Veterans Day News: 18,000+ Clean Energy Jobs Announced In Third Quarter; Web Site To Track Major Clean Energy Projects At U.S. Military Installations

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report from the nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) shows that more than 18,000 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced in more than 20 states in the third quarter of 2014, a significant uptick from both the previous quarter and a year ago.

The Top 10 states were: Nevada, New York, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Connecticut, Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois and Maryland (tie). In the previous quarter, E2 tracked more than 12,000 announced jobs, while in the third quarter of 2013 almost 15,000 jobs were announced.

Coming just two days after the midterm elections and right before Veterans Day, the report shows that clean energy knows no political boundaries and is widely supported by the military. According to E2's analysis, both Republican and Democratic congressional districts benefitted almost equally from clean energy job announcements in the quarter. At least 9,095 jobs were announced in Republican congressional districts, compared with 7,690 jobs announced in districts represented by Democrats. About 1,250 job announcements spanned both Republican and Democratic districts.

The report highlights how the military is one of America's main clean energy advocates. The report includes case studies on how the military is advancing clean energy in places like Fort Bragg, N.C., and Camp Grayling, Mich. Our Q3 report also includes numbers from a recently announced project in Nevada, where Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels will build a facility near Las Vegas expected to produce 10 million gallons of advanced biofuel annually, creating 450 construction and 50 full-time jobs by 2016. The project is supported by Department of Defense grants intended to scale up production of alternative sources of jet fuel. The project helped Nevada secure the top spot in our state rankings.

Iraq War veteran, former Army officer/platoon leader, and energy leadership consultant Jon Gensler said:

"On Veterans Day, Congress should take a page from the military and move clean energy forward by extending clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives. It doesn't matter if you wear a green uniform or a blue uniform or if you live in a red state or blue state – clean energy works for all Americans because it works for our fighting forces. Clean energy makes our military more effective, saves taxpayer money, and brings jobs to the towns and cities that are home to our military installations."

Timed to coincide with Veterans Day, E2 is also launching today a new Web page that shows how and where clean energy and energy efficiency investments made on military installations save taxpayer money, improve operational readiness, and create private-sector jobs.

The military Web page at www.cleanenergyworksforus.org/military includes an interactive map showing details of clean energy projects at roughly 40 military installations nationwide; in-depth written profiles and videos of what the military's clean energy investments look like on the base level; and resources like links to major reports and links to all the main service branch installation offices.

E2's Clean Energy Works for Us Jobs report, now in its third year, shows the power and the potential Congress has for creating clean energy jobs through smart policies. The expiration of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for the wind industry, for example, dealt a major blow to wind industry employment. To avoid more massive job losses, Congress can quickly move forward in a bipartisan fashion to extend the PTC and other tax policies driving growth in renewable energy and energy efficiency. These incentives have been critical to creating good jobs in both red and blue states. If Congress fails to renew these policies, there could be a negative impact on clean energy jobs in America.

The complete report can be downloaded here. State-by-state breakdowns of every job announcement E2 tracked are available at www.cleanenergyworksforus.org. A Huffington Post blog by E2 Executive Director Bob Keefe is available here.

Thanks to major high-tech announcements from Tesla and SolarCity, the top sector was clean energy and clean transportation manufacturing, with 9,800 announced jobs – the manufacturing sector's best results since E2 began tracking clean job announcements in 2011.

E2 Executive Director Bob Keefe said:

"The election is over. Now it's time to live up to the stump-speech promises. One easy way to create jobs and drive economic growth in both red and blue states alike is by moving quickly to extend clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives and other smart policies.

"We've learned what happens when our elected officials do nothing: American workers get kicked to the street, at a time when every job counts."

Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors and others who promote smart environmental policies that drive economic growth. Our members, active in nearly every state in the country, have built or financed more than 1,700 companies, created more than 570,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see www.e2.org.

PRESS CONTACT: Jeff Benzak, (202) 513-6248, [email protected]

SOURCE Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Washington, D.C.

Related Links

http://www.e2.org