Clean Energy Economy Poised for Explosive Growth

Green jobs are hot and getting hotter, according to a new study by Pew Charitable Trusts. Green collar workers currently constitute a tiny but fast-growing sector of the U.S. economy, and that growth is going to explode in the coming months.

From The New York TimesThe “clean-energy economy” grew 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007 to 777,000 jobs. While that is just half a percent of all U.S. jobs, the clean-energy economy is poised to grow significantly with financial support from the public and private sectors, the Pew (pdf) concludes.

“The nation’s clean-energy economy is poised for explosive growth,” said Lori Grange, the Pew Center on the States’ interim deputy director. “The trends include surging venture capital investment … a critical growth rate in clean-energy generation, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly products.”

About 80 percent of venture capital investments in 2008 were in the clean energy and energy efficiency sector, broadly known as “cleantech.” And while cleantech slumped with overall venture capital in the first quarter of 2009, the sector outperformed telecommunications, media and other sectors, according to an analysis of Thompson Reuters data by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.

The Pew report cites Obama’s $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as the driving force behind the clean energy economy.

Oregon has the nation’s strongest clean energy economy on a per-capita basis, but California, the nation’s most populous state, had the most clean energy jobs last year with about 125,000.

The report’s lead researcher even says that the numbers are on the conservative side. Growth may be even bigger.

Clean energy jobs FTW!

Link [The New York Times]