The State
October 3, 2013
By RODDIE BURRIS — rburris@thestate.com October 3, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC —
Clean energy continued to claw its way into greater awareness in South Carolina
last year, a new report shows, adding jobs and growing revenue.
A survey of 161
firms showed employment in the state’s clean energy sector in 2012 rose 3.6
percent, or more than twice as fast as jobs in the state’s overall economy,
according to the S.C. Clean Energy Business Alliance.
Nearly 18,000
full-time employees worked in the upstart clean energy industries in the state
this year, the Alliance’s annual report, South Carolina Clean Energy Jobs
Census, showed.
The clean
energy sector also generated more than $813 million in gross revenue in the
state in 2012, an 11.9 percent increase over 2011, the report said.
The report
defines a clean energy firm as having at least one employee in 2012 who
dedicated a portion of his or her work time to clean energy.
While
incentives underpin much of the impetus for business in the clean energy
sector, demand also is moving the industry forward toward greater
self-sufficiency, officials said Wednesday.
“The increase
in clean energy jobs in South Carolina taking place today, along with the
rising demand for cleaner sources of energy as we move toward a less
carbon-dependent future, calls for our state to create the best environment
possible to support this industry’s continued success,” said Jim Poch, S.C.
Clean Energy Business Alliance executive director.
The Alliance,
founded in 2011, is committed to building a diverse alliance of businesses
across the state that is dedicated to creating a clean energy industry in the
Palmetto State, it says. This is its second clean energy census.
The Great
Recession interrupted the rise in the number of new firms entering the clean
energy industry in the state between 2007 and 2009, the report indicates, but
the increase since 2009 has been steady.
The report
tracked all clean energy industries in the state, including solar, wind,
biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, smart grid, energy efficiency, energy
storage, and alternative fuels.
The report also
found:
• Solar
energy and improving energy efficiency/building sciences topped all categories
for increase since 1980 and has more products in the local markets than any
other category.
• The
state’s largest clean energy clusters of firms are located in the three
metropolitan areas of the state, with Columbia ranking at the top, followed by
Charleston and then Greenville.
• Most
clean energy firms in the state, 73.8 percent, reported gross annual revenue of
less than $1 million. Of those with annual revenues greater than $1 million,
42.4 percent said at least half their revenue was generated by clean energy
activities – a 6 percent increase over 2011.
• Most of
the clean energy firms in the state said they were “very likely” or “somewhat
likely” to add clean energy over the next 12 months.
“This survey is
unique,” said Joey Von Nessen, USC research economist. “This gets information
you’re not going to be able to find anywhere else.”
The report,
which can be viewed at http://bit.ly/1bqRjam, gives insight into the
self-identified clean energy companies’ practices and priorities, concerns and
experiences, Von Nessen said.
“These firms
that are growing are largely producing for South Carolina – a South Carolina
customer base and a South Carolina client base,” Von Nessen said. “So, they’re
growing and they’re serving the local needs of South Carolina – very positive.”+(124x76).jpg)
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