Western Massachusetts Clean Energy Jobs Grow 8 Percent, Many Of The New Jobs Are In Research, Manufacturing

10.22.2013 | SPRINGFIELD -- James Hunt, Northeast Utilities Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Community Relations, speaks Tuesday about the groundbreaking for Western Massachusetts Electric Company's third solar facility in Springfield on Cottage Street at an existing solar plant on Goodwin Street. From left behind him are Massachusetts Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard K. Sullivan Jr., Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Craig Hallstrom, president of WMECO and NSTAR Electric in this file photo from 2013 (Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The Republican)

BOSTON - The clean energy economy in Western Massachusetts has grown to 11,990 in 2014 employed clean energy workers, an 8 percent increase from 2013, according to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Jobs Report issued Monday by Gov. Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

Statewide, jobs grew by 10.5 percent from 2013 to 201, the fourth straight year of job growth in the clean energy economy. All told, it has 88,372 employees in 6,00 firms.

The news release touts statewide programs and the Clean Energy Center's efforts fostering the industry.

Locally, the Clean Energy Center has:

    Helped increase the efficiency of the hydroelectric plant at Open Square in Holyoke with an $85,000 grant. Similar hydropower grants went to Holyoke Gas & Electric and m,ay soon go to other hydropower operators int eh region . the money comes from a surcharge on utility bills.
    Is helping Holyoke plan for the eventual closing of the coal -fired power Mount Tom Power Station.
    Named the Business Growth Center at Springfield Technology Park a clean-energy incubator.

The report shows that 950 of those clean -energy forms are in Western Massachusetts.

Western Massachusetts job growth by sector:

• 4.9 percent was in manufacturing
• 9.2 percent was in research and engineering
• 5.3 percent was in sales and distribution
• 51.4 percent was in instillation
• 13.8 percent in finance and legal
• 15.4 percent in other

Compared with other areas of the state:

• Southeast Massachusetts saw 22 percent job growth in clean energy
• Northeast Massachusetts saw 10 percent job growth
• Central Massachusetts showed zero percent job growth in the sector.

Statewide, employers expect to add another 11,700 jobs  in the next year , an expected 13.3 percent  growth rate, the report said. The Massachusetts clean energy industry is expected to exceed 6,000 employer and 100,000 workers by early 2015.

Today there are:

• 643 megawatts of solar and
• 103 megawatts of wind installed around the state

The report also says that a quarter of the new hires in clean energy were in management or supervisory jobs.

Also, all told clean energy accounts for $10 billion in gross state product, 2.5 percent of the commonwealth's total.

Source: http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2014/09/western_massachusetts_clean_energy_jobs.html