Nearly 70,000 people work in Pennsylvania’s clean energy sector, according to the 2017 Clean Jobs Pennsylvania report unveiled Thursday by the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and local partner Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA).
The report shows a nearly 6-percent growth rate in clean energy jobs over the previous year’s report, far outpacing the state’s general employment growth rate.
Once again, clean energy jobs far outpace fossil fuel jobs in the state-- by about two-to-one this year-- while energy efficiency remains the dominant sector with about 55,000 jobs.
“Clean energy isn’t a niche industry anymore, it’s a viable addition to our diverse energy portfolio,” said Sen. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe), whose district in the Poconos is home to about 900 clean energy jobs. “We have the best fabrication, engineering, manufacturing and distribution networks in the country. The clean energy sector offers communities – both rural and urban – the opportunity to retool, reposition and modernize our economy to attract 21st-century jobs. We’ve had a great start, and in my district we have gone from 775 clean energy jobs last year to 900 jobs this year. We must continue this momentum.”
The report highlights several state and federal policies important to continued clean energy job growth, including:
-- Increasing Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) so the state can diversify its energy supply and stay competitive in the country’s booming renewable energy industry;
-- Defending the state’s energy efficiency law (Act 129) from attacks while also further strengthening it; and
-- Blocking unpopular and innovation-crushing cuts to the U.S. Department of Energy that could halt programs like the energy efficiency work being done at Pittsburgh’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.
“Pennsylvania's energy efficiency industry plays an increasingly crucial role in our state’s evolving energy economy,” said Matt Elliott, KEEA’s executive director. “When lawmakers strengthen clean energy policies, more residents and businesses save energy and save money, and more Pennsylvanians can get to work in this growing industry.”
The report shows there are clean energy jobs in every state legislative and congressional district in Pennsylvania, offering the latest evidence that clean energy is a bipartisan issue that benefits both urban and rural Pennsylvanians.
The report also ranks the top 10 counties in Pennsylvania for clean energy jobs, including: Allegheny, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Westmoreland and York.
The top 5 metro areas for clean energy jobs are: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pittsburgh, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg-Carlisle.
The report includes case studies of energy efficiency companies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Members of the media are invited to a live, in-person availability of E2 representatives, Pennsylvania clean energy business leaders and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald at a Pittsburgh event at Huckestein Mechanical Services Inc., 1505 Metropolitan Street, on Pittsburgh’s North Side, on September 6, at 10:30 a.m.
“As we all celebrate Labor Day this weekend, we should remember that more clean energy means more jobs,” said Sharon Pillar, E2’s Pittsburgh-based consultant.
Click Here for a copy of the report and other background information. Click Here for an interactive map of more than 2,500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in Pennsylvania.
To speak with E2 members and other clean energy business leaders in Pennsylvania, please contact Alex Frank at 703-276-3255 or send email to: afrank@hastingsgroup.com.
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