New Green Jobs Portal Launched
About once every few weeks, I field a call from a Boston resident interested in green jobs. The caller is typically a young person, interested in sustainability, or a seasoned member of the construction industry, looking to add a marketable new skillset or credential to their resume. Now, those callers have a new resource they can reference. The Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) and the New England Clean Energy Council in partnership with the MA Clean Energy Center have put together an excellent on-line green jobs portal which maps the wide range of regional green jobs workforce training programs, employer partners, as well as valuable information about industry credentials, and other resources.
In addition to developing some of our own green jobs training workshops, the BRA is doing its part to help grow demand for job seekers with these skill sets by attracting new clean energy companies to Boston, weighing in on policy matters that help grow the industry, and investing directly in energy efficiency and solar thermal systems.
read more2011 Wishful Thinking: US Cleantech Industrial Policy
For those of us trying to build the cleantech industry here in the United States, Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit this week is a painful reminder of the Asian superpower’s strategic advantage with regard to cleantech economic development, job creation, and energy independence. China’s strategy has not been without controversy. The US filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization last year charging China with illegally subsidizing the production of wind power equipment.
Indeed, Evergreen Solar was drawn from Massachusetts to China, not because of cheaper labor, but due to the “considerable help [they received] from the Chinese government and state-owned banks, and because manufacturing costs are generally lower in China.”
We struggle with that here in Boston. While we’re growing a vibrant cleantech cluster and offer an array of strategic advantages for cleantech companies, we cannot rely on game-changing federal subsidies, and there seems to be little appetitite in Congress for an industrial policy that will help Boston and other cleantech clusters around the country attract and retain clean energy manufacturers at a pace that reflects the job creation, energy independence, and business competitiveness advantages the industry offers.
I understand that cleantech innovation and venture capital investment remain key strategic domestic advantages in the short term. But over the long term, as the grid becomes more green, electric vehicle market share spikes, and smart grid and building technology become the norm, rather than the exception, we should be prepared to help US cleantech companies grow their manufacturing centers – and jobs – here.
I’m happy to see Northeastern University’s Joan Fitzgerald argue this point assertively in today’s NYTimes. But we need more voices to join the fold.
read moreHoliday Odds and Ends
We’ve had a solid year for cleantech industry development, witnessed the adoption of sustainable business practices across the City, and launched innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy program and policy work. Thank you to everyone in the Boston area cleantech/green business community who has contributed your time and expertise to making our approach more strategic, more effective. I value community and industry feedback; please drop me a line in the new year if you have thoughts/suggestions about our programs, policy work, or business development strategy.
A few end-of-the- year announcements:
Green Jobs – The City’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Srategy (ARRA), includes funding for two energy related positions (search for these positions: Energy Administration and Finance Manager and Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy Project Manager). Please circulate to good candidates. Applicants must be Boston residents.
New Green Industry Blog - Northeastern University Professor Joan Fitzgerald (author: Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development) is spearheading a new blog covering Boston’s sustainable economic development work. We are excited about this new resource which will provide a valuable outside perspective on our work and engage students in process.
Best Green Gift of the Holiday Season – While the tax bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama generated more than its share of controversy, key clean energy tax credits were extended, as part of the legislative negotiation helping to protect the 85,000 clean energy jobs nationally and keeping several large planned solar projects (totalling over 600kW) and the jobs associated with them on track here in Boston.
Have a safe and happy holiday season.
Galen
read moreSustainable Chinatown Reaches Over 60 Businesses
The Sustainable Chinatown project is a partnership between the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Asian American Civic Association, and Chinatown businesses. It is funded by The Barr Foundation. To date, over 60 small businesses in Chinatown have taken advantage of the City of Boston’s federally subsidized energy efficiency program, Renew Boston. The program will shift to sustainable waste management and explore renewable energy options for businesses next. Despite the image at right, Jackie Chan is not assisting with the installation of T5 lamps.
Chinatown is a vibrant community located close to Boston’s downtown area and at the foot of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Packed with restaurants and retailers, the neighborhood continues to evolve with new developments and changing populations. The BRA initiated the Sustainable Chinatown project to help Chinatown businesses address the issues of rising energy, water, and solid waste management costs by providing business owners with practical and affordable sustainable business and energy solutions, while building long term sustainable business expertise awareness and capacity in the community.
The project has gained momentum in a neighborhood where many thought energy efficiency would be a tough sell due to language and cultural barriers. Chinatown’s business leaders have proven otherwise.
read moreOasys Water Lands in Innovation District
Boston Mayor Tom Menino welcomed Oasys Water to the Innovation District today. Oasys Water has developed breakthrough technology to address the growing water scarcity and energy security needs of the world. Oasys Water’s strength lies at the nexus of water and energy. Water requires tremendous amounts of energy to process and to transport. At the same time, many conventional energy generation processes are water intensive. According to the United States Department of Energy, for every barrel of oil produced, ten barrels of water are required. Oasys developed the Engineered Osmosis™ (EO) platform, a patented process designed to desalinate water at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods.
While the spotlight shone brightly on Oasys today, we also took an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the growing cleantech cluster in the Innovation District.Area cleantech CEOs including Next Step Living’s Geoff Chapin, Fast Cap System’s Riccardo Signorelli, and Sat Con’s Steve Rhodes attended the ribbon cutting (pictured at right with Oasys Water CEO Aaron Mandell) and enjoyed some of the purified water generated by Oasys’s proprietary technology. These companies and others in our cleantech cluster are leading the way toward a cleaner economy while creating good green jobs. As the cluster grows, these companies can more easily share ideas and resources, collaborate and network, and identify new business opportunities.
read moreBRA Funds Solar Thermal Project
Following a March 2010 allocation of up to $500,000 in Inclusionary Development funding for solar thermal projects, the BRA Board awarded funding to help support a 108 kBTU/hr solar thermal system on the Urban Edge owned Jamaica Plain Apartments project, a 103 unit scattered site affordable housing development that is undergoing substantial rehab.
The BRA will convene a bidders conference to provide additional information about the solar thermal incentive program on Thursday Nov. 18th from 9:30-11am at 26 Court Street in Boston.
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