Energy Sources

Okay we are still in a recession and waiting on the millions of green jobs that were promised to us. Did you know that those jobs are being created everyday – just not in the U.S. Why? Green industry corporation owners like Rick Feld, CEO of Evergreen Solar company based M Minnesota, told World News America’s contributing analyst Ted Koppel that he can’t create more green jobs in the U.S. because on a world stage he can’t compete entirely from the U.S. He shared that the Chinese are offering him huge incentives to build new manufacturies in China. Rick didn’t jump at the deal, he met with the U.S. Secretary of Energy and other top U.S. administration people and the response he is getting is “we don’t know what to do about the problem”. Why not? Surely if they had solutions the government would create more green jobs, clean energy sources, and ways to help home owners and business owners to drastically reduce their utility bills, and in some cases earn money. Only God knows why the government officials are dragging their feet to create new policies. But this is a democracy so I am calling on all concerned U.S. citizens to join me in helping them to create renewable energy solutions. In order to see impacting change we citizens have to get involved and demand that their representatives create new legislation to support the development of the renewable energy industry and green jobs.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) produced an extensive report called A Policymaker’s Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design to explain to U.S. policy makers how they can create effective policies that will catalyze renewable industry in their districts. Feed-in Tariffs encourage fast widespread sustainable renewable energy development. Under a feed-in tariff, utility companies are obligated to buy electricity from from qualified renewable energy sources. So if you have Solar installed on your house you can get paid for the excess energy you generate and feed back to the grid.

Feed-in tariffs are the most widely used renewable energy policy in the world. Germany was the first country to implement a successful Feed-in Tariff policy with their Renewable Energy Source Act. Today over 40 countries including China, Spain, Canada, and the U.K. have followed Germany’s lead and are creating thriving renewable energy industries with their own unique Feed-in Tariff policies. In the UK anyone who is generating their own electricity through accredited solar technology can receive 41.3p for every unit of electricity they generate. Homeowners can choose to use the electricity they produce or feed it back into the national grid. Government figures estimate that a typical household could generate an income of up to ?960 a year through the use of solar panels.

So, let’s cut to the chase. You’re a concerned citizen and you want to know what you can do today to help create green jobs. Here is the easy 5 step process you can do to help create green jobs:

Step 1: Read the report created by the NREL ‘A Policymaker’s Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design’

Step 2: Call, email, write a letter to, or visit your local Legislature office and ask to speak with your representative. Set up a meeting with them to discuss your strong desire to see that legislature is creating affective laws to support green jobs.

Step 3: Share the report with them and ask them to read it and let you know what they think about it. Also, ask your representative how you can help promote green jobs in your district.

Step 4: Follow-up. Hold your representatives accountable for attending to the concerns of their districts citizens.

Step 5: Encourage your friends to do the same. Tell people about your experience. Tweet about it, Facebook about it. Get involved!

Don’t underestimate the power of the concerned citizen. Together we can create the change we seek.