Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District in Lexington currently hosts 4,760 clean energy jobs according to a new national report by a nonpartisan group advocating for more investment.
E2, which bills itself as a business group advocating for policies both beneficial to the economy and the environment, released the study on Monday to show there’s nearly as many clean energy jobs in Republican districts as in Democratic districts.
“A lot of people think that clean energy is some sort of urban, blue district industry. But really when you look at the numbers, the biggest impacts and the biggest opportunity is in a lot of these rural and some of these suburban areas,” said Phil Jordan, vice president of BW Research Partnership, which helped pull together the data.
Republican-led congressional districts account for 45% of all clean energy jobs nationwide, whereas Democratic-led districts account for 54%, according to the E2 data.
In the 6th congressional district, represented by Republican Rep. Andy Barr, there are 353 jobs that are in the “renewable generation” category and 3,265 “energy efficient” jobs. Jobs counted can include workers who retrofit buildings with solar panels and turbine technicians who help with wind installation projects.
There are a total of 33,150 identifiable clean energy jobs in Kentucky, according to E2. The district holding the most clean energy jobs is GOP Rep. Brett Guthrie’s. Kentucky’s 2nd Congressional District has 7,326 clean energy jobs, as defined by the study.
E2 timed the release of its report as negotiations between Democratic lawmakers in Washington continue this week over President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which includes $555 billion in climate-related investments.
The idea is to demonstrate that red areas around the country would benefit from the measure almost as much as blue areas.
The study found that clean energy jobs actually comprise a higher share of overall employment in rural Republican-led districts than in urban districts represented by Democrats.
Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District — the only represented by a Democrat — has 6,718 clean energy jobs, which is more than Lexington’s 6th District but fewer than the 2nd District, which runs west of Lexington and south of Louisville.
Rep. Hal Rogers’ 5th Congressional District — a traditionally coal-producing area — logged 3,449 clean energy jobs.
“Frankly any lawmaker who votes against clean energy investment, who votes against climate action is voting against their constituents and voting against these jobs and future jobs in their districts,” said Bob Keefe, E2’s executive director. “Look at some of the announcements we’ve seen from major companies around the country. Where is Ford putting its electric vehicle manufacturing? In Kentucky and Tennessee.”
Speaking at the U.N. Climate Summit in Glasglow, Biden said the American people are coming around on the urgency to address climate change.
“They have, as they say in southern parts of my state, seen the Lord … They’re now finally — finally, finally, finally — realizing the sense of urgency that you all are,” he said.
Still, while the report is meant to serve as a pressure point on Republican politicians, it’s likely that their campaign will need more time to change minds. No Republican lawmaker nationally or in Kentucky has expressed any willingness to support Biden’s wide-reaching Build Back Better program, which has an estimated price tag of $1.7 to $2 trillion.