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Clean energy investments had it rough in 2013, and US job growth in that sector is having a bit of trouble too.
That's at least according to evidence in a new report out today from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2),an environmental advocacy organization for businesses. While the clean energy industry made plans to add an additional 78,000 new jobs at 260 projects in 2013, that's a 30% dip from the 110,000 job announcements in the previous year. (E2 has only been tracking clean energy job growth for the past two years.)
The solar industry was the biggest contributor in 2013 with more than 21,600 jobs announced, and California unsurprisingly was the leading state with 15,400 new clean tech jobs. Texas came in second with around a dozen wind energy projects planning to create more than 6,300 new jobs. Projects dedicated to improving building efficiency brought in 12,500 jobs and public transportation brought in another 11,400.
Update: Here is the full list of the 10 best states for clean energy jobs in 2013:
- California. 7,755 projects announced. 1,880 projects under construction. 5,762 15,397 projects in operation. 15,397 total projects.
- Texas. 795 projects announced. 3,368 projects under construction. 2,205 projects in operation. 6,368 total projects.
- Hawaii. 5,422 projects announced. 125 projects under construction. 201 projects in operation. 5,748 total projects.
- Maryland. 4,624 projects announced. 0 projects under construction. 55 projects in operation. 4,679 total projects.
- Massachusetts. 4,177 projects announced. 250 projects under construction. 100 projects in operation. 4,527 total projects.
- Illinois. 712 projects announced. 20 projects under construction. 3,083 projects in operation. 3,815 total projects.
- Nevada. 2,995 projects announced. 356 projects under construction. 7 projects in operation. 3,358 total projects.
- Oregon. 200 projects announced. 3,067 projects under construction. 0 projects in operation. 3,267 total projects.
- New York. 3,019 projects announced. 130 projects under construction. 45 projects in operation. 3,194 total projects.
- Missouri. 2,800 projects announced. 0 projects under construction. 0 projects in operation. 2,800 total projects.
The biggest reason for the 30% drop in job growth over last year is due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty around federal tax credits and state renewable energy mandates, says E2 communications director Bob Keefe. Congress let the generous tax credits the wind energy industry had enjoyed for more than two decades expire in December--and it looks unlikely they'll be reinstated in 2014. And four major energy efficiency tax credits and initiatives expired at the end of last year too. On top of that, several states, including North Carolina and Kansas, have attempted to roll back mandates on renewable energy requirements for their utility grids.
"That did a lot to damper hiring in 2013," Keefe said.
"Ongoing regulatory uncertainty takes a serious toll," Geoff Chapin, CEO of energy efficiency company Next Step Living, said in a statement. "Elected officials shouldn’t be holding back economic growth--they should be encouraging it.”
It's also hard to ignore the continued natural gas boom in the US with its cheap, plentiful energy. 2014 may not look much better for clean energy job growth with the natural gas boom projected to maintain its surge in 2014.
Let's just hope Elon Musk gets that $5 billion Gigafactory up and running sometime soon.
