www.bcse.org
Renewable Energy:
Producing Megawatts and Jobs
About BCSE
The Business Council
for Sustainable Energy
(BCSE) is an organization
dedicated to providing
a diverse, secure mix
of energy resources.
Founded in 1992 by
senior executives in
the natural gas, energy
efficiency, electric utility,
and renewable energy
industries, the Council
offers a distinct,
business-oriented
perspective on energy,
economic and sustain-
Renewable energy is a free source of energy that is clean to capture and generate.
Once the equipment is installed—a solar panel, wind turbine, hydroelectric facility,
or geothermal well—the only on-going costs are for operation and maintenance. In
addition to producing electricity and heating our homes, renewable energy technologies
are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. Domestically sourced
and produced, renewable energy also enhances U.S. energy security.
Through effective policies that establish a level playing field and a consistent
framework to guide investments, the renewable energy industry has the potential
to catalyze economic growth and add jobs throughout the U.S. economy. The range
of these jobs include, research and development, engineering, manufacturing,
construction, installation, operations and maintenance, and services to support
project development and finance.
Renewable Bio-gas: Energy from Agricultural and Municipal Waste
Bio-gas is a renewable source of energy that derives bio-methane from dairy waste,
landfills, thermal gasification of woody bio-mass, or sewage treatment plants into
traditional natural gas supplies. When renewable bio-gas is captured it can then be
upgraded and integrated into natural gas pipelines and used to generate heat, hot
water, or electricity, significantly reducing the cost of electricity and other fuels. It has
been estimated that 72-325 jobs per billion cubic feet (Bcf) of renewable bio-gas
can be created, depending on the source of bio-gas. Given a market potential of
1.8 quadrillion British Thermal Units (Btu)1, or about 1,800 Bcf, the job creation
potential would be 516,000 new jobs across the country.
ability issues. The Council
Geothermal: Energy from the Heat of the Earth
provides America with
Geothermal energy has been used in the United States for over 50 years and provides
the potential to power millions of homes, businesses and schools from the heat
of the earth. In 2011, 500 to 700 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power projects
are expected to enter their final construction phase, adding approximately 3,000
construction jobs to the U.S. economy.2
clean energy services,
technology products,
and power generation in
all fifty states. For more
information, please visit
http://www.bcse.org.
Hydropower: Energy from the Ocean, Rivers and Streams
The United States currently has the world’s second largest installed capacity of
hydropower facilities, at approximately 100,000 MW, which includes pumped
storage facilities. Even so, a huge untapped potential remains—it is estimated that
the U.S. could add 60,000 MW of new hydroelectric capacity by 2025, with a 400,000
MW technical potential.3
The next generation of hydro technologies—wave, ocean current and tidal in-stream
energy conversion—will play an important part in unlocking this potential. Pumped
storage technologies, which are expected to double in capacity to 40,000 MW by
20254, will play an important role in load firming and energy storage that can be used
in conjunction with other renewable energy sources.
With strong policies in place, the U.S. hydropower
industry can add 1.4 million cumulative familysupporting jobs in all regions by 20255 to the already
300,000 currently employed.
Solar: Energy from the Sun
Solar energy is a clean, abundant, domestic renewable
energy source. Solar photovoltaic systems (PV) convert
sunlight directly into electricity, while solar heating and
cooling (SHC) systems take advantage of the heat from
the sun to heat and cool homes and businesses. Concentrating solar plants (CSP) use mirrors or lenses to concentrate the heat of the sun to drive traditional steam turbines
or engines and generate electricity at utility scale. Growing markets and advances in solar technology are rapidly
bringing down costs, making solar more affordable.
Solar energy generates about 1,000 MW of electricity
annually and is expected to generate about 10,000 MW
by 2015.6 An expanding solar market is creating thousands
of new jobs for the growing U.S. economy. The solar
industry employs nearly 100,000 Americans across all
Voith Hydro:
Jobs in the Heartland
In October 2009, Voith Hydro,
based in York, Pennsylvania,
opened a new manufacturing facility in Hannibal, Ohio to produce
stators—a very large and key
component of any hydro-electric
generator. Manufacturing these
fifty states, and with the right policies is projected
to support over half a million American jobs by 2016.7
Energy from the Wind
Wind power is already diversifying the nation’s energy
portfolio while providing stable long-term prices that are
not subject to market volatility. A wind turbine’s blades
turn a shaft connected to a generator that makes electricity. The U.S. now gets over 40,000 MW this way, generating 8 percent of the electricity in Texas, and over 14
percent in Iowa, for example.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by 2030
wind energy could produce 20 percent of the nation’s
electricity, create roughly 500,000 jobs8, and reduce
water consumption in the electric sector by 17 percent9
since wind generation uses no water. Sufficient new
transmission lines, and practical guidelines for siting
wind farms that do not stifle this still rapidly growing
industry will be essential if wind is to realize its potential,
as well as market signals from state and federal tax and
energy policies.
stators in Ohio allowed Voith
to produce and easily transport
11 component units for four runof-the-river hydroelectric projects
in the Ohio River. These projects
will add more than 350 MW of
renewable generation to the region.
Tax incentives offered by the State
of Ohio also influenced the decision
to open this new facility, creating
40 new jobs for the local workforce.
First Solar: Converting
Sunshine in the Southwest
Example of Voith stator manufactured in
Hannibal, OH.
In Boulder City, Nevada, First Solar,
an Arizona-based company, supplied
close to a million photovoltaic (PV)
panels to the El Dorado and Copper
Mountain Solar facilities. These
projects, owned by Sempra
Generation, generate 58 MW of
electricity, and are conveniently
located along existing transmission
lines. This solar-generated
A First Solar photovoltaic panel is
installed in Boulder City, NV. Photo
Courtesy of First Solar, Inc.
electricity meets the needs of about
20,000 average California homes
within Pacific Gas & Electric’s
service area—while displacing
approximately 35,000 metric tons
of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually—
the equivalent of taking about 6,000
cars off of the road. In addition,
the facility created over 300 jobs
at the construction peak, and also
provided indirect economic benefits.
Milbrandt, A., “A Geographic Perspective on the Current Biogas Resource Availability in the United States,” NREL/TP-560-39181, December 2005, Table 10.
1
Geothermal Energy Association. 2010. Geothermal Industry Interim US Market Update. October 2010. Available at: http://www.geo-energy.org.
2
National Hydropower Association. (2010) Job Creation Opportunities in Hydropower. April 2010. Available at http://www.hydro.org.
3,4,5 http://www.seia.org/
6
Solar Energy Industries Association. Online at: http://www.solarworksforamerica.com/.
7
U.S. Department of Energy.(2008). 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply. May 2008. Available at http://
www.eere.energy.gov.
8
U.S. Department of Energy. Online at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro.
9