Minnesota Green Industries
What local industries will grow the green jobs of the future?
These three green areas of the construction and energy industries are gaining both public interest and spending in Minnesota. That makes them good bets to provide a number of green jobs in the future.
Energy-conserving buildings
Future creation of green jobs in Minnesota will be driven by the following trends:
- Minnesota's rising heating and cooling costs create powerful incentives to build more energy efficient buildings or retrofit existing buildings.
- Public policy measures such as aggressive
energy standards for public buildings, homeowner incentives, and programs like Energy Smart — are just three green trends that help Minnesota residents and businesses better understand efficiency upgrade options along with ways to access available financial resources.
Wind power
Minnesota is especially favorable for job growth in wind power because of these factors:
- Minnesota has the third largest wind capacity in the nation.
- Minnesota is home to the largest wind power utility in the nation.
- Minnesota has aggressive standards and incentives for renewable energy.
- Minnesota has a world-class transportation infrastructure including a major hub international airport and the largest wind turbine trucking company in the U.S.
- Minnesota has top-rate engineering schools and a network of technical colleges that provide customizable worker training.
Biofuels
Job creation in Minnesota will be driven by the following favorable conditions:
- The Midwest is rich in the biological materials used to produce biodiesel and ethanol.
- Advancements in science and technology are helping to identify better biomass sources such as native grasses and wood scraps which will make biofuel cheaper and more environmentally friendly to produce.
- Public sector support for biofuels has become part of a long-term strategy to achieve national energy security and independence from foreign oil.
