Summer 2009

Clean Energy Accelerates Job Creation

For 10 years, the renewable energy industry has added jobs at twice the national job creation rate, according to a survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia saw their clean energy job growth rate out-perform total job growth in the decade leading up to 2008.

Venture capital investment in clean technologies totaled $12.6 billion in 2008. Clean energy jobs now employ people with a range of skills, from engineers and electricians to machinists, teachers and journalists.

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.