Much like the railroads expanded economic growth in the 1800s and the Internet transformed the business world in the 1990s, renewable energy can fuel good jobs in Minnesota and across the United States in this century, two national experts said Monday in St. Paul.

Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Bracken Hendricks, executive director of the Apollo Alliance, addressed a large crowd at a forum sponsored by the Minnesota Blue-Green Alliance, an organization of labor and environmental groups. People packed the conference room at the Minnesota AFL-CIO offices to hear how changes in energy policy can both create jobs and protect the environment.

The Union of Concerned Scientists recently completed a study showing the nation would benefit if 20 percent of electricity came from renewable energy by 2020, Knobloch said. Moving to 20 percent renewable energy ?would create more than 355,000 new jobs in manufacturing, construction, operation, maintenance, and other industries. Renewable energy development would create nearly twice as many jobs as producing the same amount of electricity from fossil fuels,? he said.

The country as a whole would save some $50 billion in electricity costs and generate billions more in income when the savings is reinvested in the economy for other purposes, he said.

In Minnesota, a 20 percent renewable energy standard would create more than 5,000 jobs and result in savings to consumers of more than $500 million, Knobloch said.

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Ray Waldron addressed the Blue-Green Forum, as Diana McKeown, director of the Clean Water Action Alliance, and Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, looked on.

Studies by the Union of Concerned Scientists and others show that shifting the economy to renewable energy sources such as wind power and biomass is feasible ? indeed necessary to compete with Europe, Japan and even countries such as China and India that are moving ahead of the United States in this area, Knobloch said. The only thing lacking is leadership, he said.

?We are at such a critical juncture,? he noted. ?We need strong and unyielding leadership at the national level and at the state level.?

The Apollo Alliance was formed to create and build support for that leadership, said Hendricks. Working with unions, environmental groups, businesses, churches and social justice organizations, the Alliance supports a $300 billion, public-private program to create 3 million new, clean energy jobs in 10 years. The program would free America from foreign oil dependence, reinvest in the competitiveness of American industry, rebuild the cities, create good jobs for working families, and ensure good stewardship of both the economy and the natural environment.

The Alliance?s name pays homage to President John F. Kennedy's Apollo Project, which put a man on the moon in under 10 years.

One reason the United States is losing manufacturing jobs is that corporations are finding cheaper energy costs overseas, Hendricks said. As the U.S. lags behind other governments in developing new energy sources, that problem will get worse, he said.

?When people talk about energy independence, they?re talking about jobs, they?re talking about new technologies,? he said.

Organizations such as the Minnesota Blue-Green Alliance can play a key role in building support for new policy at the national level and in creating models for change at the state and local levels, Hendricks and Knobloch said.

State Senator Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, one of the elected officials who attended the forum, urged unions and environmental groups to find common ground when looking at future energy development. The pattern, she said, has been to consider renewable energy only when it fits into the agenda of the large utilities.

?The most important issue I face every day is how to protect good jobs, how to protect the environment,? Anderson said.

Diana McKeown, director of the Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota, said members of the Minnesota Blue-Green Alliance are committed to working together and taking a pro-active approach in the next legislative session.

?We have a shared tradition of grass roots action, of working on behalf of our families,? she said.

For more information
The Minnesota Blue-Green Alliance website is www.bluegreenalliance.com

For more on the benefits of renewable energy for the U.S. and Minnesota economies, visit the Union of Concerned Scientists website, www.ucsusa.org

For more on the Apollo Alliance, visit www.apolloalliance.org