Green jobs coming, thanks to investors

Posted Aug 11th 2009 12:50PM by Tom Johansmeyer
Filed under: Economic Data, Personal Finance, Technology

If you want to feel like what you do for a living makes a difference, you'll soon face an embarrassment of riches.

The alternative energy industry -- the green business -- is about to ramp up its hiring, with the next year likely to show an increase in demand, according to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

All signs truly point in this direction. In addition to the development of the green energy business over the past several years, the amount of capital flowing into fledgling companies in this space is growing rapidly. Last quarter, a study by Ernst & Young put clean technology ("cleantech") venture capital investing at $572 million -- a quarter-over-quarter increase of 73%. Jobs do follow capital, as employees are needed to make that investor cash productive.

Strip out the hype. The Associated Press cites the industry's "high-profile list of alternative energy backers," such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Sure, their influence makes a difference, but you need to cut through the names to see where the jobs will come from. Obviously, the tax advantages available in cleantech as a result of this year's stimulus legislation has made a difference, but nothing compares to the influx of funding from savvy investors who have timetables for highly profitable exits.

Tags: alternative energy, alternative fuel, bill clinton, clean technology, CleanTech, clinton, employment, ernst and young, green energy, green tech, green technology, hilda solis, inthenews, steven chu, unemployment