MICHIGAN— Today Keith Cooley, president and CEO for NextEnergyjoined Kate Gordon, Vice President of Energy Policy, Center for American Progress for a discussion of the clean-energy economy of Michigan. A study commissioned by The Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, or PERI, concluded that the energy legislation moving through Congress, combined with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will create 1.7 million net jobs, including 54,000 jobs in Michigan.
Detailing the impact of clean-energy legislation, Kate Gordon said, “We are at a historic crossroads. We are at a moment of deciding whether to move forward with a future powered by clean energy or whether to continue business as usual. Like the Industrial Revolution, this is a whole new set of industrial jobs. It is an entirely new set of industry and infrastructure.”
“When it comes to clean energy, Michigan is ground zero, we’ve hit the ground running. I see nothing but success going forward. It isn’t going to be easy, it isn’t going to be quick, but it will be done,” said Keith Cooley formerly the director of Michigan’s Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth, and now with NextEnergy. As CEO, Cooley provides vision and leadership for NextEnergy’s continued growth, sustainability, and the active pursuit of the NextEnergy mission. Cooley writes in more detail about how Michigan can be a leader in the alternative-energy economy in an August 4th Detroit Free Press op-ed entitled Turn Energy Into New Apollo Project.
To listen to audio from today’s call, please click here.
Key energy facts:
· The CAP/PERI research finds that Michigan could see a net increase of about $4.8 billion in investment revenue and 54,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country.
· The CAP/PERI report also finds that clean-energy investments in Michigan create 16.7 jobs for every $1 million in spending. Spending on fossil fuels, by contrast, generates 5.3 jobs per $1 million in spending.
· A recent Pew study shows clean-energy jobs in Michigan increasing, while total jobs are falling.
· This same Pew study finds that there are currently over 22,700 existing clean-energy jobs in Michigan.
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