EBENSBURG -- A Cambria County wind turbine manufacturer that had to temporarily lay off 79 employees last November after new orders fell will be able bring back those workers and hire an additional 50 people thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.
During a visit to the Gamesa Wind USA plant, Governor Rendell announced $22.8 million in grants through the federal Recovery program that will not only put people to work at Gamesa, but will also create another 257 jobs at three large-scale wind farms.
“A year ago this week, President Obama -- after only 28 days in office -- and Congress took action to move the United States out of its darkest days since the 1930s by passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” said Governor Rendell. “While some naysayers – often, critics who have little personally at stake -- have questioned whether it was the right thing to do, the reality is that the Recovery Act kept our nation from sinking deeper into economic quicksand.”
The Governor noted that 2 million Americans today have good jobs because of the federal stimulus. In Pennsylvania, the act helped avoid massive layoffs, provided relief to families in need, made higher education more affordable for students, and enabled employers to hire and retain workers doing jobs that are vital to the state’s future, such as developing renewable energy resources.
“One of the premier examples in Pennsylvania, if not the nation, of how we can build a 21st century green economy is the Gamesa plant we’re visiting today. With the support of federal Recovery Act funding, this plant will return to full production and start up a second manufacturing line. That means a great deal to the workers who went back on the job this week.”
Eric Sheesley was one of those workers, said the Governor. Sheesley was laid off from his first shift quality inspector job just before Thanksgiving in 2009. He, his wife and two kids live in nearby Nanty Glo, and while his wife was able to pick up extra hours at her receptionist position, the family mostly relied on Eric’s unemployment compensation to get by. Because of the federal Recovery funds, however, he returned to work on Monday, Feb. 15.
“Eric’s experience is only one of the many positive stories made possible thanks to the federal Recovery Act’s support for advanced energy projects,” said Governor Rendell.
Since the Recovery Act was passed, Pennsylvania companies and communities have received more than $800 million for green energy projects. Those funds are in addition to the nearly $1 billion in state funds spent to help grow this sector in the last seven years. As result, according to the Pew Center, Pennsylvania ranks third for the growth of green jobs just behind the powerhouse energy states of Texas and California.
The $22.8 million that Governor Rendell announced today through the Recovery-funded Green Energy Works! Wind grant program will create or retain 387 jobs, leverage more than $200 million in private investments, and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 450 million pounds annually -- the equivalent of removing 39,000 passenger vehicles from the road. The three projects receiving grant funding include:
• $7.8 million for Gamesa to install 19 two-megawatt wind turbines
at the Chestnut Flats Wind Farm in Cambria and Blair counties. The
project is expected to create 85 jobs.
• $10 million Iberdrola Renewables’ South Chestnut wind project to
install 23 two-megawatt turbines in Fayette County that will create 129
jobs.
• $5 million for the Broad Mountain Wind Energy Center’s installation
of eight turbines near Frackville in Schuykill County under a project
that will create 43 jobs.
“If not for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, these projects wouldn’t happen now and these Gamesa workers wouldn’t be back on the job making the 50 turbines that each of these projects will use.
“It’s clear that the stimulus is working: it’s providing a lifeline to families, slowing job losses, and helping our economy rebound. In January 2009, America lost 750,000 jobs. One year later, that rate had slowed to only 20,000 jobs and the nation’s GDP grew at its fastest pace in six years during the fourth quarter of 2009.”
For more information on how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is working in Pennsylvania, visit www.recovery.pa.gov.
| Philadelphia's Historic City Hall Improves Energy Efficiency |
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Patrick Kerkstra
Jan. 19, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune by Newstex) -- As a metaphor for government waste and inefficiency, it is difficult to beat the sight and sound of dozens of City Hall window air-conditioning units whirring away in the dead of winter.
Outside, it is freezing. Inside, it is so warm that workers often fling open windows, crank up the A.C., or power up fans. Building managers say there is little they can do to improve the situation, considering the building's quirks and its lack of a modern heating and cooling system.
The absurd situation is a glaring example of just how energy-inefficient many of the city's facilities are.
Philadelphia spent over $48 million on electricity, heating oil, and natural gas in fiscal year 2008-09, one of the largest line items in the city's general budget.
Which explains why reducing municipal energy use -- by 10 percent this year, and by 30 percent within five years -- is one of the top goals on the Nutter administration's sweeping environmental agenda.
The problem is that, in the short run, conservation can be expensive. Retrofitting City Hall with a quality HVAC system would cost $22.8 million, according to a recent estimate, a sum the cash-strapped city government can hardly afford out of pocket. Borrowing money is also out of the question, since the city is near its debt limit.
So the Nutter administration is trying something novel. Last month it contracted with a private firm, Noresco, to do what amounts to no-money-down energy-efficiency renovations of four major city government buildings.
The city will pay the firm back for the improvements over time, using the cash it saves from lowered energy bills. If the projects -- such as a new $3.7 million chilled-water plant for the Criminal Justice Center -- fail to yield enough savings to pay for the capital investment, Noresco will make up the difference.
Pennsylvania lawmakers passed the bill enabling these arrangements, called Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreements, more than a decade ago. Statewide, more than $370 million has been spent on GESA projects, yielding about $435 million in savings. None of the projects has been in Philadelphia.
"We haven't had a great track record of investing in energy efficiency over the last 10 years. Energy prices had been low, the economy had been pretty good," said Philadelphia sustainability director Katherine Gajewski.
"In this budget climate, it's different. And the culture is changing across the country, too. It's not like energy efficiency is a fringe issue any more."
It is not yet clear just which improvements the Westborough, Mass.-based Noresco and the city will make. The firm will first conduct a thorough audit of the city's "quadplex" facilities, which include City Hall, the Municipal Services Building, the Criminal Justice Center, and One Parkway. Only investments that yield energy savings greater than the construction expense within a 15-year window will be considered.
One project that does seem likely to receive funding is a $5.2 million energy-management database system. Predicted to yield $760,000 in annual savings, the system will let city managers log on and see how much energy their departments and buildings are using.
Gajewski considers such a system an essential tool for "changing the behavior" of city employees.
"I think we are going to have a challenge getting 20,000-plus city employees to make the daily behavioral changes we want them to make to conserve energy," Gajewski said.
The city is even planning an internal marketing campaign -- paid for by federal stimulus money -- to get city workers to embrace energy-saving habits such as turning off lights or donning a sweater when cold.
"We're very supportive of the administration focus on improving the city's energy consumption first. It makes a lot of economic sense, and it's just good practice for the city to implement some of these changes before requiring the private sector to do the same," said Janet Milkman, executive director of the nonprofit Delaware Valley Green Building Council.
Mayor Nutter appears to have City Council's support for his energy-saving initiatives. He is slated to appear at a news conference today with Council members James F. Kenney and Blondell Reynolds Brown to sign one piece of conservation legislation and publicly endorse another.
Brown's bill, which has cleared Council, will require the city to meet an environmental and energy efficiency building standard known as LEED silver (for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) anytime it erects structures or does major renovations. More-exacting standards exist, such as gold and platinum LEED ratings, but Brown said the city had to balance its environmental goals with budget realities.
"The gold standard is a long-term goal. We decided to shoot for what's achievable, which is the silver LEED standard," Brown said.
Kenney's legislation, which has not yet been approved, would require contractors to install "cool roofs" when erecting new buildings in Philadelphia. Though slightly more expensive than traditional roofs, cool roofs -- which are constructed of reflective materials that better deflect heat -- reduce energy costs and can help curb the urban heat-island effect.
It is unclear how receptive builders will be to legislation that increases their costs, even slightly, given that Philadelphia is already an expensive construction market.
For now, the city is focused on fixing its own drafty roofs, leaking windows, and inefficient heating and cooling systems.
Alas, City Hall's clunker of a climate-control system will almost certainly not get an upgrade. Even with a new $22.8 million system, Noresco estimates annual savings of just $150,000 a year.
At that rate, it would take more than 150 years for the city to break even on the investment.
Patrick Kerkstra pkerkstra@phillynews.com. Newstex ID: KRTB-0160-4131304 |
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Energy Coordinating Agency
Good Energy News
Philadelphia, January -Liz Robinson, Executive Director of the Energy Coordinating Agency, Philadelphia says that ECA has good news to share: greenhouse gas emissions are predicted to decline by 3% globally, and
by 9% in the United States,
heading toward 12% by the end of the year!
Robinson also said that it’s true that much of this is a result of economic slowdown, it is also true that in the U.S., clean energy policies which are being implemented in many states, including Pennsylvania, are beginning to work. Please go here for a brief summary of some of the tax credits, rebates and other incentives now available to help you save money and energy in your own home on the back of this letter.
"My wish for this New Year is that a clean
energy economy emerges from this recession, and that carbon emissions continue
to decline at a very steady rate in 2010 and beyond." said Robinson.
Last year ECA commissioned the American Council for an
Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) to assess the energy efficiency and solar
energy resources in Pennsylvania.
The full report is available here. ACEEE
found that fully 30% of all of Pennsylvania’s
energy needs can be cost effectively met through energy efficiency and
conservation. Implementing higher energy efficiency codes, policies and
programs will create 27,000 new full time jobs, and save Pennsylvanians $5 billion
dollars a year, every year.
Energy conservation is not only the cleanest and cheapest form of energy, it is also the most labor intensive, and creates the green collar jobs we keep hearing so much about.
ECA is helping to build the skilled green collar workforce
we need by developing a state of the art Green
Jobs Training
Center in our old factory in West Kensington. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor
& Industry recently designated ECA as one of six certified weatherization
training centers in the state. We have raised $1.2 million toward our goal of
almost $2 million. The Kresge Foundation has awarded us a challenge grant of
$240,000, which we need to match by raising an additional $480,000.
Help ECA meet the Kresge challenge by sending your tax-deductible contribution to ECA today? Together, we can build a sustainable energy future for all Philadelphians and all Pennsylvanians..
P.S. Please go here to make your online donation or mail one today!
Energy Coordinating Agency, 1924 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 | (215) 988-0929
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