California creates green jobs in renewable energy innovations for energy conservation

"This is the breakout growth sector of the next generation," said the author of Next 10's report, "Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California".

David Roland-Holst, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at UC Berkeley. "We cannot afford to miss this market opportunity."

California's per-capita electricity use is about 40% less than the national average, Roland-Holst said, largely because of government-mandated energy efficiency standards for utilities, buildings and appliances put into effect over the last four decades.

Roland-Holst found that the lower use has enabled Californians to save $56 billion on energy since 1972. That money was spent in the local economy, he said, instead of on imported oil, out-of-state electricity or building new power plants. The result: 1.5 million additional California jobs with a total payroll exceeding $45 billion.

Programs like AB 32 will have a multiplier effect

Next 10's report calculates that energy innovation required by AB 32 will create 403,000 green-collar jobs over the next 12 years as companies spend big on renewables and energy efficiency. Roland-Holst said that would increase household income in California by as much as $48 billion by 2020 and boost the state domestic product by $76 billion.

California's Environmental Innovation Advantage

Some of California's leading companies agree with Roland-Holst's assessment that environmental innovation could become a pillar of the California economy.

Read more about the report: Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California (by David Roland-Holst, UC Berkeley, Oct. 2008)