SECTION 8. Green jobs initiative

There is hereby established and placed within the center an initiative to be known as the green jobs initiative. Said initiative shall award grants to the commonwealth's public institutions of higher education as defined in section 5 of chapter 15A, and vocational technical schools, as established in sections 14 and 15 of chapter 74 or any vocational-technical school that meets the programmatic requirements established by the department of elementary and secondary education, to facilitate workforce development efforts and train and retain students in clean energy industries. The grants shall include matching grants to said public institutions of higher education and said vocational technical schools for the development of small-scale renewable energy generating sources, including, but not limited to: photovoltaic installations; wind energy; ocean thermal, wave or tidal energy; fuel cells; landfill gas; natural flowing water and hydroelectric; low-emission advanced biomass power conversion technologies using such biomass fuels as wood, agricultural or food wastes; biogas, biodiesel or organic refuse-derived fuel; and geothermal energy. The center shall assist said public institutions of higher education as defined in this section and the commonwealth's vocational technical schools as defined in this section in developing a curriculum for clean energy and energy efficiency, and shall assist students seeking employment in the clean energy sector.