Monday, March 17, 2008

Mass. House Speaker DiMasi lays out $50M 'Green Jobs Act'

By Efrain Viscarolasaga

At tomorrow's address to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is expected to announce a new initiative directing millions of state dollars at growing the local alternative-energy sector. Dubbed the Green Jobs Act of 2008, the bill would allocate more than $50 million to the creation of new jobs and revenue in the state's clean energy industry.

One result of the bill would create a new clean-energy "center" and would redirect funds currently being administered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Renewable Energy Trust Fund.

The five-year plan would be funded by $5 million per year set aside from the $43 million Bay State Competitiveness Fund, which was approved by the Legislature last year, as well as by an additional $5 million per year that is now being used for economic-development programs funded through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC).

The initiative is directly aimed at creating jobs in the clean-energy sector, particularly through startups, and is designed to "attract hundreds off millions of dollars in venture capital, create thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars in new annual revenue for the commonwealth," according to a statement by DiMasi's office.

The plan has the support of the Patrick administration, according to Robert Keough, spokesman for the Mass. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The initial proposal, which is expected to be filed in the coming weeks with the intention of being considered by the House and Senate this session, will also establish the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and redirect the funds now spent by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund to the new center.

Officials from MTC did not return calls for comment.

Also included in the proposal:

• A $25 million Clean Energy Seed Grant Program which will award grants from $2 million to $5 million per year to startups;
• A $2.5 million Clean Energy Fellowship to give experienced Massachusetts entrepreneurs the energy training needed to enter the sector;
• A $12.5 million Green Jobs initiative to coordinate workforce development efforts at local universities and community colleges.

According to officials at the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC), which helped draft the proposal, the initiatives included in the plan have also drawn interest from the U.S. Department of Energy, which has sent officials to participate on the collaboration and potentially take ideas to other parts of the country.

The region's clean energy cluster ranks as the 10th largest sector in the region and is growing at a rate of more than 20 percent per year, according to a study by NECEC last fall. State officials called the initiative a key element in making the region a national leader in clean tech.

"There is an enormous potential on our doorstep, but it is an opportunity that is also being looked at by many other states," said Jeffrey Andrews, a partner at Boston venture capital firm Atlas Venture and a member of the NECEC. "It is incumbent on us to use our home field advantage to make the most of it."

That advantage, he said, lies in the universities, other strong industries such as materials and biotech, the investment community and an ecosystem of experienced entrepreneurs.

According to NECEC, the plan could create as many as 21 new clean energy companies and attract $500 million in venture capital, yielding 13,000 new jobs and $51 million in new annual income taxes.

Connecticut has been working on the developing jobs in the clean energy sector, as well. Last week, Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed a "Green Collar" training program for the state's technical schools, which would allocate $125,000 to the state's technical school system.