On the same day U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer introduced their version of federal climate change legislation, a handful of local environmental advocates gathered for a midday powwow at the Qimonda plant in Sandston to support its passage.
“We’re here today to call on Senator Warner and Senator Webb to support this bill,” said Glen Besa, director of the Sierra Club of Virginia.
“Over 2,000 people lost their jobs here at Qimonda,” said Besa. “They were highly skilled in working with silicone chips, the same raw material that goes into photovoltaics. If this passes, this will be a significant incentive for businesses to make an investment in facilities like this.”
Besa said climate legislation, which would create a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases, has the potential to create 44,000 jobs in Virginia, according to statistics from the Center for American Progress.
The Kerry-Boxer bill, which is similar to the Waxman-Markey bill introduced in the House, sets a mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. (Read the Kerry-Boxer bill in its entirety.)
State Sen. Donald McEachin, who represents the district at the Qimonda plant, said that the bill would have a positive economic impact in Virginia.
“I still am in communication with those workers, they are still looking for a chance to keep their homes and families here,” McEachin said.
One firm that might be seeking to hire some qualified workers in the years to come is Spotsylvania-based Energy & Environment Inc., an installer of solar and wind energy systems.
Charles Bush, head of the firm’s Richmond office, said the company is growing and is considering sites for a solar panel manufacturing facility, including one in Henrico.
“Over the next three to five years, [we are] looking to have 500 employees and put some of these Qimonda people back to work,” said Bush. He said he has about 15 people working with him in the Richmond area installing alternative energy systems.
He said the federal legislation is key to creating more incentives that will drive demand.
Bush said business and individuals installing a system today in the state are only paying about a third of the cost of the system. For example, a $38,000 system will cost you about $14,000 net with a return on investment of eight years, where before that same system without rebates would cost $26,000 with a return on investment of 24 years.
“Everybody is interested,” he said. “It’s all about the bottom line – until now it’s been totally out of reach.”
For more on the new bill, read “Boxer, Kerry Launch Campaign to Pass Senate Cap-And-Trade Bill” via the New York Times.
Al Harris is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.
44,000 jobs?!? CAP says this but backs it up with nothing that I can find. They use unemployment numbers from Summer 2008 which have grown over the last year. Can someone back this up with some facts??
The Center for American Progress is an uber left-wing radical think tank. Take what they say with a ton of salt. Cap-and-trade is a job killer, not a job creator. It will drive costs through the roof and lead to mass layoffs. These liberals seem to think that business will operate no matter what government does to them. I hope we don’t get to find out how wrong they are.
What they are saying about Cap & Trade could not be further from the truth!! It is a job KILLER & will just have electric companies pass the added cost down the us, the consumers! Contact your Congressman and Senators and ask them to vote NO on this legislation!!
Unless major emerging ecomomies (ie: China,India and Brazil) are willing to go along with “Cap and Trade”legislation internationally this legislation will only accelerate our decline as a world economic power. This legislation will cost us tens of thousands of jobs, and we will be operating with one hand tied behind our back in a competitive world.
As far as the climate change hysteria is concerned the so called scientific data is based on computer models ,as are predictions for what a hurricane season will be like. If we can’t accurately predict a single hurricane season correctly (ie: 2009) why should anyone believe what the temperature of the planet will be in 30 or 50 years ?
Finally, just wait until Wall Street creates a market for “Cap and Trade”. From our recent experience we know how wrong things can go, and we don’t need a computer model to prove it!
In the popular version of Robin Hood , Robin, an out of work political activists would rob from the rich and give to the poor. A careful reading of the story reveals that Robin and his merry men actually robbed from those in power to give to 1) themselves an “administrative fee”; 2) the Hapsburgs so they would release King Richard (the opposition to the current Administration) so he could make a come back; and 3) the poor who were driven out of their homes by the tax burden imposed upon them by the current administration. The more Robin stole, the more taxes were imposed and the more poor showed up in Sherwood Forest which was downgraded from the swank hideaway to a refugee camp. Robin had to steal an ever increasing amount to support the demand for social services. Things have a way of righting themselves, though. Richard returned, lowered taxes, the merry men and the poor returned to fields and factories unburdened by exessive taxation. Robin got a job in the Royal social services as a community organizer. Cap and Trade – The more things CHANGE the more they remain the same.