Colorado 2017: 62,000 jobs in clean energy industry

The state supports more than 62,000 jobs in the clean energy industry, most of which are in the 10 largest counties in the state, including Mesa, according to a report released Friday. The report, written by Environmental Entrepreneurs, also says that the industry is robust, predicting at least 2 percent growth over the next year. That organization, which has offices in Massachusetts and California, calls itself a nonprof-it, bipartisan group of business leaders and investors who push for smart government policies designed to create jobs without harming the environment. Its report shows that the bulk of those Colorado jobs — 65 percent — are in energy efficiency, such as high-efficiency lighting, Energy Star appliance manufacturing and more efficient heating, ventilating and cooling systems in buildings. From 2009 to 2014, the state saw a nearly tenfold jump in solar power generation and a 16 percent increase in wind power, creating about 14,000 jobs in the process, the report says. The report also showed that about three-fourths of the new businesses that have been created in recent years employ fewer than 25 people. “Colorado has been a great place to launch and grow my energy efficiency business, in no small part due to the state’s leadership in clean energy policies,” said RJ Mastic, chief executive officer of Ecosystems Group Inc., a Denver-based energy efficiency business. “We’re hiring at a brisk pace, a new employee almost every other month. But to keep companies like mine growing, and to attract the next generation of entrepreneurs Colorado needs to shore up its clean energy policies now.” While most of those jobs are located on the Front Range, about 5,500 of them are located on the Western Slope, with about one-fifth of that — 1,094 — in Mesa County. Another 467 are in Garfield County, 311 in Montrose County and 166 in Delta County. Other key findings of the report show that 60 percent of vendors who supply the state’s clean energy industry are from outside the state, and 72 percent of Colorado employers in the industry say it is difficult to find workers who are trained enough to do the jobs they need.