North Carolina ranks second among all states in clean energy jobs, according to a report from the group Environmental Entrepreneurs released today.
Clean energy companies announced 19 North Carolina projects in 2012.
Including projects already in operation or in progress, the Tar Heel state counted 10,867 clean jobs last year.
North Carolina was topped only by California, which had 38 new projects and a total of 26,354 green jobs.
The states rounding out the top 10 were, in order: Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, Arizona, New York, Michigan, Texas and Oregon.
“While the West Coast remains a top region for generating clean energy job announcements, growth in two transportation industries—electric vehicle manufacturing and light rail— has vaulted North Carolina into a top-tier state for clean energy jobs, lifting the entire Southeast along with it,” Environmental Entrepreneurs said in its report.
Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, is a group comprised of business leaders that advocates for economic growth and environmental policy. E2’s calculations of clean energy jobs included projects encompassing wind, solar and transportation as well as suppliers to those sectors. E2 said that projects announced in 2012 are poised to create more than 110,000 jobs across the country.
North Carolina led the Southeast, which E2 said is becoming a hub of clean energy manufacturing. The 13,700 clean energy jobs in the Souteast announced in 2012 led all U.S. regions. Solar, transportation and wind projects were the lead industries for manufacturing in the Southeast.
The report notes in particular the contribution of Swiss company ABB, which operates its North American headquarters in Cary. ABB makes power transmission and distribution components for the utilities indusry. Cables used by wind energy companies are made in ABB’s new $90 million manufacturing plant in Huntersville, about 12 miles north of Charlotte.
Helping North Carolina’s standing was the creation of 7,600 jobs in the fourth quarter alone, the E2 report said. Most of those jobs are linked to Charlotte’s plans to extend its light rail system by 9.2 miles, connecting uptown Charlotte with the University of North Carolina Charlotte campus. The project, announced in October, is projected to generate 7,000 jobs and is scheduled for completion in 2017.
E2 said that North Carolina is emerging as a leader in electric vehicle manufacturing. Ashville company Biowheels RTS, for example, makes solar powered charging stations for electric vehicles. The company projects it will bring more than 1,500 jobs to build more than 900 public charging stations throughout North Carolina by 2015. Nearly 2,000 new North Carolina jobs were announced in the electric vehicle sector in 2012, according to E2.
E2 member John Robbins, president of Greathorn Development Corporation in Concord, is is working with a municipal airport in North Carolina and other airports elsewhere to reduce energy costs by adding solar power.
“There is a lot of interest in North Carolina right now for clean energy,” Robbins said in a statement. “For all the right reasons, clean energy is growing in North Carolina – and it’s creating jobs and boosting our economy along the way.”
