Clean energy accelerates job creation
July 1, 2009 by Administrator
Filed under Renewable Energy
For 10 years, the renewable energy industry has added jobs at twice the national job creation rate, according to a new survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia saw their clean energy job growth rate outperform total job growth in the decade leading up to 2008.
Amanda Farria has recently graduated from the Louisiana Green Corps training program at the Alliance for Affordable Energy. Here, she installs a radiant barrier, which will help reduce summer attic temperatures by 30 degrees. Photo courtesy of: Alliance for Affordable Energy
Venture capital investment in clean technologies totaled $12.6 billion in 2008. Clean energy jobs now employ people with an amazing range of skills, from engineers and electricians to machinists, teachers and journalists.
“Last year, even with the recession, we saw a quantum leap in resources and institutional appetite for clean technologies. Now, more than ever, clean energy represents the biggest opportunity for job and wealth creation,” said Nicholas Parker, executive charman of the Cleantech Group.
Texas, for instance, in 2007, offered more than 55,000 clean energy jobs. The state also attracted more than $716 million in venture capital funds for clean technology between 2007 and 2008.
In Colorado, clean energy jobs grew at a rate of 18.2 percent annually, while traditional jobs grew by 8.2 percent.
Tennessee cultivated enough jobs in recycling, waste treatment and water management to grow its clean energy economy more than 18 percent in the 2006-2008 period – compared to a 2.5 percent growth rate for total jobs in the state.
