The nation has experienced 7 percent job growth in the solar industry during the past year. California in particular has the most solar jobs out of any other state, with 25,575 employed in the industry. Nationwide solar energy has led to 100,000 jobs. These stats come from a new study by The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit education and research organization. The report would appear to show that the clean-tech industry is doing quite well, which may counter the bad coverage from the Solyndra fiasco (the company went belly up after a half-billion dollar federal loan guarantee). The LA Times reports:
“Nationally, employment in all parts of the solar industry, including manufacturing, installation, residential, commercial and large-scale power generation, grew 6.8% in the 12 month period ended in August. Overall U.S. job growth was less than 1% for the same period, the census said. Growth is expected to accelerate 24%, creating 24,000 jobs, over the next year, based on a survey of solar employers.”
Andrea Luecke, executive director of The Solar Foundation, commented that “Employers are slightly less optimistic than they were last year. But they feel that if the market conditions and the policy conditions are in place, they will have the need and the desire to grow (the workforce) by 24 percent in the next year.”
A list of states with the most solar jobs is below:
1. California 25,575
2. Colorado 6,186
3. Arizona 4,786
4. Pennsylvania 4,703
5. New York 4,279
6. Florida 4,224
7. Texas 3,346
7. Oregon 3,346
8. New Jersey 2,871
9. Massachusetts 2,395
Great post! Wow, glad to see that so many jobs are coming from the implementation of such a great cause! I pray that the market conditions stay at an optimal rate that way the workforce can grow even more...we need jobs and this is such a great industry to be expanding on. Thanks for the great information!
Posted by: Solar Energy California | 01/04/2012 at 11:19 AM
It only means that there's a future for the solar industry. Jobs are created because of the growth of this industry.
Posted by: solar energy | 02/05/2012 at 03:55 AM
Great delivery. Great arguments. Keep up the good spirit.
Posted by: solar charger | 02/27/2012 at 01:06 PM