Green Jobs For Real?

Posted by David Holtzman on August 31, 2009

Folks in Massachusetts searching for all those green jobs Obama’s promised, including jobs for the working and middle classes, recently got a little better grip on how many such jobs are likely to materialize in the next few years.

A local green consultant, talking specifically about jobs retrofitting older homes to make them more energy efficient, says it only took 39 full-time people last year to conduct energy audits on over 19,000 homes in Massachusetts. That’s around 500 houses per person. There’s a similar level of productivity for people installing weatherstripping or insulation. Granted, a lot of these audits, performed by utility companies mainly to meet a state requirement, were probably pretty meager and missed a lot of opportunities for deeper retrofits. But ya gotta start somewhere.

At first glance, the numbers suggest there couldn’t really be that much work available for people doing this stuff. But the consultant says we are on the verge of a ramp-up in funding for energy efficiency programs in Massachusetts, triggered by a state legislative mandate to cut greenhouse gas emissions. By 2011, the number of energy auditors statewide will more than double, and there will be similar increases in workers doing weatherization.

Every $1 million invested in these kinds of energy retrofits generates 8 to 11 new jobs, plus indirect support jobs, according to one study. Given that Massachusetts will go from $86 million in funding for retrofits in 2008 to $322 million in 2012, we could see some pretty substantive job creation here.

The next question is who will get the jobs. Community Labor United and the Boston Green Justice Coalition are organizing to make sure it isnt only folks who already are in the construction trades and unions, although those workers need to eat too. Read their Green Solution for more.

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