Over 3 million people in US now work for clean energy
National business groups representing the range and breadth of clean energy companies in the U.S. cheered government statistics showing their industries support more than 3 million American jobs, which is equal to the employment numbers of retail stores across the country and twice as many jobs as involved in construction of buildings. This is based on 2016 data recently released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in its second annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report.
“Our organizations, member companies, and their workers are celebrating all the people who make up the clean energy industries and the positive impact that we have on the U.S. economy,” said Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy. “We are excited to bring visibility to our share of the more than 3 million people that work today in advanced energy across our nation.”
“People often don’t realize that energy efficiency is such a huge jobs creator,” said Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan. “It supports about three times as many jobs as the mining industry and, unlike that sector, it is growing and creating good-paying jobs like weatherizing homes and manufacturing high-efficiency appliances or building materials. And the best news is there’s just enormous opportunity to expand this work and create more jobs with smart efficiency policies and incentives.”
Organizers of the #CleanEnergyJobs campaign include Advanced Energy Economy, American Council on Renewable Energy, AJW (representing Energy Service Companies), Alliance to Save Energy, American Wind Energy Association, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Energy Storage Association, and Solar Energy Industries Association.
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