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Jobs in the clean energy arena are growing faster than the general economy, according to statistics shared by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Tuesday.
Growth in this area, which includes everything from installing solar panels to adding insulation to improve energy efficiency, reached 8.9 percent between 2016 and 2018, according to the state’s 2019 Clean Energy Industry Report. That rate was more than double the rest of the economy, which experienced a 3.4 percent growth rate.
Green energy in New York has been a special focus of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has set ambitious goals for switching the state from fossil fuels to renewable and less polluting forms of energy.
Alicia Barton, NYSERDA president and CEO, said “Under Governor Cuomo, New York has staked out a clear global leadership position in advancing a plan to combat climate change and advance clean energy, and this report demonstrates that those efforts are already paying off. “
Green energy jobs employed 159,000 workers in 2018, NYSERDA said.
Key statistics:
- Most clean energy jobs – 77 percent – fell in the area of energy efficiency.
- In this fast-growing sector, jobs in grid modernization and energy storage technology outpaced all others, growing by 35 percent.
- More than 80 percent of employers in clean energy said they’re having a hard time filling the jobs they have available. To that end, the state is supporting training programs for such jobs and has launched job fairs around the state to seek more people to work in the industry.
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