Green Inc. (May 14, 2009) - A year ago, John Ward was in Baghdad, finishing up 24 years of service in the Navy. These days, he manages operations at a wind farm in Missouri for Iberdrola, a Spanish wind-power company.
“For me, it was nice, because it’s not just a desk job, it’s a field job — and as a career naval officer, I kind of like to be out and about,” Mr. Ward said.
His engineering skills, honed in the Navy, also come in handy at a wind farm, he noted.
Rising numbers of veterans are entering the renewable energy business. At the top, there is former Gen. Wesley Clark, who co-chairs an ethanol lobby group called Growth Energy and also recently joined the board of a wind company, Juhl Wind.
General Clark often speaks of the need for energy independence — a key reason the military as a whole is increasing its focus on renewable energy.
Mr. Ward found his position at Iberdrola through the Lucas Group, a job-placement company whose specialties include helping servicemen transition into civilian jobs. He also considered management positions at conventional power plants, but “this one was just a little more exotic and a little more exciting,” he said.
Elsewhere, a new organization called Veterans Green Jobs, based in Colorado, trains veterans for work in energy efficiency and other businesses.
Besides engineering, the military’s emphasis on safety appeals to renewable energy developers. “We love guys coming out of nuclear submarines” because of safety mindsets and equipment training, said Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for Iberdrola.
Bill Scott, a vice president for marketing at Bradley Morris, a military job-placement company, also noted the importance of nuclear training.
“Many job seekers come out of the military with training that is directly applicable to civilian energy needs, for instance in the nuclear power sector,” he wrote in an e-mail message. His company, he said, is having a military hiring event specifically geared toward energy and renewables in Houston next month.
