California Dreaming
The economic impact of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy—jobs and businesses lost or gained—is an important part of the debate and planning that cities and other jurisdictions have to manage. In the U.S., the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, part of a national NGO of clean energy businesses that is run by a former mayor, Graham Richard (Fort Wayne, Indiana), has pioneered methodologies and reports to estimate the size and growth of the “advanced energy” economy, particularly at the state level, because of AEE’s focus on state policies.
AEE’s latest report, “Advanced Energy Jobs in California,” provides a good look at both the methodology and its conclusions. Here are some highlights:
- California contains 20% of all advanced energy jobs in the U.S.—more than 500,000 workers in all, triple what California’s most famous sector, Motion Pictures, TV, and Radio, contains. [Note: The state has about 12% of the U.S. population, but is a leader in promoting energy efficiency and has a cap-and-trade market.]
- Advanced energy generated jobs at six times the rate of the overall California economy last year, 18% versus 3%.
- Energy Efficiency accounts for about 60% of advanced energy jobs in California.
- Driven by strong supporting policies and declining prices, employment across Advanced Grid technologies—energy storage, smart grid, and electric vehicle charging stations– more than doubled between 2014 and 2015.
