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Clean Jobs Quarterly | Q4 2013 and Year-in-Review

More than 78,600 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced in 2013 at 260 projects tracked by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

Solar power generation was the year’s top sector with more than 21,600 jobs announced.1 Other strong sectors included building efficiency (12,500) and public transportation (11,400). Job announcements were made in 46 states, with California’s roughly 15,400 jobs topping the list. California was followed by Texas, Hawaii, Maryland and Massachusetts.

This is the second full year E2 has tracked clean energy and clean transportation job announcements. Over the past two years combined, E2 has tracked announcements that could create more than 186,500 jobs.

Last year’s job announcements were about 30 percent lower than 2012. While this is in part due to our job tracking methodology,2 clean energy job growth also faced economic headwinds in 2013. These headwinds came from the continued low cost and volatility of natural gas as well as market uncertainty due to attempts by renewable energy opponents to roll back favorable policies at both the federal level and in numerous states. For example, fossil fuel industry supporters attempted to roll back renewable energy standards in states such as North Carolina, Kansas and elsewhere, while at the federal level, the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and numerous energy efficiency tax incentives were left to expire at the end of 2013.

Looking at the fourth quarter alone, E2 tracked more than 70 projects nationwide that could create 13,000 jobs. Spikes in wind manufacturing and solar manufacturing added to the quarterly total, as did announcements from Southwestern states, responsible for nearly 40 percent of the jobs announced during the final three months of the year. The top five states for clean energy job announcements in the October-December period were: Texas (about 3,300 jobs), Arizona, New York, California and Iowa.

Clean Jobs Quarterly | Q3 2013

Renewable power generation led the way in the quarter. More than 6,700 renewable power generation jobs were announced, which included jobs producing renewable energy from sources like solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. About 3,300 jobs were announced in the manufacturing sector, with advanced vehicle manufacturing and wind manufacturing the lead industries.

While this quarter’s total jobs numbers were higher than the third quarter last year, some of the difference may be attributed to E2 tracking recycling announcements for the first time. Fourteen projects potentially creating 1,300 jobs were tracked in this sector. The largest announcement came from Encore Recycling in California, which expects to create 500 jobs at a facility that can process 100 million pounds of plastic per year, much of it sourced from agricultural companies like Dole and Driscoll.

Colorado Water Supply & Climate Change: A Business Perspective

As Colorado business leaders, the members of the Rocky Mountain chapter of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) are concerned by the mounting evidence that climate change will make it harder to meet the state’s future water needs, that these risks are not yet sufficiently understood, and that not enough is being done to reduce them.

We call on the governor and other key public officials to ensure that the new State Water Plan being developed includes specific measures to adequately reduce Colorado’s water risks, as magnified by climate change. Our central recommendation is that the state government, water providers, and the private sector work together to reduce per capita municipal and industrial (M&I) water use by 25 percent by 2025 and by 50 percent by 2050. This is a more ambitious goal than anyone has yet proposed for this state. But it is the action that is proportionate to the challenge. It is realistically achievable, as evidence from Colorado and other western states shows. And it is the most reliable, flexible, and affordable way to meet our water needs in a changed future.

Clean Jobs Quarterly | Q2 2013

More than 38,600 clean energy and clean transportation jobs connected to at least 58 projects were announced in the second quarter of this year. That was slightly higher than the 37,400 clean energy jobs that E2 tracked in the comparable quarter a year ago.

Power-generation projects from solar, wind, biomass, and other renewable energy sources will create more than 13,300 jobs if the announcements made hold true—more jobs than any other sector tracked by E2 this quarter.

About 9,600 public transportation jobs were announced, while major smart grid and electricity-transmission upgrade projects are projected to create more than 8,200 additional jobs. Energy efficiency also posted strong numbers with more than 5,700 jobs announced (see table 2). P

olices such as President Obama’s climate change initiative, announced in June of this year, along with the recent extension of renewable energy standards in some states, promise to keep the momentum going.

Clean Jobs Quarterly | Q1 2013

In the first quarter of 2013, E2 tracked more than 50 project announcements that could potentially lead to more than 12,000 clean energy and clean transportation jobs. Announcements were made in more than 20 states in communities ranging from Charlotte, North Carolina, to California’s Central Valley. These job announcements came in sectors as diverse as agriculture, manufacturing, and power generation.

The growth in clean energy and clean transportation jobs is reflective of what Americans say they want: A Gallup poll released in the first quarter of 2013 showed that more than 70 percent of Americans want more emphasis on clean technologies, including solar and wind power.

In many states, project announcements came despite concerted, politically motivated efforts to repeal renewable energy portfolio standards, which require utilities to get a portion of their energy from clean, renewable sources. E2’s findings indicate that portfolio standards work: Nine of the top 10 states that led the country in clean energy and clean transportation job announcements in the first quarter have renewable portfolio standards.

The Economic Benefits of Military Biofuels

The military’s plans to expand its use of biofuels in planes, ships and other vehicles would generate at least about $10 billion in economic activity and create more than 14,000 jobs by 2020. A synopsis can be found here.

Advanced Biofuels Market | 2012 Report

Despite a challenging year, the advanced biofuels industry continues to grow, according to a new report from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Biofuel production capacity has increased from 437 million gallons last year to more than 685 million gallons, the report shows. By 2015, the industry has the potential to produce 1.6 billion to 2.6 billion gallons of clean, renewable fuel. Standards like California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) create an incentive for investors and biofuel companies to continue to innovate and increase biofuel production, which in turn will drive down costs and carbon emissions. Find the fact sheet here.