Despite the expiration of North Carolina’s renewable energy tax credit last year, the clean energy industry in the state experienced tremendous growth, with double-digit gains over 2014 in both jobs and revenue.

North Carolina’s 989 clean energy firms racked up $7 billion in revenue, a 45 percent increase since 2014, and accounted for 26,154 full-time jobs in the state with more than 3,000 added just last year.

So says the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA), which has annually surveyed companies, institutions, and organizations, in the clean energy industry in order to quantify their impact on the state’s economy since 2008. The 2015 North Carolina clean energy industry census represents the eighth edition of the report.

NCEA Director Ivan Urlaub, tells WRAL Tech wire that while eliminating the state’s renewable tax credit is “sweeping in its impact,” the trend is still toward significant growth in the state’s clean energy sectors.

Last year, firms involved in the energy efficiency and solar sectors, representing a combined 61 percent of all firms in the state’s clean energy industry continued to dominate the field. The energy efficiency sector accounted for almost half the jobs in the industry with 13,036.

The energy efficiency sector uses technologies, products, and services that reduce the amount of energy required for processes, tasks, or buildings. Firms in the sector include developers or installers of more efficient lighting technologies and heating and cooling systems; producers and installers of other energy conservation technologies for buildings; and developers of more efficient manufacturing processes.

The report notes that the majority of energy efficiency jobs are currently involved with the design and construction of new buildings.

“This is promising both as an indicator of broad economic health and the state and as a signal that energy efficient buildings are in high demand,” the report says. The sector as a whole accounted for more than $2.3 billion in revenue with the design and construction of new buildings generating more than $1 billion.

The solar sector was close behind with earnings of $1 .8 billion. Even so these top two sectors only accounted for about 60 percent of all clean energy industry revenues, compared with 73 percent in 2014. This shows strong and diverse growth across the whole industry, says the report.

Wind power jobs surge

One surprise, however, is the rise in jobs in the wind sector. They are up sevenfold from 2014, to 1,721.

The report says this is probably associated with North Carolina’s first utility scale wind farm, Desert Wind, near Elizabeth city. North Carolina’s Wind energy sector is now sending a significant percentage of their goods and services outside of the state and region. Wind firms are sending almost half – approximately 46 percent of their products — out of North Carolina.

Most clean energy goods and services – 80 percent – remain close to home.

While there are some distinct clusters of the clean energy industry forming around the Triangle, Triad, Charlotte, and Asheville areas, there are firms offering goods and services every corner of the state. They are providing jobs and revenues to rural and urban counties alike, says the report.

Duke Energy touts its investments

Large utilities of course, contributed to this growth.

In a separate report, Duke Energy said “2015 marked a banner year for solar power North Carolina. Duke Energy Company set a record for the amount of solar energy Dave added in the state – more than 300 MW, enough to power about 60,000 average homes at peak production.

In its regulated service territory, Duke Energy committed $500 million for a major expansion of solar power in North Carolina. Last year, the company constructed and now owns four utility-scale solar projects.

Also in 2015, Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, built eight solar projects in North Carolina, totaling more than 160 MW and representing an investment of nearly $400 million. This included the 80-MW Conetoe facility, the largest solar project brought on line east of the Mississippi, and a 5-MW project in Tarboro that was completed on Dec. 31.

“With these projects, Duke Energy Renewables more than doubled its solar capacity in the state last year,” said Greg Wolf, president, Duke Energy Commercial Portfolio.

Report: Smaller firms are “backbone”

The NCEA census, however, points out that “small, innovative companies have been the backbone of the clean energy industry since its inception and will continue to be the source of new economic development going forward.”

Urlaub says the clean energy industry in the state will probably see continuing growth this year as prices decline and global demand increases. Despite some ongoing debate about clean energy – solar in particular – in the state legislature, “consumers clearly demand it” he adds.

He also notes that the industry is far more than just solar. It includes alternative fuel vehicles, biofuels, energy storage and fuel cells, geothermal, and smart grid technologies.

“It’s been eight years now since we first survey in the industry. Then we had 2,000 jobs in revenue and hundreds of millions. Now there are more than 26,000 jobs, and revenue of 7 billion.”