Nevada Ranks 10th in Clean Energy Job Generation

Environmental Entrepreneurs, a nonpartisan advocacy group, said Nevada was ranked 10th nationwide for clean energy job creation during the third quarter.

In a report released Monday, the group said Nevada accounted for 420 of an estimated 10,819 jobs created in the clean energy sector nationwide in the last quarter. California placed first in the list with 1,480 jobs, followed by the state of New York with 1,249 jobs.

The number of new clean energy jobs, however, represent a significant drop from the 37,000 and 46,000 positions announced in the previous two quarters. The drop was attributed to the political uncertainty surrounding the clean energy sector. The advocacy group particularly pointed to the large number of layoffs in the wind sector since January as companies prepare for the expiration of wind-based federal production tax credits on December 31.

Power generation led all clean energy sectors in the third quarter with 6,075 total projects announced nationwide. Solar power accounted for 3,351 of the announcements, followed by wind power at 2,354. The energy efficiency sector accounted for 1,642 jobs nationwide in the third quarter while the manufacturing sector accounted for 1,612 jobs according to the report. Advanced vehicles accounted for a third of the manufacturing jobs.