Although the federal government is helping to boost the clean energy economy with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it isn't the only government agency focusing on green jobs. New York is getting in on the green jobs action with a new proposed bill, the New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act. The bill is pending in the New York State legislature and if passed, it could lead to 22,000 new green jobs and about $20 billion in economic activity in the state.

 

Although the bill is pending, a bevy of environmental advocacy organizations are showing their support for the bill, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Solar Alliance, the Apollo Alliance, and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. These organizations feel that the passage of this bill will help make New York one of the nation's leading solar economies.

 

A report from The Vote Solar Initiative shows that this bill could create 22,198 direct and induced jobs, create $20 billion in economic activity including wages, salaries, and revenues, and all of this would only cost the average residential electric customer an additional $0.39/month.

 

For more information about the initiative, read The Vote Solar Initiative's NY Solar Jobs Act of 2010 overview.