Energy Companies Are Going Green. We Can Gain Jobs, Not Lose Them, in the Deal.
Tethered to the roof of the Chase Bank on Sherwood Forest Boulevard in Baton Rouge, contractors work to install dozens of solar panels. (Photo by Hilary Scheinuk)
The most persistent argument against ending reliance on the fossil fuels producing emissions driving the climate change flooding our coasts has been the fear of losing jobs. In an oil and gas producing state like Louisiana, that fear is real—even as the rising seas caused by those emissions threaten to drown our bottom third.
It’s one reason many of our politicians continue to deny the climate threat or support more than $8 billion in government spending and tax giveaways for toothless solutions like carbon capture, which won’t change this story’s ending. Think low-tar cigarettes; they can only reduce the threat of cancer from smoking, not end it.
Yet while Louisiana leaders keep constituents focused on the perils of action, the rest of the energy industry is moving in the opposite direction, capitalizing on accepting the inevitability of change. This isn’t a solely altruistic effort. It’s capitalism at its best: They are moving to solve a problem by creating jobs and making hefty profits in the process.
For example, as climate-caused power outages have surged, Generac, long the leader in backup generators, has seen its stock price soar 800% since the last quarter of 2018. That includes soaring sales from its new and expanding line of solar panels and battery storage systems.
That rapidly expanding market is also why Generac has been buying companies producing technologies improving the efficiency of solar cells and batteries. This is a company that knows where its future profits lie, and so do investors.
And that’s because American consumers—capitalists all—are literally buying into the proven idea they can help reduce an existential threat and save money on their utility bills at the same time.
That surging self-interest has led to some healthy profit-making right here in Louisiana. Last month, home security giant ADT spent $825 million to buy Mandeville-based Sunpro Solar, which designs, installs, and maintains solar systems. Founded just 13 years ago, the company has grown to more than 3,200 employees in 32 states.
Why would ADT want to shell out almost $1 billion to get into solar energy? Because, according to The Wall Street Journal, it sees a growing demand from new-home buyers interested in security systems to also install money- and crisis-saving solar energy on the front end, rather than retrofit later.
Read the rest of the article at The Times-Picayune.
