Renewable Energy Creates Jobs

2004-05-11

A national commitment to Clean Energy Now! would reduce pollution, create millions of high tech jobs, diversify our nation's energy sources, add to our energy security, and save Americans billions of dollars. Renewable energy investments are better for the economy. As compared with coal power, renewable energy creates 40 percent more jobs per dollar of investment.

Renewable energy doesn't just create jobs, it creates local jobs. Unlike traditional power plants, with high fuel costs paid to multinational corporations, a large percentage of the cost of renewable energy is generated locally. Whether it is the installation and maintenance on wind farms or solar panels, investments in renewable energy sources are investments in the local economy.

To make the promise of renewable energy a reality, Greenpeace is calling for a new "Apollo Project" that strategically invests $300 billion over 10 years into renewable energy innovation and energy efficiency. It's time to act now.

Economic Benefits:

The economic benefits of a $300 billion investment in America's economic and energy future will be:

Create more than 3.3 million jobs
Stimulate the economy, by adding $1.4 trillion in new Gross Domestic Product
A commitment to renewable energy and efficiency will pay for itself. The $300 billion Federal cost of the project will return $306.8 billion in increased Federal tax revenue
Save everyone money, a total of $284 billion.

Read more: http://www.apolloalliance.org