Here’s the latest installment in our overview of careers and the green economy - enjoy!

• The top 10 hardest-working towns in America: The country may be filled with hardworking employees, but a new poll shows no one is working harder than the residents of Columbia, Mo The state’s fifth-largest city and the home of the University of Missouri took the top spot in a newly released list by Parade Magazine naming the “Top 25 Hardest-Working Towns in America.
• US Wind Power Surges: Boom Before The Bust?: Racing to beat the expiration of a key tax incentive, the U.S. wind industry installed 1,695 megawatts (MW) of new capacity in the first quarter of the year, a 52 percent increase over the same quarter in 2011,according to an industry trade group.The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said 788 turbines began generating power in 17 states in the first three months of the year as developers pushed to get new plants into service before the end of the year in order to qualify for the federal production tax credit.
• Green Jobs Must Ensure Gender Pay Equality Worldwide: Green jobs in the clean energy sector grew at twice the rate of jobs in the general economy during the peak of the recession from 2008–2010. While these new statistics tell a promising story for the growth of the green economy and nation’s job recovery as a whole, the potential for women to participate in this economic growth—both domestically and internationally—still remains unclear.
• ACCIONA to Install First 3 MW Turbines in North America: ACCIONA Windpower has announced that it will install two of its AW-3000/116, 3MW wind turbines this year in Cedar County, Iowa. The groundbreaking project, called Pioneer Grove, will be the first installation of the game-changing machine in North America.The Pioneer Grove Wind Farm is located nearest to the town of Mechanicsville, Iowa. Construction is expected to be complete in the second half of 2012. The renewable energy power plant has a long-term power purchase agreement with Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO).
• Clean Energy, Efficiency Continue To Spark Job Growth: How would you judge a program that invested $9 billion over three years and generated $44 billion in economic output, while supporting 52,000 to 75,000 jobs in the process? And over the long term, is expected to support about 5,000 jobs a year for the next few decades, as well as $1.8 billion a year in economic output? Sounds like a solid investment, right? But some in Congress would like you to overlook these numbers, from a new report by the Department of Energy, because the program in question was designed to fund renewable energy projects.
• MidAmerican Solar and First Solar Start Construction on Largest Solar Project in the World: MidAmerican Solar and First Solar have marked the start of major construction at Topaz Solar Farms, located in San Luis Obispo County, California. The 550-megawatt photovoltaic project will employ approximately 400 workers during its three-year construction period; will generate nearly $417 million in local economic impact, the majority of which will be generated during construction; and will provide California with renewable electricity. When complete, the Topaz project will be the largest solar electric power plant in the world, providing enough energy to power approximately 160,000 average California homes.

Here’s our latest roundup of the job news in the green economy:

• Do Environmental Regulations Kill Jobs or Create Them?: The E.P.A. and the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which reviews all proposed federal regulations, have never used job figures as part of the calculus of the costs and benefits of rule-making, largely because there is no accepted methodology for assessing them. But on Tuesday, the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University’s School of Law said in a new report that despite the limitations of current methods of measuring job gains and losses, they should be considered when drawing up future environmental rules.
• The Best U.S. Cities For Finding A Job: 49 of the top 50 metropolitan areas in the United States reported an increase in the number of job openings in the past month.  According to the Simply Hired April 2012 Employment Outlook, the Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M., metropolitan area outpaced all other cities in job openings. The state of Florida continued to see increased growth, with four of the top 10 cities for job opening growth.
• 10 people who switched careers to do something sustainable: The recession has led to a whole lot of rethinking — of goals and even careers. Rather than wait for the ideal job (or any job) to come along, people are creating opportunities for themselves and even bringing others along with them. They’re following what they once thought of as Plan B — or even Plan C — and often acting on the impulse to give back to the planet without leaving home.
• A launch pad for green and clean entrepreneurs: Carrie Norton has harnessed her experience in start-ups and sustainability to launch Green Business Base Camp, a service aimed at giving aspiring entrepreneurs with green or cleantech ideas a crash course in the skills and insights needed to succeed. It starts with a four-day intensive in-person workshop, supplemented with online resources and continued mentoring. To do this, Norton has pulled together a network of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, thought leaders, corporate executives, and various others who will serve as teachers, mentors, and, potentially, investors in start-ups.
• Does Small Hydroelectric Power Have a Future?: Across the United States, changes are afoot that are making smaller-scale energy generation make appealing. One of the major benefits of this localized power is that it enables us to take advantage of renewable resources that were previously out of reach. This is particularly true for hydroelectric power. In fact, without smaller scale generation, hydro doesn’t have much of a future at all.

Here’s the latest from the world of green jobs:

• EPA Chief Lisa Jackson Travels to San Francisco to Highlight Green Jobs, Tour Electric Vehicle Company that will announce its Plans to Double Bay Area Green Jobs: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will visit San Francisco today, on the heels of President Obama’s State of the Union Address, to discuss the future of “green” jobs in the Bay Area at a company that will announce plans to double their San Francisco workforce. Jackson will discuss the local impact of issues laid out in the President’s speech during a tour of Mission Motors, a local SF green business that provides powertrain components for hybrid and electric vehicles. Mission is at the center of American ingenuity and clean technologies President Obama discussed in his State of the Union Address.
• Obama puts green jobs front and center: The president, during his annual speech, made references to action items like the Navy purchasing enough clean energy capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year and calling for the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. We felt at the time these seemed like less ambitious goals than last year in regards to cleantech, but with what’s been spelled out now by the White House, we think Obama may well be on the right track for an election year.
• Illinois Recovers Florida’s Fumbled Light-Rail Dough: More than 100 million people live within 500 miles of each other in the Midwest-Great Lakes economic region and at rush hour, it can seem like they are all on the road at the same time. To help alleviate that congestion, trim the massive amount of energy used to move all those people in single-driver cars, generate jobs and clean the environment, the federal government is investing in light-rail in a big way. The U.S. Department of Transportation(DOT) has already invested more than $1.4 billion dollars to create an extensive light-rail network in the region and now, thanks to a baffling move by the state of Florida, Illinois is to supplement one of the network’s main corridors, a high-speed line reaching from Chicago to St. Louis.
• Montana’s Renewable Energy Storage Plans: Utility company NorthWestern Energy has signed a lease agreement with Beacon Power Corporation for a one-megawatt Beacon Smart Energy Matrix flywheel system to be installed at NorthWestern’s Dave Gates Generating Station at Mill Creek. The 150 MW natural gas fired facility, near the town of Anaconda, was designed to function as a regulating resource capable of precise load following. 
• First Wind Receives Approval from Maine DEP for 150 MW Oakfield Wind Project: First Wind has received unanimous approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for its proposed 150 MW Oakfield Wind project in Aroostook County, Maine. First Wind submitted an amendment in June 2011 to increase the size of the original proposal for a 51 MW Oakfield project, which had received full approval from the Maine DEP in January 2010.
• Federal Government Opens More Ocean to Wind Projects: Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior, and Tommy P. Beaudreau, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said the government had completed an environmental review and found that selling leases for wind energy would not create environmental problems in the designated “wind energy areas” off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware.

It’s that time of the year - time for resolutions and action! We’ll help you with both by running down the latest news in the green economy:

• Gamesa Ships 1000th Nacelle from its Pennsylvania Plant: Gamesa Technology Corp. a global leader in the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of wind turbine generators and the development and sale of wind farms, has announced the completion and shipment of its 1,000th nacelle manufactured at its Fairless Hills plant in southeastern Pennsylvania.Gamesa was the first overseas wind manufacturer to set up full production facilities in the United States, officially selecting Pennsylvania in September 2004 as the site for its U.S. headquarters, East Coast development office and two North American manufacturing facilities.
• Oil refiner chips in for wood-to-biofuel plant: After years of delays, biotech company Mascoma appears to have the funding to build a wood chip-to-ethanol plant. The company today said that fuel refiner and investor Valero Energy will create a joint venture to build a $232 million plant in Kinross, Mich. The plant will convert lumber used for paper into ethanol using Mascoma’s streamlined production process The companies said that the plant will be able to produce 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year, which can be expanded to double that. Construction is expected to start in the next six months and be completed by the end of 2013.
• Cleantech Innovation Shines In Green Incubator: After an intense twelve weeks, featuring 200 hours of coaching, countless hours of brainstorming and product testing, and a helpful dose of financial support, the moment of truth arrived for the companies of Greenstart. In the San Francisco incubator’s first Investor Day each of the four companies got to pitch their ideas to more than 100 angel and venture capital investors in hopes of securing support before being flung from the nest.
• Solar Project Helps Veterans Gain Green Job Skills: Three Bay Area veterans committed to building sustainable communities and helping other vets make the transition to civilian jobs raised more than $7,000 to help sponsor a two-day, hands-on training for local veterans to install a solar electric system on the home of a low-income family in San Francisco’s Bayview district.
• Sustainability Program Gives Job Hunters Edge:Individuals looking for an edge securing jobs in the green industry are apparently finding it through the University of Colorado Boulder. The university offers a Sustainable Practices Program that provides individual courses and a professional certificate focused on issues often encountered in green jobs. Since the program’s start in 2007, more than 290 people have enrolled. Classes through the program are not for university credit, are open to the public and can be taken individually or as part of the professional certificate. The professional certificate requires 100 credit hours including three core classes: “Organizational Change for Sustainability,” “Communication Strategies for Sustainability” and “Tools and Techniques for Sustainability.”

Here’s the latest roundup of news from the green economy and work world:

• AM General to Build Hybrid Truck Platform for Bright Automotive: Bright Automotive has entered into an agreement for AM General to be Bright’s exclusive North American assembler for the Bright IDEA vehicle platform. The Bright IDEA is an all-new, plug-in hybrid electric work-truck which uses innovative technologies to provide businesses with a powerful new economic solution focused on the lowest total cost of ownership.
• GE to Supply 350 Wind Turbines to BP Wind Energy for Upcoming US Projects:  Houston-based BP Wind Energy is purchasing 350 GE 1.6-megawatt (MW) wind turbines for U.S. wind farm projects being developed in 2011 and 2012. Total value of the equipment orders and a five-year services agreement is approximately $750 million. GE’s wind turbines will generate more than 560 megawatts of electrical power for the project.
• Suzlon Opens State-of-the-Art Training Center for Wind Technicians:  Suzlon’s eco-friendly training facility will feature a 4,000-square-foot lab, an 8,000-square-foot wind-turbine training center and North America’s only fully operational wind turbine dedicated exclusively for training purposes. The training center is a new addition to Suzlon’s 64,000-square-foot central distribution center in Elgin, Illinois, which opened in October 2010.
• While Washington bickers, green tech goes local: GE plans to invest $600 million to build thin-film solar factory in Colorado solar panel factory in Aurora, Colo., based on thin-film technology originally developed at nearby National Renewable Energy Laboratories. The move comes amid ongoing political fighting in Washington, D.C., over the failure of bankrupt solar company Solyndra, which had received a $535 million federal loan guarantee to build a factory. What’s driving much of the green tech business activity now are state and regional policies, both in creating clusters of new companies and deploying wind and solar. But the effect is not widespread: a few states, including California, Oregon, and Massachusetts, are advancing clean-energy technologies while other regions idle.
• 5 Readily Available Green Jobs Training Programs: Here are some of the best training programs to land a green job: Renewable Energy Training; LEED Certification; Ecotourism; Wind Programs; Energy Auditors. Click here for more details.

Despite uneven economic news, there continues to be activity in the green jobs arena. Here’s what we found:

• Duke Energy to Build Fifth Texas Wind Farm: Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, will build, own and operate the 202-megawatt (MW) Los Vientos II Windpower Project and sell the electricity and renewable energy credits it generates to Austin Energy through a 25-year agreement.
• An Emerging Career Choice: Wind turbine technicians are responsible for the overall maintenance, operations, and inspections of wind turbines and their facilities. The U.S. Department of Labor reports a wind turbine technician is responsible for electrical troubleshooting, visual blade inspection, replacement, and repair, bolt torque testing, power train maintenance, hydraulic troubleshooting, and the installation of hardware and software.
• Five of the Fastest Growing Green Jobs: Here are five green careers that are not entirely new, but are now being completely reinvented. If you want to keep a competitive advantage in the workforce, one must learn how these top-growing jobs are “going green.” These fields, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), are expected to see a growth from six to nearly 30%.
• SolarCity Lands Another Big Deal as Walmart Steps Up Solar Plans: SolarCity will install solar energy systems on the rooftops of up to 60 more Walmart stores in California. That’s in addition to the 70 or so stores already under contract in the state with the world’s largest retailer. SolarCity will own and maintain the solar energy systems and sell the power to Walmart, satisfying between 20 percent and 30 percent of each store’s energy needs.
• New Jersey hospital to add 2.1 megawatts of solar: St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., announced today it’s beginning construction this October to install 10,000 solar panels throughout its campus The 2.1-megawatt project will be the largest solar installation of any hospital in New Jersey to date, and be distributed across six different locations within the hospital’s campus.
• Wind Power Plant In Kansas Back on Track: A new power purchase agreement announced by Infinity Windpower and Sunflower Electric Power. The Shooting Star Wind Project, located between Greensburg and Dodge City, was hatched in 2001 by Clipper Windpower, but then languished. Clipper recently sold the development to Infinity, however, and the new 20-year power purchase agreement is expected to put the 104-megawatt (MW) project on track to be built and operational by the end of 2012.

The stock market’s up, then it’s down. But one thing has held steady - a growing need for workers in the green economy. Here’s the latest news from the front:

• Department of Energy Finalizes $102 Million Loan Guarantee for Innovative Wind Energy Project: The Department of Energy has finalized a $102 million loan guarantee to Record Hill Wind, LLC. The 50.6 MW project will consist of 22 turbines and new transmission lines to interconnect with Central Maine Power, the local utility. Developed and managed by Wagner Wind Energy I, LLC of New Hampshire and Independence Wind, LLC of Maine, Record Hill will provide sustainable power to the state while funding 200 construction jobs.
• Toyota and Tesla to Build RAV4 Electric Vehicle at Toyota’s Woodstock, Ontario Production Facility: The RAV4 EV will be sold at U.S. Toyota dealers through Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS). Details including pricing, volume and regional distribution will be determined and announced at a later time. In July of last year, Tesla and Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing, America (TEMA) collaborated to convert 32 conventional gas-engine RAV4 compact SUVs into fully functional RAV4 EV prototypes.
• Vets, Native Americans Get Green Job Training: Veterans and Native Americans in New Mexico, two groups especially hard hit by the struggling economy, could see their opportunities improve with a new program coming to the state. U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) announced Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) was getting $300,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to teach job skills to unemployed vets and Native Americans and prepare them for work in environmental fields.
• Solar Array Coming to Sun Devil Territory: For thousands of Sun Devil fans, a new structure going up at Arizona State University will be little more than a place to park the car before football and baseball games, but the 2.1-megawatt solar array planned for the top of the structure is the big star of an announcement from Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy. The “PowerParasol” will shade 800 parking spaces with a 24-foot-high, 5.25-acre covering developed in partnership with Arizona-based Strategic Solar Energy. The PowerParasol is Strategic’s flagship product. Construction on the unit at ASU is set to begin in mid-August and would be Strategic’s first such product. The project will consist of 7,584 photovoltaic panels.
• New Solar Project Hiring Locals, Veterans: SolarReserve, a developer of solar projects, announced recently that an amendment had been made to the agreement the company had with its affiliate, Tonopah Solar Energy, and Nye County in Nevada. The amendment states that 90% of all workforce on the 110 megawatt (MW) Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project must come from Nye County residents. The solar project, also located in Nye County, is estimated to create more than 600 jobs during its construction. Construction is expected to begin this September and last for about 30 months. After completion, Crescent Dunes will employ about 45 people full-time. $37 million in tax revenue is expected for its first 10 years of operation.

The temperature is rising - and there’s plenty of action in green jobs!

• Duke Energy to Build Second Kansas Wind Farm: Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, will build, own and operate the 131-megawatt (MW) Cimarron II Windpower Project in Gray County – approximately 200 miles west of Wichita. “In just the last month, Duke Energy has announced plans to add three more wind farms to its commercial portfolio of renewable energy assets,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “These projects will bring Duke Energy’s wind-generated capacity to approximately 1,300 megawatts – enough to power nearly 400,000 homes.”
• Dow and Ube Form Joint Venture to Manufacture Electrolytes for Lithium-Ion Batteries in the US.: The Dow Chemical Company and Ube Industries (Ube) have aggreed to form a joint venture to manufacture and market formulated electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in energy storage applications. The 50-50 joint venture, named Advanced Electrolyte Technologies LLC, is expected to be finalized later this year, pending regulatory approval.
• CleanPath creates $800 million fund to invest in solar: Renewable energy investment firm CleanPath will pour more than $800 million into large photovoltaic solar projects in North America, the company said yesterday.The company’s new fund is expected to invest in more than 1,000 megawatts of solar power plants over the next five years. The plants will range in size from 5 MW to more than 100 MW.
• Solar power development in Oregon: QSolar has been awarded 2.5 MW residential solar project to that will provide power for 800 Homes in Southern Oregon. The Project will begin with the delivery of two sample houses followed by volume deliveries to start in early 2012. The Rendata, located near Grants Pass in Southern Oregon, being developed by Ra Power & Light, will become one of the first all-solar US communities. Each home will feature a 2.5 kW PV system and solar domestic hot water with optional electric vehicle charging stations.

Tornadoes, floods, and the usual spring weather have not dampened the green job revival! Here’s the latest news:

• Fuel-efficient cars increase vehicle sales - and employment: A report by analysts at Citigroup distributed at the conference said that while the fuel-economy standards currently under consideration by the Obama administration would result in a 6 percent increase in industry sales in 2020, compared with their baseline scenario.
• RMT to Build Ten New Wind Projects and Eight New Solar Projects: RMT, which specializes in the design and construction of clean energy facilities, has recently been selected to design and build ten new wind power projects totaling approximately 1,100 MW and eight utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 55 MWdc during 2011. These projects bring RMT’s total renewable energy portfolio to over 4,900 MW.
• Mortenson Builds its 19th Wind Project in Home State of Minnesota: Mortenson Construction, one of the leading renewable contractors in North America, will soon break ground on the 44 megawatt Oak Glen Wind Farm, located on a 3,000 acre agricultural site located in Blooming Prairie, MN. The project’s owner is the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency and its 11-member utilities. Mortenson’s scope of work will include the erection of 24, 1.8-megawatt turbines and the construction of foundations, access roads, underground collection, and a 69kV substation.
• How Green Jobs are Helping Arizona: Eleven solar manufacturers have located to the Phoenix metropolitan area in the last year, partly driven by a renewable-energy tax break Arizona recently passed. But they’ve also been lured by Arizona’s aggressive courtship — the combined efforts of officials and businessmen to outbid other states starving for jobs.
• Report: Top 10 clean-energy states identified: The survey used more than 3,500 data points and 70 major indicators drawing from both municipal and private data sources to evaluate all 50 states in the U.S. for how well they did on policy, technology, and capital when it came to green tech. Factors for evaluating each state included: the amount of green-tech related patent activity; the amount of green-tech venture capital being invested; the number of alternative fuel, electric, and hybrid vehicles registered in the state; and the percentage of electricity produced from clean sources.

As the economy continues to improve, so does the green economy. Here’s the latest news for you:

• For a Few, Focus on Green Products Pays Off:  Manufacturers who have long aligned themselves with environmental causes, like Seventh Generation and Method, have rebounded better from the recession than the “green” lines of larger, more traditional manufacturers.
• Start-Ups Work to Reinvent the Combustion Engine: As the first mass-produced electric carshit the streets, Pinnacle is just one of several start-ups backed by prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists aiming to reinvent the century-old internal combustion engine. The big promise: vast improvements in fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions at a lower cost.
• GE Goes Solar: The giant global conglomerate has announced it will build a 400 megawatt annual production capacity thin-film solar manufacturing plant in the U.S. This largest solar manufacturing plant in the U.S. will employ 400. GE will announce the plant site, or sites shortly. Multiple locations are possible, sharing the wealth among communities as it were.
• Next To Go Mainstream: Mass Energy Storage: If energy from wind and solar can be stored at the right price (read low) then the intermittency of those renewables will no longer be a problem: mass energy storage could eventually turn intermittent renewables into baseload, round-the-clock power. Here are some companies that are pursuing this.
• Viridity Energy to Develop Large Scale Energy Storage to Optimize Wind Energy for Philadelphia University and Hospitals: Viridity Energy has announced a partnership with Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (Jefferson) to develop and implement a project aimed at maximizing the economic and environmental value of its energy resources.
• Solar upstart BrightSource Energy files to go public: BrightSource Energy plans to raise $250 million from the stock market to build a pipeline of utility-scale solar power projects.
• On the hunt for green-tech game changers: Many clean-tech companies have run into a wall trying to scale up their products, for purely business reasons, such as the high costs of building factories or the difficulty of selling to conservative utilities. But by picking their niches, some promising green-tech companies have made real progress, even if the field of venture investors may be narrowing.