Fact Sheet | Jobs from Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency (2007)

Highlights:

• According to research by Roger Bezdek for the American Solar Energy Society, the renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries created a total of 8.5 million jobs in 2006; 450,000 jobs in RE and 8 million jobs in EE throughout the United States.
 
• The Union of Concerned Scientists estimate that a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) of 20% by 2020 would create 185,000 new jobs from renewable energy development, add $25.6 billion in income to farmers, ranchers, and rural landowners and save consumers $10.5 billion in lower electricity and natural gas bills by 2020.
 
• A report from the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory in Berkeley found that renewable energy creates more jobs per megawatt (MW) of power installed, per unit of energy produced, and per dollar of investment, than the fossil fuel energy-based sector.

• The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that requiring automakers to meet a fleetwide average of 35miles per gallon by 2018 will create 241,000 additional jobs nationwide by 2020, and increase jobs in the automotive sector alone by 23,900. Such a requirement would also save consumers $37 billion in 2020 alone and cut national oil use by 1.6 million barrels per day by 2020.

Download the full fact sheet in PDF format.