Massachusetts Accelerates Renewable Energy Industries

[jpak]

http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49613

The clean energy sector, which Governor Deval Patrick has identified as a key emerging industry for Massachusetts, is about to overtake textiles as the 10th largest in the Commonwealth, according to a "census" of the clean energy cluster released today by the Patrick Administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC).

The census, prepared by Global Insight of Lexington for MTC's Renewable Energy Trust, identified 556 entities engaged in renewable energy; energy efficiency and demand response; consulting and support; and university research related to clean energy. Employment in these firms, most of which are young and small, was estimated at 14,400.

With an annual job growth rate of 20 percent projected by industry executives, clean energy will soon pass the textile industry, which now employs 15,400 people, as the 10th largest cluster tracked by the Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, which is published by MTC's John Adams Innovation Institute.

"This census shows that the clean energy sector is off to a good start in Massachusetts. We need the industry to make itself heard, and we in state government need to put in place the regulatory incentives that will make Massachusetts a place where demand for clean energy technologies and products will grow," said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles.

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