Michigan’s Jobs and Economy Update
Dear Friends,
As we work to get Michigan’s economy back on track, alternative forms of energy offer tremendous assets that we must use to our advantage. This rapidly expanding industry is generating thousands of good-paying jobs in communities around the country. I want to make sure that Michigan gets our fair share.
In this newsletter, I outline economic initiatives and renewableenergy opportunities being developed in Lansing and Flint, as well as how we can put our state’s manufacturing strengths to new use to create good-paying jobs today. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to create a vibrant economic climate that we can invest in for the future of Michigan.
I hope you find this newsletter useful and informative. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Your ideas and input can only improve the job I am doing representing the community. It continues to be my honor and privilege to serve as your State Representative.
Best regards,
Lee Gonzales
Renewable energy industry offers wide range of jobs for our workers
Job growth in the rapidly expanding renewable energy industry will benefit a wide range of Michigan workers. Talented individuals are needed in all phases of this growing field.
In wind energy, for example, there will be growing demand for workers to manufacture and assemble wind turbines. In the solar energy industry, along with manufacturing, more installers will be needed to put systems in homes and businesses – a rapidly growing category of work known as “green-collar” jobs.
Agricultural workers will also play a key role as we maximize opportunities to turn biomass into fuel.
And top-notch researchers and engineers will be needed in all areas of renewable energy to help the industry meet the exploding demand for efficient production of energy. Michigan’s University Research Corridor will foster and stimulate these innovations.
To learn more about the many types of jobs in the renewable energy industry, visit the Department of Energy’s Web site at www1.eere.energy.gov/education/careers.html.
Attracting Energy Jobs to Michigan
The renewable energy industry produces jobs in many sectors, including engineering, manufacturing, construction, installation, research and development, and more.
The key to attracting job providers in the globally expanding renewable energy industry is creating a strong, stable market for their products.
States around the country, including many of our neighbors, have found that the best way to do that is to create a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). An RPS requires that a certain percentage of a state’s electricity come from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, hydro-electric, and fuel cells. States with an RPS are capturing most of the jobs and investment dollars coming from renewable energy.
Pennsylvania, for example, has created at least 2,500 high-tech jobs since establishing its standard. We cannot afford to let these jobs and this investment keep going to other states.
To secure our state’s share of these jobs for our workers, I voted for a bipartisan House plan that calls for Michigan to enact an RPS of 10 percent by 2015. This will create tens of thousands of jobs in Michigan and pump hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy.
Flint Partners with Swedish Company for Alternative Energy
Rep. Gonzales is working with Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), City of Flint, Kettering University and representatives of energy leader Swedish Biogas International to undertake a project to produce alternative energy from waste removed from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The plant will produce biogas – an alternative energy that can fuel vehicles, and generate heat and electricity.
Governor Granholm called the announcement of the plant “a major building block in creating the state’s alternative energy industry.” The Flint- Sweden demonstration project lays the groundwork for eventual creation of a Michigan Center of Energy Excellence, an initiative outlined in the Governor’s State of the State address earlier this year. Centers of Excellence will link a job-creating alternative energy company with a university that will co-locate to conduct research and create new jobs. Center partners may include Kettering, Swedish Biogas and MEDC.
The project is a result of Governor Granholm’s investment mission to Sweden in August 2007, during which she met with government and company officials in an effort to develop alternative energy partnerships and encourage investment in Michigan. The project has the active support of U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Michael Wood. Sweden is a recognized global leader in renewable fuels; with more than 65 percent of all buildings’ heating needs being met by biomass.
The creation of this plant puts Michigan at the center of in-demand research and development of technology that will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and help businesses and communities reach their “green energy” goals.
U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Flint) is working to secure federal support in the U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow also are reviewing possibilities to enhance federal collaboration.
Next Step: Manufacturing
Michigan is already reaping the economic benefits of renewable energy production, especially when it comes to wind energy, which is the fastestgrowing segment of the industry. Now we need to take it to the next level – manufacturing.
One of the best ways to revive our economy and create good-paying jobs is to put our manufacturing expertise and infrastructure to work for a new purpose. Manufacturing remains one of Michigan’s greatest strengths. When it comes to renewable energy, manufacturing is also where our greatest potential lies.
A good example is the wind turbines being built around our state. Millions of dollars are spent to make and assemble them, but most of the parts are being shipped in, which means the jobs are being shipped out. We must keep these jobs in our own communities.
We have everything it takes to produce renewable energy components right here: a skilled workforce; an established network of suppliers; a close, rapidly growing market in our Midwestern and Canadian neighbors; and easy access to the world market by seagoing vessels.
Our existing plants can easily be re-tooled to manufacture rotor blades, generators and the more than a dozen other components needed to build a turbine.
Supporting renewable energy production in Michigan could create almost 35,000 manufacturing jobs – and 70 percent would involve making wind turbines, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Project.
Almost 1,000 firms operating in our state have the capacity to make component parts in wind. We can also manufacture components for other sectors of the renewable energy industry, such as solar panels or hydro-electric equipment.
I am doing everything in my power to put Michigan workers first. That includes fighting to make sure that our stake in the emerging renewable energy industry translates into good-paying jobs for local workers and income for our businesses.
Michigan Transportation Team Seeks More Federal Funding
Rep. Gonzales traveled to Washington, D.C. in May for the national 2008 Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In Legislative Briefing. The TCC is a partnership of 28 national associations and construction unions representing hundreds of thousands of individuals with a direct interest in federal transportation programs.
The TCC participants from Michigan met with 10 members of Congress and Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin to ask Congress to increase federal road funding for Michigan and place Michigan on a level playing field for federal dollars with other states. Currently Michigan is a donor state, meaning it contributes more money than it receives.
Also addressed were concerns about the future of transportation and infrastructure funding for Michigan, and the value of Michigan’s construction industry. Participants from Michigan included such groups as the Michigan Infrastructure Transportation Association, Michigan Municipal League, Michigan and Detroit Regional Chambers, Operating Engineers Local 324 and the County Road Association of Michigan.
Projects Will Boost Local Economies
While negotiations are in the home stretch, the Michigan House approved a $1.8 billion plan that will speed up hundreds of construction and infrastructure projects throughout the state and create more than 29,000 jobs for Michigan’s workers.
The projects will be funded with a mix of state, federal and local money. In addition to creating jobs now for Michigan’s workers, the plan also will create new jobs in emerging fields by equipping our colleges and universities with the facilities they need to train students for high-tech jobs in homeland security, life sciences and other cuttingedge fields. Some of the projects include:
- Library renovations for Mott Community College. This project is estimated to cost $8.2 million, with the state share being $4.1 million. This project entails renovation of the 81,000-square-foot main library and will create 130 jobs.
- Murchie Science Laboratory renovations for University of Michigan-Flint. This project is estimated to cost about $21 million, with the state share capped at $15.6 million. This project entails upgrading and expanding scientific laboratories and support space and will create 333 jobs.
- Intermodal parking development at Bishop International Airport. This project is estimated to cost $5.5 million, leveraging $5.225 million in federal funds with the state and local shares totaling $275,000. It will create 88 jobs.