DENVER - According to a recently-released survey, the state of Colorado is hiring thousands of solar jobs in America.
The survey, released by The Solar Foundation, says that Colorado employed 6,100 people in 2011 in the solar industry. That number is up 16 percent since 2010. The number of solar jobs also surpassed the number of mining jobs in Colorado for the first time in history.
Colorado was named the #1 state in the nation in solar jobs per capita and the #2 state in solar jobs overall.
"Colorado is a national leader in solar innovation and job creation," said Neal Lurie, Executive Director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association. "From GE's new solar manufacturing plant to Dow Solar's innovative new solar shingles, the technology of tomorrow is generating jobs today. Colorado's entrepreneurial climate, commitment to clean energy, and growing customer demand have developed solar into a powerful economic driver."
Nationally, the survey estimates there are 17,198 solar sites and more than 100,000 solar jobs in all 50 states. Solar employers also told the survey they expect to increase the number of workers by 24 percent over the next year.
The other states who rank highly in solar jobs are:
- California
- Airzona
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- Florida
- Texas
- Oregon
- New Jersey
- Massachusetts
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
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