IN THE MOST DISMAL economy in decades, can the outlook be as rosy as all that? "Green jobs are not automatically good jobs," a report by D.C. nonprofit Good Jobs First recently cautioned. Wages for some wind and solar manufacturers, the study found, lag behind comparable jobs in durable goods. And the credit crunch hasn't spared the renewable-energy industry. T. Boone Pickens delayed his 4,000-megawatt wind farm in Texas, and both solar and wind companies have had layoffs.

"Even an Olympic swimmer can be carried out to sea by a riptide," John Fogarty says. "And we have one heck of a riptide going with our economy." But while renewables have been hit like everything else, the stimulus bill's heavy focus on energy means that the sector is poised to bounce back much higher and faster than others.

"I agree that, right now, it's not there," he says. "It's hard for somebody who is unemployed and wants to get into the clean-energy business to find a job. But if somebody went to a two-year solar program, I guarantee that they will write their own ticket."

Consider this: The shortage of trained renewable-energy workers is so acute that General Electric has committed to hiring all of Tracy Rascoe's 60 to 80 graduates for the next three years. Now multiply that shortage by the 32 states that have already mandated renewable-portfolio standards of 15 percent or higher by 2020. Factor in the sales and administrative jobs that come with a new industry and you've got a track with explosive growth.