State fares well in first detailed look at U.S. clean-energy economy.
By Kirk Ladendorf
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The nation's clean-energy economy is relatively small, but it's growing rapidly, and Texas is one of the leading players, according to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Pew researchers counted 68,200 businesses and 770,000 jobs across the United States tied to clean energy as of 2007, according to the most recent data. Texas ranked second to California in both jobs and clean-energy businesses.

Those jobs amounted to one-half of 1 percent of the nation's total, but Pew researchers said the clean-energy sector grew twice as fast as the overall economy during the past decade and is poised for explosive growth in the coming years because of a surge in private investment in the sector and in federal government spending.

Texas, long known for its strong ties to the oil and gas industry, is also a major player in clean energy, ranking second to California in numbers of businesses (4,802) and jobs (55,646) tied to the sector.

"Texas is a leader in the clean-energy economy and a strong national performer," said Kil Huh, who led the Pew study. "Texas is the sixth-largest producer of wind energy in the world. The state's clean-energy economy is poised for incredible growth."

Pew officials credited the state's policies on renewable energy for playing an important part in its growth of wind power generation. The state also ranked third in clean-energy venture investments and fourth in clean-energy patents.

Ironically, Texas' pollution-producing industries are one reason the state ranked high in clean-energy jobs. Texas had 40,617 jobs tied to conservation and pollution mitigation in 2007, again ranking second to California.

That category accounted for almost two-thirds of the jobs Pew counted as clean energy. "Despite the state being a leading oil producer, it has engaged in policies to grow these other sectors of the economy," said Phyllis Cuttino director of Pew's U.S. Global Warming Campaign.

The study specifically cited Austin Energy as an example of a top energy-efficiency company, noting that Austin's electric utility has promoted conservation for the past three decades, working closely with more than 80 heating and air-conditioning businesses on energy conservation rebates as well as committing to purchase significant amounts of electricity from green sources.

Pew officials said their study was the first hard count of clean-energy jobs and businesses and is intended for use as a baseline to help policymakers and business leaders, among others.

The study did not include businesses or jobs tied to nuclear power or to ethanol production as clean, because of a variety of environmental challenges posed by those industries.

Pew reported that U.S. clean-energy jobs grew by 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007 compared with overall job growth of 3.7 percent in the same period.

No data are available, but the clean-energy sector is thought to have lost jobs during the recession year of 2008; however, the sector likely was less affected than the economy as a whole, Pew officials said.

That job growth in the past decade came without the help of concerted policies at the federal level to spur clean-energy investment. That is changing with the Obama administration's plans to spend more on clean-energy programs, including $85 billion included in the stimulus package for the sector.

Pew counted jobs in five clean-energy sectors: clean-energy production; energy efficiency, reducing existing energy demand; improving products and business processes to be more energy efficient; conservation and pollution mitigation; and training and support.

Conservation and pollution mitigation is the largest sector, Pew said, but clean-energy production, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly production are the fastest-growing sectors.

David Prend, a director of the National Venture Capital Association, noted that venture investments in clean energy totaled $12.6 billion in the past three years and $5.9 billion in 2008, a growth rate of 48 percent.

That surge in private investment, along with federal and state spending on clean energy, will spur strong growth over the next several years, Prend said.

"We are just in the first inning of this," he added.

kladendorf@statesman.com; 445-3622