Green Career Central Blog

Follow the Clean Tech Money: DOE Makes Conditional Loan Guarantees of $139.9 Million and $197 Million, Mission Motors Receives $9 Million

The Department of Energy has made a conditional loan guarantee of $133.9 million to Abengoa Bioenergy to begin the construction of a commercial size cellulosic biofuel manufacturing plant. The plant is to be built in Hugoton, KS; the US corporate headquarters of Abengoa is St. Louis, MO.  The plant will convert corn stalks and leaves into cellulosic ethanol displacing nearly 15.5 million of gasoline annually. 

The DOE has also made a loan guarantee of $197 million to SoloPower for the construction of two thin film solar module manufacturing plants located in Portland, OR and San Jose, CA.  Using thin film to capture solar energy is less expensive than solar panels, but is usually not as efficient.  Solopower has career openings ranging from technicians to executives.

Mission Motors, a maker of electric vehicle technology, has received $9 million from venture capitalists.  Mission Motors will use the funding to continue to develop its family of products related to electric vehicles including lithium ion batteries and drive systems for competition vehicles and motorcycles. Here is a link to their career openings.

Green Jobs Growing: Fuel Efficient and Hybrid Vehicles Creating Green Jobs

According to a new study from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation and the United Auto Workers, there are 151,000 green jobs in the auto industry.  More than 300 manufacturers in 43 states and the District of Columbia employ these green workers who develop, manufacture and assemble plug-in electrical, hybrid and advanced internal combustion vehicles.  Michigan is the leader among the states with 38,067 green jobs at 97 facilities. 

Among the many elements to manufacturing a fuel efficient vehicle are engine direct injection, high strength steel, electric drive wiring systems, advanced transmissions, start/stop components and systems.  

As the Federal requirements for improved fuel efficiency among vehicles increase, the need for more auto workers to design, manufacture and assemble is expected to continue to climb.    

Follow the Clean Tech Money: DOE and USDA Award $12.2 for Biofuel Research, Clean Urban Energy Receives $7 Million, Nuventix Receives $10 Million

The Departments of Energy and Agriculture has made awards totaling $12.2 million to 10 projects to research ways to lower the cost of growing biofuel crops.  Here is a pdf list of the projects that received an award.  States where the awards were made include:  California, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia. Genomics will be used by researchers to improve crops such as switchgrass, Miscanthus, poplar and other plants.

Clean Urban Energy, an energy efficiency technology company designed for buildings, has received $7 million from venture capitalists.  Using the thermal mass of commercial buildings, CUE will develop software as a service to make the buildings more energy efficient.  CUE has chosen four cities, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston to roll out it's service.

Based on Austin, TX, Nuventix has received $10 million from venture capitalists.  Nuventix will use the funds to continue developing cooling technology for LED lighting. Nuventix is accepting resumes for electrical engineers.

Green Jobs Growing: Which CA City Leads the State in Green Jobs? Hint: It's Not San Francisco

Which city leads the nation in number of green jobs and that number will more than double by 2030?  According to a new study released by the Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs Network, Los Angeles is the leader.

Over the last decade the rate of green job creation has been three times as much as the rest of the Los Angeles basin economy.  There are now about 178,500 green jobs out of an estimated 4.5 million jobs.  By 2040 the number of green jobs is expected to grow to 443,000.  The definition of a green job used by the study is the same definition used by the state Employment Development Department's Labor Market Information Divison.

Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs grew out of the No on Proposition 23 organization.  It is co-led by former Secretary of State George Shultz and businesses/philanthropist Tom Steyer.

Follow the Clean Tech Money: DOE to Invest $50 Million in Solar Manufacturing, Leyden Energy Receives $20 Million, eCullet Secures $38 Million

The Department of Energy has announced a $50 million investment in PV solar manufacturing in the U.S.  The program, titled SUNPATH, will assist smaller companies with funding assistance to overcome gaps as they grow their technology. The SUNPATH program will support the SunShot Initiative. The ultimate goal of SUNPATH is to produce efficient, world-wide cost competitive solar products in the U.S.

Leyden Energy, a manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries, has received $20 million from venture capitalists.  Leyden plans to use the funding to increase sales world wide and increase manufacturing capacity. Among the uses for their lithium-ion batteries are electric vehicles including bikes and grid storage. 

Palo Alto, CA based eCullet has received $38 million from venture capitalists.  eCullet uses their own technology to scan and sort recycled glass, making it furnace ready for the glass container industry.  They also work with glass manufacturers to reduce their energy consumption and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Career Tip: Three Ways You May Be Setting Up a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Have you said this before?

“I want to work in Industry Y, but there aren’t any jobs in that industry…or in my region.”

Before you abandon your goal of having a green career, take a few minutes to determine how you’ve come to this conclusion.

Did You Do the Research?
When you research your target green career there are several layers to sort through. First you need to understand the industry as a whole. How is it structured? What roles are valued within the industry?

Then you want to move beyond online research to talk with people who work in the field. This may be in person in a networking meeting, at a conference, or even in a LinkedIn Group online. The key is you want to get the latest information about your target industry from people who work in the field on a day to day basis. They’ll be able to help you see industry-wide trends and local opportunities.

Click here to continue reading the article.

Green Jobs Growing: Green/Clean Jobs Continue to Grow at National Science Labs

National and local labs conducting energy and climate science research are good places to look for green/clean jobs.  Here are a few.

In Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory employs 4,800 people, making Knoxville first among all cities in the nation in growth in green jobs.  A portion of the Lab is dedicated to energy including renewable energy and energy efficiency and biological systems including bioenergy.

In Colorado, the National Renewable Energy Lab located in the western suburbs of Denver, has job openings for highly qualified scientists, engineers, research technicians, project leaders, and analysts.  NREL works on the development and commercialization of renewable energy including geothermal, hydrogen, biomass as well as solar and wind.

In California the Lawrence Livermore Lab is working on renewable energy, climate and carbon as well as other projects.  Also in Northern California is the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.  Research into the earth's carbon cycle is being conducted there.

Near Albuquerque, NM, the Sandia National Lab is researching energy, climate and infrastructure security.  

Follow the Clean Tech Money: Sunlogics Receives $7.5 Million Investment from GM, Virgin Green Fund II Seeks $300 Million, Innovalight Purchased by DuPont

A maker of garage stalls topped with light weight amorphous solar panels, Sunlogics, has received a $7.5 million investment from General Motors. Twelve Green Zone garage stalls will generate 32,000 kWh per year, enough to fully charge 12 GM Chevy Volts everyday. 

Partially backed by Virgin Airways entrepreneur, Richard Branson, Virgin Green Fund II is seeking to raise $300 million by year's end.  Virgin Green Fund II seeks to invest in renewable energy and resource efficiency companies in Europe and North America that have proven technology. 

A nanomaterials company that manufacturers ink that improves the efficiency of solar panels, Innovalight, has been purchased by DuPont for an undisclosed amount.  The Sunnyvale, CA based company is working toward reducing the cost of solar panels.