"Stands to create tens of thousands of new jobs"

Report Outlines Vision for NE Renewables Growth

By ecoRI News staff

The upcoming elections this November will be central in deciding the fate of the renewable-energy industry in New England, according to a recently released report by the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC). 

“Empowering New England with Clean Energy” is an original white paper that outlines a vision for the potential for renewable-energy growth and notes energy policies that the next governors must support to ensure that the renewable-energy sector continues on its current path to becoming New England’s next dominant industry.

“Clean-energy innovation, company and job growth have mirrored many aspects of other innovation sectors over the last decade, including high tech and life sciences, and have become a vital part of the New England economy,” said NECEC president Peter Rothstein. “Clear and consistent policy from the region’s next governors stands to create tens of thousands of new jobs in this sector, while ensuring New England continues to accelerate the transition to a reliable, cost-effective clean-energy system to spur economic growth.”

Renewable energy has grown substantially in New England in the past five years, through both deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency across the region. However, the success of New England’s renewable-energy sector is at a tipping point and the policies set by the next governors are crucial to the continued success of the economic engine that has already created more than a 100,000 jobs in the region in recent years, according to the report.

With hundreds of companies developing next-generation energy technologies that will enter the marketplace in the coming decade, New England states need consistent policies that will enable companies to grow and deploy their technologies here, Rothstein said.

Blessed with the intellectual, financial and human capital strengths that have made the region a leader in the development of renewable-energy technologies, products and services, New England’s future should be as a leader in the global clean-energy market, which in 2013 was valued at $1.1 trillion — as big as pharmaceuticals worldwide, according to the seven-page report.

“Empowering New England with Clean Energy” lays out policy recommendations for the next governors in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, innovation and regional competitiveness. 

Among the policies recommended, NECEC calls for the next administrations to expand each state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and energy demand reduction goals through 2025, to support state programs to fund renewable-energy research, early-stage companies and demonstration projects for new technologies, to commit to advancing the modernization of the electricity system, and to expand the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) through 2030.

“The New England region has been a leader in creating energy policies that empower customers to manage their energy more intelligently, saving billions of dollars and increasing business productivity,” said David Brewster, president of Boston-based EnerNOC. “Reaping even greater savings and maintaining a leadership position will require policies that encourage reductions in peak demand and create market-based mechanisms to incentivize more cost-effective energy use.”