Photo credit: Clean Light Green Light

Michigan-based Clean Light Green Light (CLGL), one of the premiere manufacturers of LED (light-emitting diode) lighting in the U.S., started up less than ten years ago in the garage of CEO and co-founder David McKinney. Now the company has an international customer list that includes Fortune 500 companies, municipalities such as Fairbanks, Alaska, and the first fully LED-lit commercial building in North America, Marvel Food & Deli.

While most still consider LED lighting to be cutting-edge technology, McKinney and his associates have been designing, manufacturing and selling their products for nearly a decade. McKinney says that back when they first began developing LED fixtures, “Many of the traditional companies said that LED is just a passing phase, but I never believed that. I thought the science was so strong and believed, there’s an industry here that’s yet to be built, we just kind of have to build it from the ground up.”

Recently, that industry has exploded. In 2007, the LED lighting market was valued at just $340 million, and that number is expected to grow to $7.3 billion by 2014. “You’ve now seen the adoption of LED from all the major lighting people, and anyone who doesn’t adopt LED technology is going to be left in the dust,” McKinney added.

The enormous potential for electricity conservation through LEDs will only make them more popular as the nation turns to addressing climate change and energy security issues. In addition to saving an average of between 50 and 80 percent of energy costs compared to conventional lighting, CLGL’s products also last longer, thereby reducing lifecycle energy usage and carbon emissions.

While LEDs are still far more expensive to purchase and install than compact fluorescents (CFLs), their prices are dropping rapidly, and LEDs’ dramatically reduced energy consumption can more than compensate for its higher upfront costs, especially in high-use commercial applications. Moreover, LEDs can last 10 times as long as CFLs and, unlike fluorescent lighting, they do not contain mercury, a toxic metal that can be released if a CFL bulb breaks during usage or disposal.

With lighting currently representing about 17.5 percent of global electricity consumption and incurring annual costs of $40 billion in the U.S. alone, a new, high-performing lighting technology like LEDs could make a profound difference in tackling energy problems and improving economic efficiency.

Industry analysts seem to agree, predicting that by 2020 LEDs will supply 46 percent of the $4.4 billion U.S. market for lamps in the commercial, industrial and outdoor stationary sectors.

CLGL is well-positioned to take advantage of the LED industry boom. Between 2008 and 2009, in the middle of the recession, the business grew by more than 2000 percent, and McKinney reports that growth since then has been exponential. The company recently announced a partnership with Marina d’Or, an international real estate development firm, to install LED lighting on its global properties. CLGL was chosen from more than 30 LED vendors considered. “Making custom products and using top-grade components are what differentiate us from [other LED companies],” McKinney stated.

Despite the industry’s impressive growth, however, McKinney says that the government could do more to boost demand. “We really need a comprehensive clean energy bill,” he said. “And then you would have the private sector investing in these technologies. They’ll start to look at their infrastructure and think, ‘If we made a change, we could create value not just to us as a company but to the world.’”

More government support for domestic clean energy manufacturers could also help create U.S. manufacturing jobs—something the country desperately needs after losing a third of our manufacturing jobs since 2000. CLGL has 16 employees, some of whom are part-time. Though McKinney expects his staff will have doubled by this time next year, he explains that CLGL could create more jobs if the government increased program support and loans for companies like his. “The Chinese give loans out to small clean energy manufacturers, but in the States those go to large corporations. Where’s the love for us small guys, who create more jobs?”

CLGL originally began its manufacturing in China, but McKinney moved much of the company’s production to Michigan as soon as he could afford to. “We already had opportunities and grants to move to other states, but within an hour drive here I can build anything,” he said.

Dana Sevakis, Apollo Alliance’s Michigan State Coordinator, has witnessed McKinney’s commitment to Michigan firsthand. “David McKinney’s dedication to domestic clean energy manufacturing is exemplary. Not only is he devoted to growing the industry and making it in Michigan, but he’s also been a tireless advocate for the policies needed to really make it happen.”

Strong government support for small manufacturers will be essential in helping CLGL and other companies thrive in the global clean energy economy. Measures that strengthen the domestic supply chain—such as grants or loan guarantees to firms retooling for clean energy manufacturing—would help companies like CLGL maintain U.S. production.

Though this support has so far been slow in coming, McKinney sounds a note of hope. “We were once the bullets of democracy; we need to come together and become the bullets of environmental change. It can be done, but it’s going to be a hard struggle for people to realize that.”

“We can’t afford to quit on California’s best opportunity to create jobs and ensure a more prosperous decade—expansion of California’s clean energy economy,” said Lisa Hoyos, California coordinator of the Apollo Alliance.

The California Apollo Program was developed by leaders of California’s businesses, labor unions, environmental groups and social justice organizations. This group developed a set of policy recommendations to secure California’s economic future, retain the state’s global leadership in clean energy and technological innovation, and engage the workers and businesses who can keep the world’s 8th largest economy growing. The program has already been endorsed by Applied Materials, California Labor Federation, California League of Conservation Voters, California State Building and Construction Trades, Environmental Defense Fund, Green For All, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Business Council, SunPower Corporation, Union of Concerned Scientists and many others. Click here to endorse the California Apollo Program on behalf of your business or organization. Click here to support the California Apollo Program as an individual.

The backdrop of the release of the California Apollo Program is an effort by Texas oil companies to stop the implementation of California’s landmark climate and clean energy bill, AB 32. Oil giants Valero Energy and Tesoro, both of San Antonio, Texas, are funding a campaign to prevent AB 32 from going into effect.
For other states that are considering clean energy and climate measures, AB 32 is a model in that it includes the vast diversity of possible climate and clean energy policies. Key AB 32 measures include the following:

*A 33 percent renewable portfolio standard, to be met by 2020.
*A “million solar roofs” initiative.
*Strict building and appliance energy efficiency standards.
*GHG emissions standards for passenger vehicles.
*A low-carbon fuel standard.
*A plan for high-speed rail between Northern and Southern California.
*A cap and trade program, in collaboration with other Western U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
*Many other measures in areas including land use, industrial energy efficiency, agriculture, forests, recycling and waste, and water.

The California Apollo Program would reinforce and expand AB 32 so that California keeps creating clean energy jobs. These jobs grew by five percent in California during the recession while overall employment decreased. The Program’s recommendations include:

Transforming the Way California Generates and Uses Energy
• Realize the economic opportunity of California’s groundbreaking comprehensive climate law.
• Generate 33 percent of the California’s power from renewable sources by 2020 and prioritize in-state production.
• Upgrade California’s existing buildings to world class energy efficiency standards and ensure that new construction is “green.”
• Modernize the power grid to support clean energy generation and smart grid technology.
• Require smart, sustainable and equitable approaches to land use as California’s communities grow.
• Revitalize rural California by expanding environmentally sustainable renewable energy and carbon sequestration projects.

Maintaining California’s Global Leadership in the Clean Energy Economy
• Invest in clean energy research and development.
• Target public and private support toward commercialization of new technologies.
• Support public-private research and development partnerships.
• Provide sufficient and stable support for California’s institutions of higher education.

Making It in California, by Californians
• Help manufacturers retool their factories and retrain their employees to produce clean energy products.
• Revamp California’s transportation manufacturing industry to meet growing demand for high-efficiency vehicles.
• Invest in next-generation alternative fuels and California’s low-carbon fuel infrastructure.
• Modernize California’s transportation infrastructure to connect our neighborhoods, cities and rural areas with world-class transit systems.
• Promote “Buy California” and “Buy America” policies.
• Recycle and reuse it in California.

Creating Economic Prosperity for All and Tapping the Skills and Productivity of California’s Workforce
• Train California’s workers to meet the demands of the clean energy economy.
• Ensure that the transition to a clean energy economy creates pathways out of poverty.
• Prioritize the creation of good, family-supporting jobs.

Here’s what you can do to support the California Apollo Program to build and strengthen California’s clean energy economy:

*Read the California Apollo Program
*Endorse on behalf of your organization
*Express your support as an individual
*Share the California Apollo Program with your friends and neighbors and on your social networks:  Forward this email to your friends and neighbors; update your Facebook status or post a link (For example, “The California Apollo Program charts a path to our clean energy future. We can’t afford NOT to implement it.  Join me and sign the petition and become a supporter! http://bit.ly/CAApollo“); or tweet about it (For example, “RT @ApolloAlliance #CAApollo charts a path to CA’s #cleanenergy future. #greenjobs #economy #stimulus http://bit.ly/CAApollo“).

Click here to read an op-ed about the California Apollo Program in the California Progress Report by Lisa Hoyos, Apollo’s California coordinator.

In other news …

*Democracy Collaborative releases new report on green ownership. The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland has released a new report called Growing a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership. The Democracy Collaborative advocates the idea that the emerging green economy is an opportunity not only to create a significant number of new, green jobs but also to organize those jobs so that they significantly broaden ownership over wealth and capital. In short: green jobs you can own. The report looks at cooperatives, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies, municipal enterprises, non-profit social enterprises, community development corporations and community development financial institutions that participate in the green economy, and includes case studies as well as descriptions of the challenges faced by those who seek to build an equitable green economy. Click here to read the report.

*The weekly update will be on vacation next week. Have a great Labor Day weekend, and we’ll talk to you again in September!

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, as we witness the continued assault on California’s landmark climate law (AB 32) by out-of-state oil companies, a powerful alliance of California business, labor, environmental, and community leaders announced they have joined together to put forth The California Apollo Program—a comprehensive strategy that details how to continue creating clean energy jobs in California—and to keep them here. 

The California Apollo Program notes that California has a large and productive economy—the eighth largest in the world—driven by its skilled workforce, successful businesses and history of ingenuity and innovation.  However, the ongoing economic recession has dragged down even the strongest economies, and while at the outset of the recession the overall employment in California dropped for the first time in five years, jobs in California’s clean energy economy actually grew—by five percent.  In fact, California leads the nation in the number of clean energy jobs, businesses and patents generated, accounting for over two thirds of U.S. venture capital investment in clean technology—totaling $6.5 billion between 2006 and 2008.

The California Apollo Program is a blueprint for moving California toward broadly shared economic prosperity, energy security and climate stability while reinforcing the state’s commitment to a new clean energy future.

“By implementing The California Apollo Program we will be making the right moves to secure our economic future, retain our global leadership in clean energy and technological innovation, and engage the workers and businesses who can keep the world’s eighth largest economy growing,” said Phil Angelides, chairman of the national Apollo Alliance.  “The Apollo Alliance will work with our diverse coalition of business, labor, community and environmental leaders to ensure our state seizes the opportunity to invest in California businesses and create new jobs producing the clean technologies of the future.”

California is not only a state that is seen as a global innovator, especially when it comes to clean energy, but it is also leading the nation with its smart environmental policies that are, and continue to be, powerful drivers of investment and job creation.

If California’s climate law withstands the attacks from these out-of-state oil companies and is implemented as scheduled, it alone is expected to generate up to $104 billion in economic activity by 2020.

“We can’t afford to quit on California’s best opportunity to create jobs and ensure a more prosperous decade—expansion of California’s clean energy economy,” said Lisa Hoyos, California coordinator of the Apollo Alliance. “And we also can’t afford to allow big oil to come in from out-of-state and destroy the progress California has made through the state’s implementation of smart and economic-friendly environmental policies.”

“Driving investment into California’s clean energy economy is crucial,” said Ed Smeloff, Principal of U.S. Utilities at SunPower Corporation.  “At SunPower, we have benefited from the state’s real commitment to renewable energy and that has broadened the success of solar programs in California.”

California gave birth to the solar industry, but today more than 90 percent of worldwide solar panel production occurs outside the United States.  Despite California’s historic role as a global innovator, the state is losing ground to domestic and international competitors in the clean energy race amid inconsistent state and federal support for renewable power and energy efficiency.

“Solar, thermal and energy efficiency projects are great examples of what the new green economy offers to California - good union jobs building renewable generation plants,” said Bob Balgenorth, President of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.  “Moving forward we must do more to create and keep clean energy jobs in multiple industries that will lead to good, family-supporting careers.”

The California Apollo Program outlines how the state can create and keep clean energy jobs by:

Transforming the Way California Generates and Uses Energy
• Realize the economic opportunity of California’s groundbreaking comprehensive climate law.
• Generate 33 percent of the California’s power from renewable sources by 2020 and prioritize in-state production.
• Upgrade California’s existing buildings to world class energy efficiency standards and ensure that new construction is “green.”
• Modernize the power grid to support clean energy generation and smart grid technology.
• Require smart, sustainable and equitable approaches to land use as California’s communities grow.
• Revitalize rural California by expanding environmentally sustainable renewable energy and carbon sequestration projects.

Maintaining California’s Global Leadership in the Clean Energy Economy
• Invest in clean energy research and development.
• Target public and private support toward commercialization of new technologies.
• Support public-private research and development partnerships.
• Provide sufficient and stable support for California’s institutions of higher education.

Making It in California, by Californians
• Help manufacturers retool their factories and retrain their employees to produce clean energy products.
• Revamp California’s transportation manufacturing industry to meet growing demand for high-efficiency vehicles.
• Invest in next-generation alternative fuels and California’s low-carbon fuel infrastructure.
• Modernize California’s transportation infrastructure to connect our neighborhoods, cities and rural areas with world-class transit systems.
• Promote “Buy California” and “Buy America” policies.
• Recycle and reuse it in California.

Creating Economic Prosperity for All and Tapping the Skills and Productivity of California’s Workforce
• Train California’s workers to meet the demands of the clean energy economy.
• Ensure that the transition to a clean energy economy creates pathways out of poverty.
• Prioritize the creation of good, family-supporting jobs.

We can’t afford not to implement The California Apollo Program.

For more information or to download The California Apollo Program please visit: http://www.apolloalliance.org/programs/caap

CONTACT: Debayani Kar, (415) 901-0111 x207, dkar@fenton.com
Lisa Hoyos, (510) 282-0440, hoyos@apolloalliance.org

1. “California’s Unemployment Rate Decreases to 12.4 Percent,” California Employment Development Department news release (June 18, 2010) http://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/pdf/urate201006.pdf.
2. Many Shades of Green: Diversity and Distribution of California’s Green Jobs (Next 10 and Collaborative Economics, December 2009) http://www.next10.org/next10/pdf/Many_Shades_of_Green_1209.pdf.
3. The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses, and Investments Across America (Pew Charitable Trusts, June 2009) http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedfiles/clean_economy_report_web.pdf.
   California Green Innovation Index (Next 10 and Collaborative Economics, 2009) http://www.next10.org/pdf/GII/Next10_GII_2009.pdf.
4. Van den Berg, W. and Van der Slot, A. Clean Energy, Living Planet: Building Strong Clean Energy Technology Industries (World Wildlife Fund-Netherlands, November 2009) http://assets.panda.org/downloads/rapport_wwf_cleaneconomy_international_def.pdf.
5. Roland-Holst, D. Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California (UC Berkeley and Next 10, October 2008)
   http://are.berkeley.edu/~dwrh/CERES_Web/Docs/
   UCB%20Energy%20Innovation%20and%20Job%20Creation%2010-20-08.pdf.
6. Updated Economic Analysis of California’s Climate Change Scoping Plan (Air Resources Board, March 2010) http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/economics-sp/updated-analysis/updated_sp_analysis.pdf.
   Roland-Holst, D. Energy Prices and California’s Economic Security (Next 10, October 2009) http://are.berkeley.edu/~dwrh/CERES_Web/Docs/ERCES100500.pdf.
7. “Manufacturing Tax Credit Fact Sheet,” Solar Energy Industry Association (n.d.) http://www.seia.org/galleries/pdf/Solar_manufacturing_tax_credit.pdf.
8. “California Economy Ranking Among World Economies,” EconPost.com (November 8, 2009) http://econpost.com/californiaeconomy/california-economy-ranking-among-world-economies.
9. Roland-Holst, D. Energy Prices and California’s Economic Security (Next 10, October 2009) http://are.berkeley.edu/~dwrh/CERES_Web/Docs/ERCES100500.pdf.
10. “California’s Major Sources of Energy,” California Energy Commission (April 7, 2009) http://www.energyalmanac.ca.gov/overview/energy_sources.html.
11. Roland-Holst, D. Energy Prices and California’s Economic Security (Next 10, October 2009) http://are.berkeley.edu/~dwrh/CERES_Web/Docs/ERCES100500.pdf.
12. “Dirty Air Costs California Economy $28 Billion Annually,” California State University, Fullerton (November 2008) http://calstate.fullerton.edu/news/2008/091-air-pollution-study.html.
13. Mazria, E. and Kershner, K. Nation Under Siege: Sea Level Rise at Our Doorstep (The 2030 Research Center, September 2007) http://architecture2030.org/pdfs/nation_under_siege_lr.pdf.
14. O’Grady, E. “California Grid Preparing for Greener Future,” Reuters (March 26, 2010) http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE62P03J20100326?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true.
15. “Senate Bill 375: Redesigning Communities to Reduce Greenhouse Gases,” Office of the Governor (October 2008) http://gov.ca.gov/fact-sheet/10707/.
16. California Green Innovation Index (Next 10 and Collaborative Economics, 2009) http://www.next10.org/pdf/GII/Next10_GII_2009.pdf.
17. “Research and Development Credit: Frequently Asked Questions,” State of California Franchise Tax Board (February 2008) http://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/misc/1082.pdf.
18. California Green Innovation Index (Next 10 and Collaborative Economics, 2009) http://www.next10.org/pdf/GII/Next10_GII_2009.pdf.
19. For more information on the Clean Energy Manufacturing Program, visit: http://www.energy.ca.gov/recovery/cleanenergy.html.
20. For more information on the Innovation Hub Initiative, visit: http://www.business.ca.gov/AdditionalResources/InnovationHubInitiative.aspx.
21. Statement of Principles (East Bay Green Corridor, December 2007) http://www.oaklandnet.com/ebgc/docs/EBGCstatement.pdf.
22. Johnson, N.; Oliff, P.; and Williams, E. “An Update on State Budget Cuts,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (May 25, 2010) http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1214.
23. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP from California manufacturing was $199.7 billion in 2008 (chained to 2000 dollars), while U.S. manufacturing contributed $1,574.3 billion.
24. According to data from California Employment Development Department Labor Market Info, California employed 1.853 million people in manufacturing jobs in 2000 and only 1.232 in May 2010, a 33% decline. http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/?pageid=166.
25. GG-17 – Tax Relief on Manufacturing Equipment (California Performance Review, 2007) http://cpr.ca.gov/CPR_Report/Issues_and_Recommendations/Chapter_1_General_Government/Improving_Business_Climate/GG17.html.
26. Many Shades of Green: Diversity and Distribution of California’s Green Jobs (Next 10 and Collaborative Economics, December 2009) http://www.next10.org/next10/pdf/Many_Shades_of_Green_1209.pdf.
    Building the Clean Energy Assembly Line (Blue Green Alliance, November 2009) http://www.bluegreenalliance.org/admin/publications/files/BGA-Phase-II-Report-PRINT.pdf.
27. “Oil Consumption Peaks for World’s #3 Consumer,” Clean Fleet Report (March 18, 2008) http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/alt-fuels/biofuels-alt-fuels/oil-consumption-peaks-for-worlds-number-3-consumer/.
    Anair, D. and Monahan, P. Sick of Soot: Reducing the Health Impacts of Diesel Pollution in California (Union of Concerned Scientists, June 2004)
    http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/sick_of_soot_full_report.pdf.
28. For more information on the Alternative and Renewable Fuel & Vehicle Technology Program, visit: http://www.energy.ca.gov/altfuels/index.html.
29. 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series – Transportation (California Legislative Analyst’s Office, February 2009) http://www.lao.ca.gov/analysis_2009/transportation/trans_anl09.pdf.
30. “Riding Public Transit Saves Individuals $9,293 Annually,” Public Transportation Takes Us There (April 6, 2010) http://www.publictransportation.org/facts/100406_transit_savings.asp.
31. For more information on California’s landmark waste reduction legislation, the Integrated Waste Management Act, visit: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Laws/Legislation/CalHist/1985to1989.htm.
32. Recycling: Good for the Environment, Good for the Economy (California Integrated Waste Management Board, November 2005) http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/publications/Economics/41004002.pdf.
33. Foshay, E. and Connelly, MJ. An Industry at the Crossroads: Energy Efficiency Employment in Massachusetts (Apollo Alliance and Green Justice Coalition, March 2010) http://apolloalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/energyefficiencyemploymentmassachusetts.pdf.
34. The Clean Energy Economy (The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 2009) http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedfiles/clean_economy_report_web.pdf.
35. 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy: A Report to the Governor of the State of California in Response to Executive Order S-13-2008 (California Natural Resources Agency, December 2009) http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009publications/CNRA-1000-2009-027/CNRA-1000-2009-027-F.PDF.
36. Ibid.
37. “Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces California Green Jobs Corp Funding Recipients,” Office of the Governor (June 29, 2009) http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/12606/.

What’s new at Apollo?

Apollo Releases Report on Indiana’s Clean Energy Job Creation Potential

This week, the Apollo Alliance released a report about the potential for clean energy job creation in Indiana. The report, How to Keep Creating Clean Energy Jobs in Indiana, found that Indiana missed out on 117,000 jobs when the U.S. Senate failed to pass clean energy and climate legislation this summer.

“The job-creation potential of clean energy and climate policies is impressive,” said Matt Mayrl, policy director at the Apollo Alliance and one of the report’s authors. “With Indiana still suffering from a 10.1 percent unemployment rate, the state’s businesses, workers and stagnant economy cannot afford another year without strong national clean energy and climate policies.”

The report analyzed the employment impact of several key federal clean energy and climate policies, including a clean energy manufacturing loan program along the lines of the IMPACT Act; a strong renewable energy standard of 25 percent by 2025; investments in advanced vehicle manufacturing paired with stronger vehicle energy efficiency standards; and a cap on carbon emissions combined with key energy efficiency provisions. It found that these combined policies could create up to 117,000 jobs in Indiana by 2030—many of them in the manufacturing sector.

“If the U.S. Senate does not make another attempt to pass clean energy and climate policies when it returns to session in September, Indiana will miss out on an historic opportunity to put tens of thousands of Hoosiers back to work in a new generation of quality clean energy jobs,” said Andrea Alderson-Bazemore, the coordinator of the Indiana Apollo Alliance.

Click here to read the report.

Photo credit: Allison Transmission.

What’s new across the country?

Oil Hasn’t Vanished from the Gulf of Mexico

Following on the heels of recent optimistic reports about the disappearance of the majority of the oil that gushed into the Gulf of Mexico throughout this spring and summer, three new analyses call those rosy estimates into question. “The idea that 75 percent of the oil is gone and is of no further concern to the environment is just absolutely incorrect,” said Charles Hopkins of the University of Georgia, one of the study’s authors.

The University of Georgia study found that after accounting for oil that has been skimmed, burned, evaporated and degraded, the oil remaining at or below the surface is between 70 and 79 percent, or between 2.9 and 3.2 million barrels. Meanwhile, University of South Florida Marine scientists have discovered oil in sediments in a vital underwater canyon and observed evidence that the oil has become toxic to marine organisms. And scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have discovered a 22-mile long oil plume more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, which “could stick around for quite a while” said study co-author Ben Van Mooy.

President Obama Touts Clean Energy Manufacturing

On Monday, President Obama visited Wisconsin manufacturer ZBB Energy Corporation to talk about the potential for clean energy production to revitalize American manufacturing. ZBB Energy manufactures advanced zinc bromide flow batteries and intelligent control platforms, key components of a smart energy grid and successful U.S. electric vehicle industry.

“What we’ve been trying to do — and that’s why I’m here at ZBB — is to jumpstart a homegrown, clean energy industry –- building on the good work of your governor and others in this state,” said President Obama.

“We expect our commitment to clean energy to lead to more than 800,000 jobs by 2012.  And that’s not just creating work in the short term, that’s going to help lay the foundation for lasting economic growth.  I just want everybody to understand –just a few years ago, American businesses could only make 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles — 2 percent.  In just a few years, we’ll have up to 40 percent of the world’s capacity.”

Click here to read the President’s remarks or here to watch them on video. 

On Wednesday, the President expressed a similar message during a visit to Toledo.

In other news …

*Check out our latest clean energy success stories. We have new signature stories about Allison Transmission, which is creating union jobs in Indianapolis in hybrid truck manufacturing, and Abound Solar, which plans to open the largest solar panel manufacturing plant in the United States in Tipton County, Indiana. We also have a new story about a union electrician, Tanya Pitts, who is helping commercial building owners employ energy efficient lighting techniques.

* Intern at the Apollo Alliance! The Apollo Alliance is seeking a smart, organized, energetic person with strong research and writing skills to assist with our program and policy department. This internship offers an excellent opportunity for a talented student or professional committed to clean energy and social equity issues to gain experience working in a high caliber, fast paced, results-oriented non-profit policy organization. The application deadline is Sept. 3. Click here to view the internship announcement.

Photo credit: Allison Transmission

When one imagines hybrid vehicles in a green economy, the iconic wedge shape of the compact Prius invariably comes to mind. Yet passenger transportation comprises only a part of the broader transportation sector – trucking, for instance, remains the most widely used method to move goods across America. Trucks consume more than two million barrels of oil a day and average just over 6 miles per gallon, generating 20 percent of the transportation sector’s greenhouse gas pollution.

Indiana’s Hoosier Heavy Hybrid Initiative aims to tackle precisely this problem. A project of the Energy Systems Network (ESN), an Indiana consortium consisting of partners from industry, government and universities, it underscores the growing movement toward manufacturing the component parts of a new generation of clean-energy vehicles in the United States.

Recognizing that the future of the U.S. auto industry will depend on developing efficient hybrid and electric vehicles, the Hybrid Initiative will draw on Indiana’s extensive manufacturing experience to build new electric motor systems. “There are certain unique skill sets Indiana has because of our long history of engagement in the auto industry,” Indiana Economic Development Corp. Director Mitch Roob told the Indiana Economic Digest in an interview about the Energy Systems Network. “People that are looking at electric cars gravitate to people who have experience with electric cars.”

Mo Davison, UAW Regional Director, speaking at the Allison hybrid plant dedication on June 29, 2010. Photo credit: Allison Transmission.

One such manufacturer tapping into Indiana’s strong auto workforce is the Indianapolis-based Allison Transmission, Inc. As a leading manufacturer of the hybrid propulsion systems that power trucks and buses, the company has a 60-year history of building transmission systems. Since 2003, it has built more than 3,000 hybrid systems for buses that have saved 11.7 million gallons of diesel fuel and reduced CO2 emissions by 116,000 metric tons.

Allison plans to expand its hybrid operations to include commercial trucks through the ESN, Department of Energy and commercial channels. Under the DOE’s hybrid initiative, Allison is collaborating with electronic drive component part manufacturers Remy International and Delphi Electronics and Safety. With the support of more than $150 million in matching grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the three companies are aligning their unique expertise in different areas of the commercial truck hybrid propulsion system.

The partnership is already creating jobs in Indiana’s manufacturing sector. Allison’s new Indianapolis factory alone will employ 100 manufacturing workers once it reaches full capacity. As United Auto Workers (UAW) members, these workers will receive family-sustaining wages as well as health and pension benefits.

Eventually the Indianapolis factory will turn out 20,000 commercial-duty hybrid propulsion systems annually. And this is just the beginning. As Lawrence E. Dewey, the Allison Transmission CEO, declared, “We will deliver a new generation of hybrid propulsion solutions to the transportation industry.”

All of this means more work for people like Tanya Pitts—a 32-year-old electrician from Oakland who’s certified in advanced lighting controls.

“Right now I’m working on a hospital in Castro Valley,” Pitts said. “We have low-voltage lighting and lighting control panels. We’re doing a lot of different lighting control systems to conserve energy and light the building up in an efficient manner. This is a brand new building, so it uses all the latest technology in energy harvesting.”

Pitts has become an expert in advanced lighting because she not only has five years of experience working on lighting in high-rise buildings, bio-tech corporations, schools and elsewhere; she also graduated from a cutting edge advanced lighting training program through the University of California at Davis California Lighting Technology Center. The program is a collaboration between Pitts’ union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), its Joint Apprenticeship Training Center (JATC) with the National Electrical Contractors Association and the California Energy Commission, among others.

Advanced lighting encompasses way more than the use of energy efficient light bulbs. It involves installing systems that shut off lighting when it’s not needed and take advantage of natural light. For example, motion sensors automatically turn lights on when someone is in a room and turn off when no one is there. Daylight harvesting panels take advantage of natural light by dimming lights at times when natural light is at its maximum daylight brightness.

Pitts’ local labor union, IBEW Local 595, is a leader on energy-efficient lighting as well as other green technologies. “We have solar training in our JATC; we’re on the front lines advocating for more solar; and we’re a member of the Apollo Alliance. We’re also on the front lines of getting contractors to go green in the lighting sector,” Pitts said.

Additionally, the union encourages Pitts and her fellow workers to get involved with environmental and other community issues. Through Local 595, Pitts sits on the Oakland Housing Authority board of commissioners, where, among other things, she is involved in developing new standards for using energy-efficient appliances in public housing and installing solar panels on Housing Authority buildings.

According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, lighting accounts for more than 40 percent of electricity use in U.S. commercial buildings. If all commercial buildings installed state-of-the-art lighting systems, they would lower U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by about 175 billion pounds per year. That is why Pitts and Local 595 are not only installing these systems—they are training more electricians and contractors to do the same. This fall, Pitts will teach electrician apprentices the techniques she learned in the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program.

“It’s definitely encouraging to me that I get to do something that creates less pollution and less waste in the world,” Pitts said. Not to mention more high-quality, green jobs.

Strong federal clean energy and climate policies could create up to 117,000 jobs in Indiana by 2030, according to a new study by the Apollo Alliance. Many of these jobs would be created in the manufacturing sector, which has been decimated in Indiana with the downturn of the U.S. auto industry.

“The job-creation potential of clean energy and climate policies is impressive,” said Matt Mayrl, policy director at the Apollo Alliance and one of the report’s authors. “With Indiana still suffering from a 10.1 percent unemployment rate, the state’s businesses, workers and stagnant economy cannot afford another year without strong national clean energy and climate policies.”

The report, How to Keep Creating Clean Energy Jobs in Indiana, examines the impact of several clean energy and climate policies on employment in Indiana. Many of these policies are under consideration in the U.S. Senate, which failed to act on any energy or climate policies before it adjourned for summer recess.

The report finds that implementation of the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act, a domestic clean energy manufacturing bill, would create between 40,000 and 50,000 jobs in Indiana over ten years; a renewable energy standard of 25 percent by 2025 combined with stronger domestic supply chains to ensure domestic suppliers fully meet the new demand created under the RES could create up to 39,000 manufacturing jobs in Indiana by 2025; vehicle efficiency standards paired with investments in domestic advanced vehicle manufacturing could create up to 19,000 manufacturing jobs in Indiana by 2020; and a cap on carbon emissions combined with key energy efficiency provisions would create 7,280 jobs in Indiana by 2030.

“If the U.S. Senate does not make another attempt to pass clean energy and climate policies when it returns to session in September, Indiana will miss out on an historic opportunity to put tens of thousands of Hoosiers back to work in a new generation of quality clean energy jobs,” said Andrea Alderson-Bazemore, the coordinator of the Indiana Apollo Alliance.

Even without strong national or state-level clean energy measures, Indiana’s clean energy jobs have been growing at a fast clip – 17.9 percent between 1998 and 2007, according to a June 2009 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Wind manufacturer Brevini is opening a plant in Muncie. Abound Solar is setting up shop in a former Getrag Transmission plant that has been vacant since 2008. Allison Transmission is creating jobs manufacturing hybrid vehicles.

“Policies that drive clean energy demand are key to reviving Indiana’s economy and creating high-quality jobs for the people of our state,” said Jason Jason Haltom, business manager at IBEW Local 481 and a member of the Indiana Apollo Alliance steering committee. “Clean energy success stories are already cropping up around the state—including among IBEW workers who are finding work in areas like solar panel installation—but these would be much more widespread with the right state and federal policies.”

How to Keep Creating Clean Energy Jobs in Indiana is available at www.apolloalliance.org/reports

CONTACT: Andrea Alderson-Bazemore (317) 869-5891; bazemore@apolloalliance.org
or Andrea Buffa (415) 371-1700 x209; buffa@apolloalliance.org

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The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of unlikely and diverse interests - including labor, business, environmental, and community leaders - advancing a bold vision for the next American economy centered on clean energy and good jobs.

In early August, scientists observing the Petermann Glacier in Greenland reported that an area of ice three times the size of Manhattan had broken off the glacier. “It is not a freak event and is certainly a manifestation of warming,” said Dr. Richard Bates of the University of St. Andrews. “This year marks yet another record breaking melt year in Greenland; temperatures and melt across the entire ice sheet have exceeded those in 2007 and of historical records.”

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted in an announcement this week that in addition to the calving of the iceberg from the Greeland ice sheet, a number of other extreme weather events are occurring around the world this summer, giving rise to an unprecedented loss of human life and property. These include the record heat wave and wildfires in the Russian Federation, monsoonal flooding in Pakistan and rain-induced landslides in China. “Climate extremes have always existed,” wrote the WMO in its August 11 statement, “but all the events cited above compare with, or exceed in intensity, duration or geographical extent, the previous largest historical events.” The sequence of current events matches projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of more frequent and more intense extreme weather events due to global warming. Click here to read the WMO statement.

Meanwhile, temperatures are breaking records throughout the eastern and southern United States. According to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation, in 2010, New Jersey, Delaware and North Carolina had their hottest June on record, while Maryland, Virgina, South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana had their second hottest June.  And the hot conditions continued with July 2010 being among the top five hottest on record for many states. “2010 is a sample of what’s to come because global warming is bringing more frequent and severe heat waves which will seriously impact vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist at the National Wildlife Federation. Click here to read the report, Extreme Heat in Summer 2010: A Window on the Future.

Perhaps this extreme weather will give pause to our Senators as they sweat through their summer vacations knowing they failed to take any meaningful action so far this year on climate and clean energy issues.

Photo of scientists observing the Petermann Glacier courtesy of University of St. Andrews.

United Steelworkers Making Clean Energy Jobs a Reality for American Workers

Besides the climate crisis, the crisis of summer 2010 is undoubtedly the ongoing economic crisis. As we head into mid-August, experts are expressing increasing concern about the high rate of unemployment and the possibility that the recovery is not advancing as quickly as had been hoped. But thanks to the U.S. labor movement, progress is being made in creating clean energy jobs for American workers.

This week, the United Steelworkers (USW) announced that it had signed agreements with A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd, (NASDAQ: APWR) and Shenyang Power Group (“SPG”), two of China’s leading power generation companies. The two Chinese clean energy companies have agreed that for a 615-megawatt wind farm they are building in West Texas, they will manufacture as much of the wind turbines as possible in the United States, using American-made steel and creating as many as 1,000 American jobs.

The West Texas wind farm is notorious among clean energy advocates because news surfaced in October that only 15 percent of the 2,800 jobs to be created by the wind farm would be located in the U.S., despite the fact that the project was to be funded, in part, by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The rest of the jobs would be in China, where the wind turbines were to be manufactured.

In addition to protesting against this loss of American jobs, the USW also decided to pursue a collaboration with A-Power and Shenyang that would return these jobs to the U.S.

“The deal is a result of white collar Chinese executives negotiating with blue collar union officers to create green collar jobs in the U.S.,” wrote Steelworkers International President (and Apollo Alliance board member) Leo Gerard in the Huffington Post. “The agreement defies stereotypes about unions as constantly combative, excessively expensive and environmentally challenged. The USW has a track record of engaging with enlightened CEOs for mutual benefit. It has a long green history. And it has worked to return off-shored jobs to the U.S.”

Kudos to the steelworkers for securing this landmark agreement that is a model for how we can win clean energy manufacturing jobs for American workers!

In other news …

*AFL-CIO pushes for mass transit jobs in Los Angeles. Today, the AFL-CIO organized a rally of thousands of people in Los Angeles to urge policymakers and political candidates to commit to solving our nation’s job crisis. Among the job-creation policies being backed by the AFL is a clean transportation project in Los Angeles County called the 30/10 Initiative. The idea of the Initiative is to accomplish 30 years worth of mass transit projects in just 10 years, which will not only create 160,000 clean energy jobs but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled in Los Angeles. The mass transit projects to be funded under the 30/10 Initiative include the Metro Orange Line extension, Westside subway extension, Green Line LAX extension, and others. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke at the Los Angeles rally as did LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LA County Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo.  Click here for more information about the 30/10 Initiative and here to learn more about what the AFL-CIO is doing to push policymakers to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs.

*Intern at the Apollo Alliance! The Apollo Alliance is seeking a smart, organized, energetic person with strong research and writing skills to assist with our program and policy department. This internship offers an excellent opportunity for a talented student or professional committed to clean energy and social equity issues to gain experience working in a high caliber, fast paced, results-oriented non-profit policy organization. The application deadline is Sept. 3. Click here to view the internship announcement.

Abound Solar manufacturing facility in Longmont, Colorado. Photo credit: Abound Solar.

When a joint venture between automakers Getrag and Chrysler fell through in 2008, leaving an empty 800,000 sq. ft. factory in Tipton County, the Central Indianan community’s disappointment was palpable. The 800 workers who had hoped to gain employment at the plant had no choice but to search for work far from home. “Two-thirds of our workforce left the county to go to the north, the other third went south, into the suburbs,” lamented Gayle Van Sessen, the director of the Tipton County Community and Economic Development Corporation.

This July, however, Tipton finalized plans with Abound Solar to convert the empty facility into what the company says will be the largest solar panel manufacturing plant in the United States. “Awesome … is a very good word for it,” said Van Sessen, about Abound’s plan to invest $500 million in the plant, which will produce up to 640 megawatts of solar modules annually, and generate 850 jobs for Tipton County.  “Abound has opened up a door – a huge, warehouse door – for us to develop green energy,” she said.

The jobs created by Abound Solar’s new factory will offer competitive wages, ranging from $17 to $25 an hour (compared to the average Indiana wage of $18.70). Significantly, these jobs promise long-term stability in rough economic times. “The jobs we’re creating are ongoing jobs, building up manufacturing capacity,” said Mark Chen, Abound Solar’s director of marketing. “It’s been nothing but positive comments from the local constituents, as we’re bringing in good jobs in an industry that’s growing incredibly quickly – everybody is looking forward to it.”

The road to get Abound Solar to Tipton involved a series of innovative maneuvers and hard work by Tipton County officials. While Abound received a $400 million, seven-year conditional loan guarantee from the Department of Energy – three quarters of which it will use to retrofit the new Tipton factory – the availability of the empty Getrag facility was a crucial factor in the company’s decision to locate in Tipton.

Ironically, although Abound will provide jobs to American workers, most of its solar panels will be sent to other countries. “The vast majority of our product will be exported to foreign countries,” said Chen, which have stronger incentives and larger markets for clean energy. Chen believes Abound can compete with its international rivals and continue manufacturing in the U.S. – even as its U.S.-based counterparts send their production abroad – because of the company’s superior production lines and cadmium-telluride thin film technology.

In a global solar market that has been growing between 30 and 60 percent per year for the past decade, Chen still believes that significant demand for renewable energy technologies will develop in the U.S. over the next three to five years. Whether his prediction bears out remains to be seen. Until then, Tipton County will produce solar panels for whichever countries most aggressively pursue a clean energy economy.