Wisconsin’s clean energy industries employ eight times more people than the fossil fuel-dominated sector, according to a recent Midwest jobs report.
The report, from Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs, shows 76,383 workers currently work in clean energy industries in the state, while Wisconsin’s fossil fuel industries employ 9,185 people.
Clean energy jobs grew 2.4 percent last year, the report shows, as the state added 1,786 jobs in the sector. Overall, these jobs make up 2.5 percent of all jobs in the state, and employers expect an 8.4 percent increase to clean energy jobs this year alone.
As it stands, the state’s clean energy sector employs more people than all the computer programmers, web developers, lawyers, waiters and waitresses combined. The report cites employment statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor for this analysis.
“Clean energy is a job creator today in Wisconsin, and as the costs for key clean energy products like solar, wind, energy efficiency and clean vehicles continue to fall, we have a big opportunity to employ even more Wisconsinites in this growing industry,” said Tyler Huebner, executive director of Renew Wisconsin.
The top three categories for clean energy jobs are: energy efficiency, with 63,141 workers; renewable energy generation, with 5,963; and advanced transportation, with 4,783.
The top three counties are: Milwaukee, with 10,766 clean energy jobs; Dane, with 9,904 jobs; and Waukesha, with 8,991. Between the Madison and Milwaukee metro areas, 28,800 clean energy workers are employed, while 19,582 clean energy jobs were found in the state’s rural areas. Read the full story here.
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