by Shane Henson — May 29, 2013—Research from the Ecotech Institute indicates tremendous growth taking place in the U.S. cleantech sector, including in the areas of renewable energy, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects, energy efficiency, state incentives and more. This is demonstrated in the remarkable growth in cleantech sector jobs, with nearly 750,000 clean job openings in the first quarter (Q1) of 2013, according to new data from the Ecotech Institute’s Clean Jobs Index, which aggregates all the available clean jobs in the United States.
Ecotech Institute, the first and only college focused entirely on training students for solar, wind and renewable energy jobs, launched the Clean Jobs Index in January 2013, although it can pull data for all of 2012. In addition to providing objective information on jobs, the Clean Jobs Index also aggregates data on a variety of sustainability factors in all 50 states, including alternative fueling stations, LEED projects, total energy consumption, energy efficiency, green pricing, net metering and state incentives.
One area that illustrates the tremendous growth is the solar industry, says Ecotech Institute. In Q1 2013, the Clean Jobs Index listed more than 8,000 solar jobs with titles such as solar sales representatives, installers, solar panel manufacturers and project managers.
Highlights from the Clean Jobs Index, Q1 2013:
- States with the Biggest Gains in Clean Jobs Postings from Q4 2012 to Q1 2013: Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Vermont, West Virginia
- Number of Available Alternative Fueling Stations Nationwide: 23,575, up seven percent from Q4 2012
- States with the Most Alternative Fueling Stations: California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington
- National Number of Electric Car Chargers: 16,256, up by 1,274 from Q4 2012
- States with the Most Incentives for Sustainability and Renewables: California, Oregon, Minnesota, Texas, Washington
- States with the Most Growth in Available Incentives from Q4 2012 to Q1 2013: Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oregon
- New Building Space LEED Certified Within Q1 2013: 110,000,000 square feet nationally, up five percent from the previous quarter
