Bringing Green Energy Jobs to Pennsylvania

"With help from Congressman Murphy, the Pennsylvania government has significantly increased the practicality of solar and renewable energies. With the help of tax credits and incentives, we and the industry partners are well positioned to significantly reduce the cost of solar, improve the renewable energy industry’s viability and create green jobs.” [Chris Chang, AE Polysilicon, Falls Township]

“Last week’s vote by Congressman Murphy and the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of providing a wide array of renewable energy tax credits and incentives was a victory for Pennsylvania’s economy and environment. I want to thank Congressman Murphy for his leadership in promoting clean, renewable energy – not only with his important vote last week, but with many other votes and action he has taken while in office to help secure a new energy future for Pennsylvania and the nation as a whole.”[Nathan Willcox, Penn Environment, Energy and Clean Air Advocate]

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Helping Bring Renewable Energy Business to Bucks County

Working to Recruit Prospective Businesses to the KIPC

• Congressman Murphy continues to work to recruit “green” businesses to help revitalize our local and regional economy.
  
• In Bucks County, at the former U.S. Steel site in Falls Township, companies are manufacturing components for wind and solar power and creating hundreds of new jobs.
  
• In Morrisville, the fourth largest solar panel field in the country is being built—creating jobs and enough clean energy to power thousands of homes.
  
• Companies and projects like these have established Bucks County as an innovative green energy hub.

Created a Green Energy Jobs Working Group

• Congressman Murphy created a green energy jobs and economic development working group to fos-ter growth in this important field.
  
• By collaborating with the vital players in diverse fields, his working group will create and implement new ideas and programs across private, county, state, and federal lines.
  
• This green jobs working group has brought together leaders in education, business, and government to talk about ways to invest in workforce development and education to support the emerging renew-able energy hub in our region.

Training Workers for Good Paying Green Energy Jobs

Fighting to Fund a Green Jobs Training Academy

• Congressman Murphy is working to create “green collar” jobs and to ensure workers have the right skills for these new green energy jobs.
  
• Specifically, Congressman Murphy is fighting to fund a Green Jobs Training Academy at Bucks County Community College and the three area vocational technical schools.
  
• This Academy will be designed to meet the workforce training needs of Bucks County as it moves toward attracting companies in the green energy industry.

Voted to Provide Money for “Green Collar” Job Training Programs (H.R. 2847)

• Authorizes $125 million each year for the Labor Department to administer a new grant program for worker training programs in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency sectors — such as solar panel manufacturers and green building construction.
  
• Under the program, to be created within six months of enactment, grants would be awarded to pro-grams, including those that target workers who need updated training related to the energy industry, veterans, and the unemployed.

Fighting for Green Jobs through Federal Legislation

Voted for Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy (H.R. 6049)

• Congressman Murphy voted for the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act which passed the House in May 2008 with wide bipartisan support.
  
• This bill provides nearly $20 billion in tax incentives for investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. It will also spur job growth by extending tax provisions, including research and development tax credit.
  
• The long-term extension and modification of renewable energy production tax credit is especially important to the companies at the KIPC. Failure to extend some of these provisions would have significant consequences for American workers. A recent study showed that allowing the renewable energy incentives to expire would lead to about 116,000 jobs being lost in the wind and solar industries through the end of 2009.

Creating the Next Generation of American Workers

• One of the key findings of Congressman Murphy’s Green Jobs Working Group was a lack of updated training equipment and technology at the technical schools in our district and not enough funding to replace outdated equipment or upgrade facilities.
  
• That is why Congressman Murphy voted for the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, which passed the House in June of 2008, and authorizes nearly $7 billion in grants for the modernization, renovation and repair of public school facilities.
  
• Congressman Murphy also introduced and passed an amendment to that legislation which ensures that these funds could be spent by schools, particularly technical schools, to purchase equipment that allows students to become proficient in emerging green energy careers.

Setting America on the Path to Energy Independence

Pushing for More Renewable Energy and More Jobs in Pennsylvania

• Congressman Murphy voted for the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS), requiring utilities to generate or buy 15 percent of their energy from clean, renewable energy by 2020. Sources like wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy will be used to create nearly 350,000 jobs.
  
• This national standard will spur innovation and create a cleaner environment. According to studies performed by the Renewable Energy Policy Project and the Union for Concerned Scientists, a renew-able energy standard like this could yield millions of dollars in economic activity in Pennsylvania and create thousands of new jobs.

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