With the struggling economy a new study shows North Carolina could get ahead of the curve by investing in "green collar jobs."

A breakdown of the Duke University study pinpoints five areas of growth for North Carolina. They are LED lighting, high-performance windows, auxiliary power units for long-haul trucks, solar power and soil systems for treating hog waste.

Executive Vice President of CREE, John Palmour, said innovation and money-saving products are helping his company light the path to going green.

"It's kind of like you saw with Edison and the light bulb 100 years ago; we'd like to think we're in that same position here 100 years later," Palmour said.

CREE is noted in Duke's study for its LED lights. Raleigh's convention center and the "Bird's Nest" in Beijing are just two of the company's big projects. It also makes LED lights for lighting in corporations, streetlights and even homes. The lights are manufactured in Durham, and in the past six years, the company has quadrupled its workforce to 3,200 worldwide.

"As we've grown here that's definitely trickled down to other industries, and we'll continue to grow," Palmour said.

Marcy Lowe, a Duke University researcher named in the study "Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Carbon-Reducing Technologies and U.S. Jobs, said CREE is one example of how North Carolina can get ahead in the green sector.

"We simply can't out-cheap China, but we can certainly out-innovate them," Lowe said.

Lowe said green jobs can be high-tech or hard hat, but she sees big opportunity in a system that manages hog waste.

"It puts North Carolina in a leadership position where we could actually be developing a whole new market in a sector where no good alternative has existed so far," Lowe said.

Bottom line, Lowe believes the study shows North Carolina has the resources to complete in the global race for green jobs.

"I think it's very critical because the point is that if we don't take the lead and continue to innovate than others will," Lowe said.

Related Links

1. See the Duke Study
2. CREE
3. Related Story: LED Light Trims NC State Energy Use