Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
As a board member, however, I'm certain that the census underestimates the number
of people who are actually employed in the industry because the association has some
very stringent standards by which these numbers are calculated, and it also depends on
the accuracy of the surveys submitted by industry company managers (we're all so busy
that many of us likely haven't even filled out a census form). We estimate a much higher
number of people employed in some states than currently shown in the job census, and
in 2012 and beyond we'll be using an even more rigorous methodology to get accurate
numbers for this growing US workforce.
What The Solar Foundation won't be able to show is indirect employment—the phe-
nomenonthatcomeswiththeSolarAscent.Indirectsolaremploymentcomesintheform
of jobs that are tangentially linked to the Solar Ascent. And one big source of employ-
ment creation will be jobs that businesses large and small will be able to create when
they have more money to spend—because as we've proved, solar electricity is cheaper
than grid electricity. This may seem to contradict conventional wisdom, but, as we've
already shown, the conventional wisdom of the Dirty Energy economy is not that wise;
consider the idea of boiling water with uranium at Fukushima (an earthquake-and tidal-
wave-prone area)—not a smart way to create electricity by any standard.
One example of the phenomenon of indirect job creation is in the schools sector of
California.SomeofthefastestuptakeofsolarpanelsinCaliforniahasbeeninthepublic-
sector-built environment because these institutions are hurting from energy costs and
needthesavingstheycangetbygoingsolar.Asof2012,114megawattsofsolarsystems
are already installed in California public-sector buildings, such as schools and govern-
ment offices as well as other state-run facilities, and another 239 megawatts of applica-
tions are in process. The savings to California is greater than $1.3 billion! In a state that
hasa$5billiondeficit,youcanseetherelativesignificanceofthesavingscreatedbygo-
ing solar. Schools are among the worst hit by the state's budget crisis, and a bright light
for them is the savings they can realize by going solar. Of this savings, more than $800
million is expected to go to school districts and universities, freeing up resources to re-
tain teachers and dampen budget cuts currently in process.
Atatimewheneducatorsinoursocietyareneededmorethanever,$800millionpays
alotofsalaries. Andwhowouldhavethoughtthatgoingsolaratyourkids'schoolcould
helpstaveoffthescarcitythinkingthathascreptintooureducationsystem.Asthebump-
er sticker says, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!” It's my hope that
more state government entities will move to solar; and with the projects already under
application—between 70 and 130 megawatts—more solar will be installed in 2012, with
a net projected lifetime savings of $300 million to $700 million. These are just some of
the benefits that accrue from embracing the solar economy.
