June 11, 2009 12:46 AM UTC

Colorado Leader in Green Jobs

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• by: Colorado Pols

Some much-needed good news for Gov. Bill Ritter, whose “new energy economy” efforts will be one of the keys to his re-election bid: According to the Pew Charitable Trust, Colorado is one of just three states ahead of the national average for green job creation.

According to a press release from the Governor’s office:

Colorado is home to one of the largest and fastest growing pieces of America’s clean energy economy, according to a report released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, titled, “The Clean Energy Economy:  Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America,” is considered a groundbreaking analysis that sheds light on an increasingly important part of the nation’s economic recovery.  This is the first effort by a major national organization to quantify the scale, scope and promise of clean energy jobs.

“I am very proud that Pew Charitable Trust is reinforcing our vision to transform Colorado into a national and international leader on new energy,” Gov. Bill Ritter said. “We have been extremely deliberate about rebuilding our state’s economy and converting it to a sustainable and knowledge-based one.  The Pew report shows that Colorado is at the forefront of the country’s New Energy Economy.”

The report found that jobs in the clean energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent, while traditional jobs grew by only 3.7 percent between 1998 and 2007.  There was a similar pattern at the state level, where job growth in the clean energy economy outperformed overall job growth in 38 states and the District of Columbia during the same period.   In Colorado, clean energy jobs grew at a rate of 18.2 percent in the same time frame, while traditional jobs grew by 8.2 percent, according to the report.

“Coloradans can be proud that our hard work has paid off – creating thousands of clean energy jobs and attracting more than $600 million in venture capital in the past three years – making us one of the top five states for clean energy investment,” Gov. Ritter said.  “With those efforts we are creating new economic opportunities and business, and reducing emissions of the pollution that causes climate change.   I am committed to continuing Colorado’s leadership in forging a path forward toward a new energy economy for our state, the nation and the world.”

Colorado is one of only three states (along with Oregon and Tennessee) that are ahead of the national average for the number of jobs in the clean energy economy (15,106) and annual growth rate (1.9 percent).  In addition, the report found that Colorado had more than 17,000 jobs in the clean energy economy in 2007 and also attracted more than $620 million in venture capital in the past three years-the fifth-largest amount in the nation. Three quarters of which have been invested in clean energy generation.  Jobs in Colorado’s Clean Energy category grew 50 percent between 1998 and 2007 and the Energy Efficiency sector grew 56 percent in the same time.