Daily Californian, UC-Berkeley
(UWire)--California could improve its current economic crisis by using green energy to create jobs and cut energy costs, according to a report released Thursday by a UC Berkeley professor.
Green jobs could offer higher wages and more benefits and be more resistant to outsourcing, according to the report.
The study, authored by adjunct professor of agricultural and resource economics David Roland-Holst, presents five scenarios based on potential levels of the state's investment in renewable energy sources and projected energy efficiency standards.
Roland-Holst could not be reached for comment.
The most ambitious scenario, which calls for 50 percent of the state's energy to come from renewable sources and an annual energy efficiency increase of 1.5 percent, projects the creation of 500,000 new jobs.
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Green jobs could offer higher wages and more benefits and be more resistant to outsourcing, according to the report.
If one of the scenarios were to be adopted, the report stated there could be significant growth in the job markets for renewables, electronics, machinery and construction industries.
Jay McKeeman, vice president for government relations and communications at the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, said he is optimistic about the study's intentions but he has read similar information before.
"Generally speaking, we're all for programs that establish more economic opportunity in the state," he said. "We've seen a number of studies ... that suggest there's a real opportunity for these green jobs, but the one thing that seems to be missing from those analyses is the impact of government regulations on current jobs."
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