In the words of Nick D’Arbeloff, the Executive Director of the New England Clean Energy Council, energy will become the defining issue of our generation. In other words -”Its going to be a big deal.” Mr. D’Arbeloff spoke candidly about the urgent need for a transformation of the energy sector – “its been real hot lately,” – as well as about the current status and development of energy, both in New England and beyond. The Clean Energy sector is one of the largest job providers in Massachusetts, yet, if the Northeast was a country, it would be one of the biggest CO2 emitters in the world. As developing countries wish to emulate the western way of life, an energy transformation is mandated – and we are going to have to be the ones who provide it.
- Amanda
I am a bit skeptical about the role played by clean energy in job creation. The assertion that the clean energy sector is the largest job provider in MA is not accurate at all. The energy cluster in MA is quite small, as shown by a recent report published by MTC (Massachusetts clean energy census 2007). In 2007 clean energy contributed with 14,400 jobs, the lowest as compared to other sectors (i.e. health care tech, defense, IT, industries support, etc.). There is a lot of potential in this sector, but in terms of jobs it might not be the one that could solve the employment issue.