ECONOMISTS NOT TOO EXCITED ABOUT NEW ENGLAND GREEN JOBS

Providence Journal - Green technology may help drive an economic recovery in New England but the fledgling industry will not be a major engine of growth for the region in the foreseeable future, economists said at a recent conference. . . Economists said there is hope for green industries in New England, and the country as a whole. They pointed to a study issued in June by a Washington nonprofit that determined between 1998 and 2007 green-collar jobs in the United States grew at a faster rate than overall jobs.

The difference -- 9.1 percent compared to 3.7 percent -- was significant, but the total number of green jobs is still tiny. The same is true in New England, where the study by the Pew Charitable Trusts counted 51,000 green jobs -- or 0.66 percent of total employment in the region.

The only New England states with high rates of growth in green jobs are Maine (23 percent) and Vermont (15 percent). Maine has achieved its growth by developing land-based wind projects, including the 38-turbine Stetson Wind, the largest wind farm in New England.