A new report ranks Colorado sixth in the nation for solar jobs. The nonprofit Solar Foundation, based in Washington D.C., says 266 solar companies employ about 3,600 workers statewide.
Steve Lynn, reporter with the Northern Colorado Business Report, says Colorado’s solar incentive programs have been part of why the industry has remained relatively stable.
"Despite all the turmoil in the solar industry, particularly in northern Colorado, where we had Abound Solar collapse and result in the loss of more than 400 jobs, Colorado still has quite a robust industry," he says.
Lynn adds that new installations in northern Colorado – such as Poudre Valley REA’s planned new community solar farm -- could drive up employment this year. The PVREA announced earlier this month that it’s planning a second array with more than 2,000 solar panels, although no timeline has been set for the project yet.
According to The Solar Foundation's state jobs map, California is ranked first in the nation with 43,000 jobs -- almost a third of the nation’s solar workers. Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all finished ahead of Colorado in the rankings.
You can read the foundation's National Solar Jobs Census 2012 here.
