California Ranks 1st in U.S. for Solar Jobs
Media Contacts
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.”
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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
