The U.S. geothermal industry is creating thousands of high quality jobs, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) anticipates that 2011 will be a high-point of geothermal activity in
the U.S. as projects in the final construction phase add 3,000 construction jobs and dozens of long-term geothermal jobs.
According to the report, in 2011 there will be approximately 500
to 700 megawatts (MW) of power projects in the final phases of construction primarily in Nevada and California.
The report states tha the industry is creating more jobs than
conventional energy and is creating jobs that are permanent, full-time,
and often provide a higher wage; in some cases with pay that doubles
county and state averages.
GEA also notes that Recovery Act funding has drawn a
diverse group into the geothermal sector. Almost half of the Geothermal
Technologies Program awards from the stimulus went to non-industry
entities such as colleges and universities; cities, counties, and other
state and local institutions; tribal entities; and The Department of
Energy’s National Labs.
Every geothermal project that came online in 2009 took advantage of the tax reimbursement provisions of the stimulus bill. GEA said the stimulus funding helped maintain momentum for new projects and the creation of additional geothermal jobs.
In addition, the full benefit of the stimulus funding to the geothermal industry has yet to be realized. About 95% of the projects receiving Recovery Act funding are either less than 50% complete or have yet to break ground.
“Recovery Act funding is going to make a huge difference over the next year to push projects to completion and create more jobs. The majority of the ARRA investment will really start to pay dividends for the economy in 2011,” said Karl Gawell, GEA Executive Director. “It is critical that we continue to support these sound policies despite the rancor of several short-sighted initiatives which seek to strip away these tools to help grow our economy.”
Jeremy Magrath, a Project Manager with geothermal company Ram Power Inc., said his company is working to finance and execute more than 300MW of projects, for which the company already has power sales agreements. In total, he said $1 billion will be invested in Ram projects in California–creating drilling and construction jobs as well as high-paying, permanent plant operations jobs.
As more geothermal industry jobs are being created, a number of colleges and universities across the country are emerging with undergraduate, graduate, and certification programs related to geothermal. GEA recently compiled the “US Geothermal Education and Training Guide” that details 22 undergraduate and graduate programs at U.S. colleges and universities.
“To keep creating jobs in the geothermal industry, we must keep getting talented individuals coming into the industry. The programs at these leading schools will develop the next generation of geothermal professionals,” Gawell said.
The GEA report was released at the 2010 Geothermal Energy Expo, being held this week at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, California.
The complete jobs report and education guide are available at the link below.
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