California Ranks 1st in U.S. for Solar Jobs

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California Ranks 1st in U.S. for Solar Jobs as 50+ California Leaders Endorse Governor Brown’s Clean Energy Vision

Environment California

California – Today, Environment California released new data from The Solar Foundation showing that California has the most solar-related jobs in the country, with an estimated 25,000 people employed by over 3,500 establishments.  Environment California also released a list of over 50 elected officials who support Governor Brown’s pioneering vision to build 12,000 megawatts of local clean energy – enough energy to cover a million solar roofs – by 2020.  The list of endorsers includes Congressman Henry Waxman, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, among other leading voices across the state.  (Full list below)

“This report shows that the solar industry has maintained strong growth over the past 12 months and is projected to keep growing at a much faster pace than the overall U.S. economy,” said Michelle Kinman, clean energy advocate for Environment California. “We applaud Governor Brown and the growing number of California leaders who are working to ensure that California continues to be a solar leader, accelerating the environmental and economic benefits of further growth in the industry.”

The new jobs data comes from The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2011: A Review of the U.S. Solar Workforce, which quantifies current employment and projected growth of the solar workforce in the United States. 

In addition to the data on California, the report finds that:
·    Nationwide, there are more than 100,000 solar workers at more than 17,000 different locations;
·    This represents an overall growth rate of 6.8 percent over the past year, nearly ten times higher than the national average employment growth rate of 0.7 percent;
·    The solar industry is expected to continue rapid growth over the next year, increasing solar workers by almost 24 percent, or by approximately 24,000 jobs in 2012; and,
·    This growth represents added jobs across all sectors of the solar industry – from installation and sales to manufacturing and trade jobs.

 “The solar industry is a strong and growing segment of our national economy,” said Andrea Luecke, executive director of The Solar Foundation. “We expect even greater growth in the foreseeable future. But policymakers, workforce training providers, and the industry must work together to continue creating good jobs for skilled workers.”

“The sky’s the limit when it comes to what California can do with solar power,” concluded Kinman.  “As local and state leaders voice their support for solar, there’s every reason to believe that California can get past the special interest opposition to a robust, consumer-oriented solar power market for the long-term.”

The National Solar Jobs Census 2011 is available at: http://thesolarfoundation.org/research/national-solar-jobs-census-2011

Over 50 elected officials from California have signed on to say:  “Yes! I endorse Governor Brown’s pioneering vision to build 12,000 megawatts of clean energy – enough solar energy to cover a million solar roofs – by 2020.  By building solar on houses, apartment buildings, offices, schools and warehouses across California, we can create green jobs, reduce air pollution, and generate clean energy to power our lives.”   

Congressman Howard Berman- Van Nuys, Los Angeles         
Congresswoman Judy Chu – El Monte, Los Angeles     
Congresswoman Janice Hahn – Los Angeles     
Congressman Henry Waxman – Los Angeles     
Senator Fran Pavley – Santa Monica     
Assemblymember Steven Bradford – Inglewood     
Assemblymember Betsy Butler – El Segundo     
Assemblymember Ricardo Lara – South Gate     
Assemblymember Warren Furutani – Long Beach     
City Council President Eric Garcetti – Los Angeles     
Council President Pro Tempore Jan Perry – Los Angeles     
Councilmember Tony Cardenas – Los Angeles     
Councilmember Paul Krekorian – Los Angeles     
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky – Los Angeles County     
Mayor Micheal O’Leary – Culver City     
Assemblymember Mike Eng – Monterey Park     
Assemblymember Roger Dickinson – Sacramento     
Mayor Kevin Johnson – Sacramento     
Vice Mayor Bonnie Pannell – Sacramento     
Councilmember Steve Cohn – Sacramento     
Councilmember Jay Schenirer – Sacramento
Assemblymember Mariko Yamada    
Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge – Riverside     
Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter – Rialto    
Mayor Patrick Morris – San Bernardino     
Congressman Mike Honda – San Jose     
Assemblymember Jim Beall – San Jose     
Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen – San Jose     
Councilmember Kansen Chu – San Jose     
Councilmember Rose Herrera – San Jose     
Councilmember Ash Karla – San Jose                 
Assemblymember Michael Allen – Santa Rosa     
Assemblymember Das Williams – Santa Barbara     
Assemblymember Luis A. Alejo – Salinas     
Mayor Ryan Coonerty – Santa Cruz     
Vice Mayor Don Lane – Santa Cruz     
Councilmember Terrazas – Santa Cruz     
Senator Michael Rubio – Fresno     
Assemblymember Henry Perea – Fresno     
Congressman Bob Filner – San Diego     
Assemblymember Marty Block – Lemon Grove     
Councilmember David Alvarez – San Diego     
Councilmember Marti Emerald – San Diego     
Council President Larry Reid – Oakland     
Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan – Oakland     
Councilmember Pat Kernighan – Oakland     
Councilmember Libby Schaaf – Oakland     
Vice Mayor Michael Kasperzak – Mountain View     
Councilmember Shawn Marshall – Mill Valley     
Councilmember John Reed – Fairfax     
Councilmember David Weinsoff – Fairfax     
Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski – Fremont     
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey – Petaluma     
Congresswoman Jackie Speier – San Francisco/San Mateo     
Assemblymember Jerry Hill – San Mateo     
Assemblymember Nancy Skinner – Berkeley     
Mayor Tom Bates – Berkeley     
Councilmember Jesse Arreguin – Berkeley     
Councilmember Laurie Capitelli – Berkeley     
Councilmember Susan Wengraf – Berkeley     
Councilmember Kriss Worthington – Berkeley   

 

Environment California is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. Our professional staff combines independent research, practical ideas and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for California’s environment. Environment California draws on 30 years of success in tackling our state’s top environmental problems. 

 

 
2011-TSF-Solar-Jobs-Census-Final-Compressed.pdf 2011-TSF-Solar-Jobs-Census-Final-Compressed.pdf