University of Massachusetts > Stem > CLEAN ENERGY GROWTH AND NEW CAREER

Clean Energy Growth and
New Career Opportunities in Massachusetts

The long term job opportunities within the Commonwealth's clean energy "cluster", will require more young people to be prepared in the STEM fields of study.

Sustainability, a term used in everyday language, may have its origin in the Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Commission defined sustainable development as that which "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." One such development in Massachusetts is the clean energy industry, both inspired by this principle and propelled by the promise and the profits inherent in this pioneering area.

Existing companies, feeling pressure from changing public opinion and increased awareness of adverse environmental effects, are instituting environmental protections in their own product design, manufacturing, and disposal practices. Indeed, a web of federal, state and local rules require this kind of compliance.

Since sustainability has as an essential aspect the efficient use of energy sources that do not deplete nor compromise the environment, clean energy businesses and exploration have taken off. A census of the clean energy cluster in Massachusetts, released August 8, 2007 identified 556 entities engaged in renewable energy, energy efficiency, consulting and support, and university research (Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2007). Employment is estimated at 14,400 and the industry is predicted to grow into the 10th largest cluster tracked by the Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy (press release Aug. 8, 2007, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs).

Research at our public universities extends into practically every aspect of industrial life; land use and water resources are also receiving concerted attention. Importantly, this work is highly interdisciplinary and even inter-university, as shown by the range of funded research programs at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Environmental Institute (TEI, http://www.umass.edu/tei/). Funded research is focused on acid rain monitoring, behaviors of engineered nano-particles in water, storm water technology evaluation, invasive species monitoring, and mathematical modeling to understand ecological risk to Massachusetts's rivers.

Engineers, scientists and technicians play an increasingly important in assessing risk and safeguarding of our fundamental and limited resources - water, air, and land. Today, the organization called Engineers Without Borders suggests an activism that crosses fields and is a direct response to a belief that the environment's sustainability is a global health problem (http://www.ewb-umass.org/).

As an example of higher education response to the these challenges, Cape Cod Community College (CCCC), launched its environment degree and training programs in 1994, with an in A.S. environmental technology and a liberal arts associates degree in environmental studies, and five certificate programs in: coastal zone management, environmental site assessment, GIS, waste water management, and water supply. With support from the National Science Foundation, the Barnstable County Economic Development Council and Cape Wind, CCCC implemented a renewable energy and energy efficiency certificate program in 2005.  CCCC partners with two local technical high schools and the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative to launch this program. Estimating 600-800 jobs in the clean energy industry in southeastern Massachusetts, the program strategically allies itself with Cape Wind, GE Wind and other local companies. Stephanie Brady, MA, director of the program, hopes to work with Middlesex Community College and Greenfield Community College to establish similar programs there. Additional training programs can be found at ATEEC www.ateec.org, PETE www.pete.org, and  http://ceret.us/ceret/ (Consortium for Renewable Energy Technologies).

Boston Foundation CEO, Paul Grogan, in a Boston Globe editorial (August 11, 2007), describes the special assets of Massachusetts and also its workforce challenges, including a significant jobs-skills mismatch. Neither clean energy nor bioscience is highlighted in the editorial but surely what Grogan calls "opportunity pipelines" pertain to the challenges posed by a growing clean energy industry.

The recent survey by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, says that Massachusetts is poised to add 3,000 jobs just this year in the green-energy business. According to TAC, clean-energy is growing three times faster than financial services, defense, software and communications and healthcare. Renewable-energy companies report they will increase staff by an average of 30% in the coming year; energy efficiency advising companies will add 25% more employees. A total of 77 renewal energy start-ups have been launched in Massachusetts since 2001.

Governor Patrick's new $15 million fund to help finance smaller firms adds to this momentum. A planned Massachusetts Clean Energy Council surely has synergies with biomedicine and other growing technology-driven industries in Massachusetts. Combining efforts across the STEM fields to improve the workforce will only yield a more prosperous state where our young people, with the intention to pursue STEM careers, can find a home.