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Clean Energy, Green Jobs (2009)

A National Renewable Electricity Standard Will Boost the Economy, and Protect the Environment

Renewable energy has been one of the bright spots for the struggling U.S. economy. In 2007 and 2008, more wind power was installed in the United States than in the previous 20 years combined, representing a $27 billion investment. More than 70 wind turbine component manufacturing facilities opened, expand-ed, or were announced. Moreover, according to their respective trade associations, the U.S. wind industry employed 85,000 people in 2008, up 35,000 from 2007, and the solar energy industry employed more than 80,000 people, up more than 15,000 from 2006.

According to new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a national standard that would require all electric utilities to increase their use of renewable electricity to at least 25 percent by 2025 would create more “green” jobs, lower consumer energy bills in every region of the country, and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other harmful emissions from power plants—the biggest source of global warming pollution in the United States.

UCS used a modified version of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) National Energy Modeling System to examine the long-term economic and environmental costs and benefits of a national 25 percent by 2025 standard.