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Clean Energy Jobs and Consumer Savings

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), currently before Congress, would shift America to clean energy, create millions of new jobs and additional savings for American consumers. Moving to a clean energy economy will break our dependence on foreign oil, reduce global warming pollution and make America a leader for the 21st Century.

Clean energy jobs are good paying jobs that can’t be

shipped overseas; such as manufacturing wind turbines and hybrid cars; researching new technologies; weatherizing homes and businesses; and installing solar panels and wind turbines.

• Clean-energy jobs are diverse and well paying -- from engineers and construction workers to machine setters and marketing consultants -- providing employment for people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds with annual incomes ranging from $21,000 to $111,000.

• The job growth rate in America’s emerging clean energy economy has been explosive, with the number of clean energy jobs growing at a rate
  2 ½ times greater than in the general economy -- 9.1 percent versus only 3.8 percent --  between1998 and 2007.*

Through strong clean energy and climate legislation, America can be a global leader in the clean energy future. If we invest in American business and draw on our ingenuity, we can make

sure that millions of new clean energy jobs are created right here in America.

• A $100 billion investment in building a clean energy economy could create as many as two million new, well-paying jobs here in the U.S. in just two years, through projects in building retrofitting; mass transit and freight rail; smart grid electrical transmission systems; wind energy; solar energy; and advanced biofuels.**

• While we delay seriously investing in our clean energy industry, China is investing over $12 million dollars every hour.***

Strong clean energy legislation will save consumers and businesses money.

• Implementing a suite of climate, energy and transportation policies would allow the United States to reduce the emissions that cause climate change and save consumers and businesses $465 billion in 2030.****

• The cumulative savings from implementing the energy efficiency standards proposed in ACES alone are estimated to be $750 per household by 2020 and $3,900 per household by 2030. *****
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* The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America, The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 10, 2009; View the report. (PDF)

** Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, September 2008; View the report.

*** We Must Seize the Energy Opportunity or Slip Further Behind, The Center For American Progress, April 20, 2009; View the report.

**** Climate 2030: A National Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy, Union of Concerned Scientists, June 2009; View the report.

***** H.R. 2454 Addresses Climate Change Through a Wide Variety of Energy Efficiency Measures, American Council for and Energy Efficient Economy, June 2009; View the report. (PDF)

Contact Information

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