Clean Energy |
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The growth of renewable energy and energy efficiency companies in Maryland is one of the best job creation stories in our state today. We are on track to meet the goal of creating 100,000 clean energy jobs in Maryland by 2015. State and federal investments in clean energy have played a crucial role growing these clean energy jobs. If you care about creating jobs, this is the wrong time to cut state investments in clean energy. And if you care about helping families save money, investments in energy efficiency programs are some of the best help our state can provide
Eastern Shore company hires construction workers
"On average our customers have seen a decrease of 15-30 percent on their monthly utility bills from last winter compared to this year, and this winter has been much colder than last year. It is great to hear these people’s stories and it's not just about the savings. These people are doing their part to reduce our nation’s carbon footprint," Hargrove says. But legislators started siphoning money from that program last year to ease a budget crunch, and Hargrove fears they will borrow more this year. To do so would threaten not only the jobs he created, but additional jobs his and other weatherization companies are expected to create. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimates Maryland can create 8,000 such jobs in the next five years, with total wages of $460 million. So Hargrove has written to legislators on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, urging them to reconsider any additional cuts in the program. "My company would simply not have made it nearly this far without the help from the state and federal government and stands no chance to grow or even succeed without your future involvement. I hope you realize the great service you are providing to homeowners in need, small business owners like myself, and to the environment, and the harm you would be doing if you were to reduce funding to energy efficiency programs," Hargrove wrote. |
At 24 years old, Matt Hargrove of St. Michaels is a budding entrepreneur. About a year ago he started Total Home Performance LLC, an energy auditing and weatherization company, in his garage. Today he has 10 full-time employees – men who had been laid off from the construction industry. He credits his expansion, and the jobs he created, to state funding that provides subsidies for people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses. The funding has helped perhaps hundreds of construction workers escape the unemployment rolls at small businesses such as Hargrove's, not to mention helped working people lower their utility bills.
