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Green Tide: State taking big steps toward energy-efficient future [The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.](Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 6--A modest zero-energy project has multiplied into a major career change for one-time software developer David Bolt. The Roane County resident may be on the cutting edge of an industry wave that could mean valuable jobs for an East Tennessee economy hungry for new investment. Bolt grew interested in sustainability -- also known as energy and environmental conservation -- as he was renovating his family's 2,400-square-foot home in Harriman. Through various energy savings features, he modified the house to become a "zero energy" home -- one that creates as much energy as it consumes. Then in 2005, Bolt founded Sustainable Future, an online company that does turnkey design and installation of solar energy systems to homes and businesses. Bolt may be the tip of a trend that area economic developers pray will lead to widespread employment opportunities in the near future. By many estimates, a wave of green jobs is about to wash over Tennessee. But some observers question whether the swift current will lift all boats. Will the new jobs tied to energy and environmental technology replace the mass of positions lost across the state -- including the Knoxville area -- particularly in manufacturing? Will they translate into green for families' bank accounts? It's too early to say, but Tennessee has taken significant steps toward a green future. The state already has landed a wide range of emerging technology companies and projects, including Hemlock Semiconductor; Wacker Chemie AG; the Volunteer State Solar Initiative; Volkswagen, which will produce high-efficiency diesel cars; Nissan lithium ion battery and electric car production operations; eTec, which provides electric charging stations, and others. On July 8, Gov. Phil Bredesen signed into law the Tennessee Clean Energy Future Act, which mandates a five-year program to improve energy efficiency in state buildings, sets voluntary minimum standards for energy conservation in the state code for residential buildings, designates the clean-energy sector as eligible for the state's industry tax credit, streamlines the process for the state's low-income weatherization program and calls for other measures. Green is seen as the way out of the stagnant economy. Green-tinted hope "Green jobs or green-collar jobs provide hope at a time when workers see blue-collar and even professional and service jobs being reduced in the U.S. and outsourced overseas. To many, green jobs mean local jobs created by money staying in the community and creating a multiplier effect locally," according to an assessment in Growing Green: The potential for Green Jobs Growth in Tennessee, a study released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development in 2008. But another study, High Road or Low Road? Job Quality in the New Green Economy, raises a few alarms about green jobs. Released earlier this year by the Good Jobs First organization, the study warns against placing too much emphasis on the quantity of green jobs and not the quality. "Until now, discussions of green jobs have largely assumed that these will be good, middle-class jobs. In this report we test that assumption and find that it is not always valid.," the study said. Good Jobs First describes itself as a resource group for those seeking more transparency in how stimulus funds are spent and making sure companies receiving these funds are held accountable for producing quality jobs. Citing examples, the group's study says just because a company is green doesn't mean it treats its employees well. Several wind and solar companies have already started sending production to Mexico and China. The study found wages as low as $8.25 an hour at one recycling processing plant and manufacturing jobs in the renewable energy sector that paid $11 an hour. Commissioned by Change to Win, Sierra Club, Laborers International Union of North America and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the study called for attaching wage requirements to subsidies when companies receive public money, applying wage standards to government contractors, requiring that companies receiving public money buy from domestic sources, and others. Another organization, Empower Consumers, also advocates skepticism of green jobs. Empower Consumers describes its mission as making sure consumers, especially those with lower incomes, do not bear the economic hardship of changing the nation's energy policies. One of its positions is that policies like cap-and-trade -- designed to raise energy costs in order to wean the country from carbon-based fuel and toward renewable energy -- will hurt low-income families. Daryl Bassett, spokesman for the group, said these policies also will undermine job creation, as companies seek to control energy costs. "The cruel twist of fate is that as business costs rise, it is inevitable that we will see more job losses," he said. Bassett recently spoke in Gatlinburg for the Association of Tennessee Valley Governments board of directors. In a telephone interview, he said that although he agrees that a flood of green jobs is on the horizon, he believes there will not be enough to offset other job losses and many people will not have the right skills or education to get them. "We are not naysayers. We are not against renewable energy," Bassett said. "But we just want to add a little reality to the situation," he said. The green job situation right now in East Tennessee is hard to pin down. The state's Department of Labor and Workforce Development does not have figures on numbers of energy- or environmental-related posts or their salaries, although that could change. The department has received a $736,340 grant for a study to gather and disseminate employment information on new green job opportunities. This would expand on the Growing Green study, and will provide current estimates of the number of green jobs and green job vacancies within 13 labor and work-force investment areas in Tennessee. Where the jobs are But there are green jobs out there, or at least green companies. The Growing Green report lists nine biodiesel and ethanol production companies in Tennessee, three ethanol production facilities and 36 renewable energy businesses across the state. Of these, the Knoxville area includes BioPower USA, a biodiesel company; a biodiesel facility that the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is doing in conjunction with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture; Loudon ethanol producer Tate and Lyle, and Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC in Vonore. Renewable energy companies in the East Tennessee area include Enernex Corp., Green Earth Services and Residential Energy Solutions in Knoxville; Barnhart Cranes and Rigging in Oak Ridge; National Solar Supply in Tellico Plains; Buffalo Mountain Energy Center in Oliver Springs; Scott Electric in Rogersville; AFG Industries in Kingsport; Aerisyn Inc., Big Frog Mountain Inc., Signal Wind Energy, Steam & Control Systems Inc. and Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group Inc. in Chattanooga; and AFG Industries in Kingsport. The popular notion of green jobs -- those involving solar, wind, biodiesel or similar energy sources -- are rare compared to what most of the actual jobs in Tennessee would be. Growing Green breaks green jobs into two basic categories: related to energy efficiency or related to renewable energy. Energy efficiency involves adapting or designing buildings or other things for reduced energy demand. Renewable energy involves using renewable power sources such as solar, wind, hydro/marine, biofuels/biomass or geothermal to increase or replace traditional energy sources. Energy-efficiency jobs outnumber renewable energy jobs 18 to one. However, job growth in the renewable energy sector is expected to be 24 percent compared to 3.5 percent in the energy efficiency sector. The state Labor and Workforce Development Department's 2009 Annual Workforce Report estimates that the Hemlock Semiconductor plant in Clarksville, Tenn., will produce 500 to 900 jobs, with 1,000 in construction of the plant; Wacker Chemie AG in Cleveland, Tenn., will produce 500 to 600 jobs; Volkswagen in Chattanooga will produce 2,000 jobs plus 9,500 more indirect positions; Nissan in Smyrna, Tenn., will produce 1,300 jobs and eTec will produce 750 jobs by 2012. Some of these companies have publicized the key job categories that they are recruiting. Hemlock Semiconductor will be hiring chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers, accountants, production planning clerks and other staff; chemical plant and systems operators, electricians, pipefitters and millwrights, numerical tool and process control programmers. What they pay The Growing Green study identified median annual pay levels across the state for some of these occupations: chemical engineer, $72,582; electrical engineers, $75,659; mechanical engineers, $65,065; accountants, $49,672; production planning clerks, $36,266; chemical plant and systems operators, $43,716; electricians, $39,034; pipefitters, $36,360 and millwrights, $42,641. Volkswagen will be recruiting for electrical and electronic equipment assemblers, team assemblers, industrial engineering technicians, industrial engineers and electrical engineering technicians. Median annual salaries for some of these occupations included team assemblers, $26,609; industrial engineers, $63,946; and electrical engineering technicians, $48,587. Some of these wages are impressive but there are others that are less so. Brad Coburn, director of green programs at Pellissippi State Technical Community College's Business and Community Services school, is in charge of a program that trains students for careers as solar installers, home energy auditors and for other green occupations. Asked about the wages some of these students are making, Coburn said he was aware of solar photovoltaic installers making $7 to $12 an hour. This would compare to a national median average pay of $15.65 per hour for solar thermal installers according to the O-NET Resource Center , an online database developed under the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration. Wages for some other emerging green occupations are higher. The national median wage for home energy auditors is $28.81 an hour and for energy engineers it's $42.58 an hour. A 2009 study by the Tennessee Board of Regents found that community colleges were leading the way in terms of green training and education, offering programs to attain certification in many green occupations. Many have arrangements with employers that help students get on-the-job training or employment placement. Pellissippi State, Walters State Community College, Tennessee Technology Center at Knoxville and other area community colleges all have green training programs. "I have had national recruiters contract me and recruiters in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, so if you want to move to some of the bigger markets that are having activity faster than us, you can do that," Coburn said. While some look for green jobs, others just start their own green businesses. Bolt of the new firm Sustainable Future said his business has been brisk. He started with three employees and now has a staff of 15. "We will probably go up to 20 people in the next few months," he said. Aside from seeking specific training, Bolt advises people interested in a green career to start by taking an interest in making their own homes and lives greener. Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said he is aware of concerns about the change to a greener economy and admits the process may not always go smoothly. "We are talking about what could be a major transformation of how we produce and consume energy and that sets in motion a realigning of the market and as the market changes, there will be winners and losers," Smith said. People are afraid because it is hard to imagine the changes on the way, but they can be handled through innovation, Smith said. "I would be very cautious of anyone who wants to bet against the innovation and creativity that this country has, and the closer we get to really transforming the way things are, the more the status quo and business as usual folks will get vocal," he added. Business writer Ed Marcum may be reached at 865-342-6267. To see more of The Knoxville News-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.knoxnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |