To better understand how clean energy is creating jobs in the Keystone State and to examine what policies are needed now to support future job growth, Clean Jobs Pennsylvania analyzes the size and scope of the state’s clean energy economy. Relying on databases and survey data from Pennsylvania employers, this comprehensive report found that the clean energy sector in Pennsylvania in 2015 employed more than 66,000 workers at 5,900 businesses and establishments.
Overall Clean Energy Jobs
The clean energy industry—which in this report includes energy efficiency, renewable energy, alternative transportation and greenhouse gas (GHG) management and accounting—is a source of good jobs for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.
In 2015, Pennsylvania’s clean energy industry supported 66,021 workers at 5,900 businesses and establishments according to E2 and the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance’s (KEEA) 2016 Clean Jobs Pennsylvania report. Four out of five of these jobs are in energy efficiency. To grow the clean energy sector even more, state and federal lawmakers can strengthen policies like Act 129, the state’s renewable energy law, and implement the Clean Power Plan in a way that prioritizes renewables and energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency industries led the clean energy sector in job growth last year, increasing from 37,000 jobs to 53,000 jobs. These gains in energy efficiency employment helped boost the overall number of clean energy jobs in Pennsylvania by more than 8,700 workers between 2014-2015, despite job declines in clean fuels and other areas. Renewable energy jobs increased slightly to more than 8,800 jobs, reflecting growth in the wind, solar, and low-impact hydro-electric industries. The bioenergy industry shed about 2,000 jobs, which mirrors a national slowdown trend in the technology. Companies in the state are bullish on the industry’s future. More than half project hiring more employees in 2016.
This represents about 1 percent of total state employment. It also represents a 15 percent increase over the number of clean energy jobs in the state in 2014, nearly doubling the predicted growth rate E2 identified in our previous Clean Jobs Pennsylvania report. Clean energy businesses across the state say they anticipate growth to continue. More than half of the businesses surveyed expect to add jobs in the upcoming year, with only 3 percent expecting to cut jobs.
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The complete report is available for download at this link or by clicking the cover of the report above.