Stimulis Could Provide $50 Billion for Green Projects

As part of its economic stimulus package, the Obama administration may earmark $50 billion to fund environmentally sound infrastructure projects, according to a key economic advisor.

Obama adviser and Economic Policy Institute economist Jared Bernstein (left) along with other economists see the money funding at least $50 billion in environmentally sound infrastructure projects that could be up and running within a few months, according to a posting on Bloomberg.com.

Among the steps along the “green path,” Bernstein said, could be a requirement that repairs made to public buildings be environmentally friendly.

According to Bloomberg:

A critical mass of support for clean-energy spending and green-collar-job creation is building among environmentalists, labor groups, local governments and companies such as Google Inc. and American Electric Power Co., the biggest U.S. producer of electricity from coal.

The loosely knit coalition is advocating for what (Obama transition team advisor Bracken) Hendricks calls a “green recovery” stimulus that would create jobs with an eye toward conserving resources and reducing reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Google backs long-term tax rebates for renewable energy plus a federal investment in electric smart-grid technology to cut energy use by developing two-way communications between utilities and their customers. Again Bloomberg:

Both provisions would create high-technology jobs, said Harry Wingo, energy policy counsel for Google, which has been meeting with Obama advisers and Capitol Hill lawmakers.

Green-jobs provisions “are going to lead to more job creation here and put us in a better spot to compete for the global market in clean energy,” Wingo said.

And, no doubt, among those new jobs will be some for IT pros to make the smart-grid, well, smart.