We recently conducted a survey of Great Green Careers job seekers. We wanted to know about them and what they were seeking. Here’s what we discovered:

• 59% are currently employed, either by a company or themselves
• They work in a variety of industries, including construction (5.5%), healthcare (6.5%), sales/marketing (6.2%), non-profit (5.4%), and IT/technology (5.4%)
• Only 27% of the respondents consider their current job ‘green’
• 94% would like to move to a ‘greener’ job
• Over 28% plan to go back to school to find a greener job
• Top parts of the green economy that our users are targeting include: energy (39%), non-profits (30%), agriculture/forestry/fishing (28%), and construction (24%)
• Most of the Great Green Careers job seekers are 45 or older

Thanks to everyone who participated!

• 350Green to Install City-Wide Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Chicago: The company expects that construction, operation and management of the 73 DC Fast and 207 Level 2 charging stations, plus the opening of a nationwide customer support center, will create approximately 50 jobs in the greater Chicago area.
• Iberdrola Renewables and FirstEnergy Solutions Sign Power Purchase Agreement for Ohio’s Largest Wind Project: Iberdrola Renewables has announced that FirstEnergy Solutions, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation, will purchase 100 megawatts (MW) of output from the 304-MW Blue Creek Wind Farm, which Iberdrola Renewables is building in western Ohio. The Blue Creek Wind Farm is the first large-scale wind operation in Ohio to begin construction.
• Florida Governor Rick Scott tries to kill high speed rail, Senator Nelson attempting CPR: In a move that has many shaking their heads in disbelief, Florida’s newly elected Governor Rick Scott is refusing to accept $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money in an attempt to kill a long-desired high speed rail project that the funds were meant to kick start.The project, if it makes it through this impasse, could provide as many as 24,000 jobs and begin with a line between Tampa and Orlando.
• SoloPower lands loan guarantee for solar plant: SoloPower said yesterday that it has conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $197 million loan guarantee to build a factory in Oregon. The move gives San Jose, Calif.-based SoloPower the financial wherewithal to expand beyond a smaller demonstration plant in San Jose. The company has also gotten a loan and tax credits from the state of Oregon.
• Biofuel center to replace citrus plant in Florida: Construction began yesterday in Florida on the grounds of a former citrus-processing factory to build one of the first commercial-scale biofuel plants in the U.S.When completed and fully operational, the Indian River BioEnergy Center is expected to produce 8 million gallons of bio-ethanol per year.

What’s happening in green jobs:

• Mascoma to build cellulistic ethanol plant in Michigan: the Mascoma Corporation of Lebanon, N.H., said it had reached an agreement with Valero, the nation’s largest independent oil refiner, under which Valero would take the entire output of a commercial plant that Mascoma was to break ground on this year in Kinross, Mich. It is the first such “offtake” agreement in the industry, Mascoma said. The plant is supposed to be running by 2013.
• A Silicon Valley photovoltaic cell maker plans a huge factory in South Carolina: By the end of 2014, AQT Solar’s thin-film solar factory will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 1,000 megawatts and employ up to 1,000 workers.
• Evergreen Solar shutters costly US plant: Evergreen Solar will close its Massachusetts factory, saying that the U.S. is at a disadvantage in the face of low-cost Chinese solar suppliers. The company yesterday said that its Devens, Mass., plant, a converted military facility, will be shut down by the end of the first quarter of this year. The move will result in 800 lost jobs, leaving about 100 in its Marlborough, Mass.-based headquarters.
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  Mortenson Construction and enXco Partner to Build 400 MW Wind Capacity in Minnesota: Mortenson Construction and San Diego-based developer, enXco have completed the 201-megawatt Nobles Wind Project in Reading, Minnesota. The Nobles Wind Project represents about half of the 400 megawatts the enXco-Mortenson partnership plans to install in Minnesota by the summer of 2011. Mortenson and enXco are building the 205.5-megawatt Lakefield Wind Project about 30 miles from the Nobles project site in the southwest corner of Minnesota which will be completed by September of 2011.

• Green Jobs Outpace Overall California Job Market Recovery: The second edition of the Many Shades of Green report, published by California-focused research group Next 10, looks at how green jobs changed throughout the state from January 2008 to the start of 2009. While overall jobs grew less than 1 percent, green jobs grew by 3 percent.

 

The summer is finally here, with heat drenching much of the nation. Green job news keeps popping up - which is a good thing!

• The Parking Lot as ‘Solar Grove’: Envision Solar builds  â”solar groves,” 1,000-square-foot canopies that shade parking lots while generating clean power from an array of photovoltaic panels.The company is now branching out into electric car generation by outfitting its solar canopies with charging stations for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.
• Green homes combine solar and energy efficiency: Meritage Homes, one of America’s top ten home builders, is now constructing more than 200 homes near Phoenix, Arizona that will be up to 80 percent more energy efficient than typical existing homes of the same size. The standard equipment solar energy system on the homes is the major player in cutting energy costs.
• Rosendin Electric Breaks Ground on $50 Million Solar Project: Rosendin Electric, the nation’s largest private electrical contractor and a 100-percent employee-owned company, will break ground this week on a new photovoltaic power installation project for the Antelope Valley Union High School District.
• Toshiba to Build Electric Drive Motors in the U.S.: Toshiba Corporation will expand manufacturing capacity at its plant in Houston, Texas for production of high-performance drive motors for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). Toshiba will begin construction for the expanded capacity in January 2011 in Houston, Texas, on the site of Toshiba International Corporation. Production of the automotive motors would begin in 2012.
• Green tech, jobs hailed in Virgin America expansion:Virgin’s new routes and expanded presence at San Francisco’s airport will bring 500 jobs to the state per year over the course of the next few years.

It’s that time again - a roundup of the latest green jobs news for everyone. Take a look at what’s happening in the green economy this month:

• Coal jobs moving to natural gas: The electricity market is in the doldrums, but the market for new generating stations that use natural gas is going strong, industry experts say. Why? Because gas is beginning to replace coal. This will create construction and operational jobs.
• Photovoltaic manufacturing in Canada: A new highly automated PV module production site based in Ontario with a capacity of 120 MW to be reached in two stages - the first 60MW will be completed by the second quarter of 2011 whereas the remaining 60 MW will be finalized by the end of next year.
• BlueChip Energy Starts Development of 10 MW Solar Farm in Florida: BlueChip Energy ™ has announced it has started stage one of the Rinehart Solar Farm, a 10 MW utility-scale solar PV facility in Central Florida. The project will create approximately 100 jobs during construction.
• Kyocera begins manufacturing solar cells in US: Kyocera has announced that it has begun manufacturing solar modules in San Diego, California to serve the U.S. market’s growing demand for clean, sustainable solar electric generating systems. Kyocera Group companies currently employ approximately 4,000 people in the United States.
• Forecast for LED lighting is bright:By 2020, nearly half (46 percent) of the $4.4 billion commercial lighting business will be given over to LED lighting, leading to more manufacturing and sales jobs.

Lots of action in the green economy in the past few weeks - check it out:

• Lake Erie offshore wind project is a ‘go’: General Electric and an Ohio-based wind developer plan to build an offshore wind farm in Lake Erie in late 2012. The Great Lakes region has good wind and potential for substantial power production.
• Toyota and Telsa to revive Fremont plant for electric vehicles: Toyota announced plans today to build an electric vehicle at the recently closed New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, Calif. Reopening the plant will create 1,000 jobs.
• 900 homes have solar panels at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina: The United States military will have solar panels for hot water installed in 900 homes at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, making the base one of the largest residential producers of solar thermal power. Each house on the base will have one panel on its roof that will cover 75 percent of its hot water needs.
• Climate bill will create 200,000 jobs: A new report estimates that, if enacted, the provisions in the Senate climate and energy bill  would create 200,000 new jobs each year from 2011 to 2020. Given that the number of employed civilians in the United States currently exceeds 140 million, that’s a drop in the bucket.
• Cannon Power Group and Gamesa Partner on Baja California Wind Farm: Cannon Power Group and Gamesa Technology Corp. have announced that they have entered into an agreement for the development of a series of wind farms known as the Aubanel Wind Project in Baja California, Mexico near the town of La Rumorosa – approximately 60 miles east of San Diego and 15 miles south of the US - Mexico border.
• DOE awards $62 million for solar power R&D : The U.S. Department of Energy has made $62 million available to 13 companies to test equipment and materials, such as molten salts, to add storage to solar power systems that use heat to produce electricity.

Want to get a green job but don’t have the background or skills? You’re not alone - plenty of folks find themselves in the same boat. In addition to going back to school for more training, you should consider a volunteer or internship position at a green company.

One of the advantages of volunteering is that you can gain experience with an organization AND meet others who work in the green economy. These new contacts may help you in finding a paying job. You’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that your efforts are helping valuable organizations - even if they don’t pay you right away.

A good place to start your hunt for a volunteer position is the Corporation for National and Community Service.This website has lots of great information about organizations that need volunteers, plus an extensive section on AmeriCorps, which has a number of green-focused positions (both paid and unpaid).

Internships provide a more focused, pre-professional work experience. An internship provides a way to ‘test the waters’ at a specific company or in a particular occupation without making the long term commitment of a full-time job. You can start your search at websites such Internweb.com, which enables you to specify location, industry, job function, time of year and keyword.

Internships can be paid or unpaid, and some may even offer college credit. However, make sure you are clear on the terms of the internship before accepting. Remember, keeping your long term focus on what you want to do in the green economy is key to finding an internship or volunteer position that will get you there.

When someone says ‘green jobs’, we usually think of solar installers, environmental engineers, and the like. But the green economy is much bigger than that. Here are a few green jobs you may not have thought of:

• Geoengineer: You would be involved in the large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s climate in order to counteract global warming.
• Garbage consultant: You could call yourself a waste engineer - but whatever the term, you’re helping companies and organizations rethink their production and disposal of waste.
• Pest control technician: Not all bug zappers use toxic chemicals - going ‘green’ is a great way to help the environment and distinguish yourself!
• Bicycle technician: What’s greener than pedal power? With the growth in bike owners comes a need for more bike technicians.
• Bio-Mimicry Engineer: Biomimetics describes the transfer of ideas from biology to technology - in other words, figuring out how nature does something, then using that to our advantage. A biomimicry engineer created Velcro, for example.
• Socially responsible investment adviser: Putting your money to work supporting green businesses can be complicated. That’s where a green-minded investment adviser comes in.
• Eco Tourism Director: Ecotourism is growing at three times the rate of traditional vacationing - and so is employment in this area.
• Garden Guru: More people are dipping their toe into the green gardening world, but they need help. That’s where garden gurus come in.

What about unusual green jobs that you know? Tell us!

Wind energy has proved over the past decade to be one of the fastest growing segments of the green power economy. In the past 2 years, almost 40% of the all new power generating capacity in Europe and the U.S. has been wind energy. One of the biggest challenges for the industry, however, is finding enough skilled workers to design, build, install, and maintain wind turbine farms.

Types of jobs:

As with any industry, the wind energy sector has a variety of jobs, ranging from manufacturing to sales and service. Here are a few:

• Turbine production (manufacturing)
• Gearbox and component parts (manufacturing)
• Wind farm development
• On-site construction
• Financier (of projects)
• Turbine technician
• Salesperson
• Legal - lobbyist

Training:

Most positions in the wind energy industry will require some training (although some, such as sales and marketing, use transferable skills from other sectors). A good place to start is by talking to your local community college, which may have relevant training and/or certificate programs. (A good list of programs can be found here). There are also numerous state and local programs, as well as training provided by non-profit organizations such as the American Wind Energy Association. To learn more, click here.

Advice for job hunting:

Before you start looking for a wind energy job, be sure to check out our job hunting guide. Also, read up on the wind energy industry - it’s important to understand as much as possible about where you can fit in. Finally, be persistent. The wind sector is popular now, so you’ll have some competition!