haswell, (415) 371-1700 x201, Kathleen Shea Porter, (703) 276-2772, x14<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, environmental, and community leaders The National Wildlife Federation is America\u2019s largest conservation organization. We work with more than 4 million members, partners and supporters in communities across the country to protect and restore wildlife habitat, confront global warming, and connect with nature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2010 Indianapolis \u2014 Clean energy industries will provide the catalyst to create long-term, good-paying jobs in Indiana, according to business leaders from Ameresco, Duke Energy and Vela Gear Systems who took part in a roundtable discussion here last night. Their views were supported by a new Indiana public opinion survey, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nworking to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions of Americans to work
\nin a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs.<\/p>\n