San Francisco is the leading metropolitan area for cleantech jobs in the U.S., and solar power is the leading sector, according to the 2010 Clean Tech Job Trends report released today.
As the economy officially pulls out of The
Great Recession, clean energy continues to fuel the plans of many cities, states, nations,
investors, and companies as they look for the next wave of innovation and growth, according to Clean Edge, Inc. which produced the report.
Report highlights include clean-tech’s hottest sectors, cities, and employers; a study of median cleantech job compensation levels; details of China’s meteoric
cleantech surge; and five key trends shaping the cleantech industry.
The top 15 metro areas in the U.S. for cleantech job activity,
based on an analysis of job posting, investment, and patent activity, include the San Francisco
Bay Area at #1 for the second year in a row; Greater Boston up a notch from last year to #3; the
San Diego region at #7; Houston at #8; and the Portland, Oregon Metro Area at #14.
Top 15 Metro Areas
- San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA
- Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
- New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ
- Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO
- Washington-Arlington-Baltimore, DC-VA-MD
- San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
- Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
- Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA
According to the report, the top five sectors for cleantech jobs activitiy are (in order) solar power, biofuels & biomaterials, smart grid & energy efficiency, wind power, and advanced transportation/vehicles.
The report also highlights the key role that China now plays in a clean-energy
future, and includes a table highlighting some of the significant disparities between the world’s
two largest economies, the U.S. and China, and their clean-tech initiatives.
“China has risen from clean-energy neophyte to global clean-energy powerhouse over the past
five years,” says Ron Pernick, cofounder and managing director of Clean Edge. “China is now
home to six of the top 10 global clean-tech pure-play employers, up from just three a year
earlier. China has become the country to watch, analyze, and, at times, emulate. Ignoring
China’s clean-tech ambitions and activities puts one’s own clean-tech initiatives at great peril.”
The report also provides a look into cleantech jobs compensation, overviewing a range of positions and their current median
pay levels worldwide, from entry-level insulation worker ($33,600) and solar-energy systems
installer ($37,700) to smart-grid embedded systems engineer ($76,500) and senior mechanical
engineer for electric vehicles ($91,500). The survey is a coproduction of Clean Edge and
PayScale.
Clean Tech Job Trends 2010 concludes with five key recommendations for growing regional
cleantech clusters:
- Deploy aggressive national renewable portfolio standards with “teeth.”
- Support green infrastructure development.
- Implement and enforce efficiency, fuel, and emissions rules and standards.
- Establish green banks, bonds, and funds.
- Implement carbon taxes.
The full report can be downloaded for free at the link below.
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