The New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) today issued the following statement around the 2014 Massachusetts Clean Energy report issued today by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The NECEC both applauded the strong jobs and economic numbers highlighted in the report while calling for the Commonwealth’s next governor to embrace and expand the state’s clean energy policies to build on the sector’s current momentum.

“The consistent job growth in the Commonwealth’s clean energy sector over the last four years shows that the combination of forward-thinking clean energy policies and a strong innovation economy is the right way to grow an industry,” said NECEC President Peter Rothstein. “Today’s MassCEC report proves that the clean energy sector is an economic engine here and is poised to accelerate the region’s economy to global leadership if we continue to lead on smart policies that support this industry.”

According to the MassCEC report, Massachusetts’ clean energy industry has grown nearly 50 percent since 2010 and now includes 88,372 employees and 5,985 businesses. The report also notes that the state’s clean energy sector is a $10 billion dollar industry. Clean energy employment now equals about 2.4 percent of all workers in the Commonwealth, which is larger than the state’s insurance industry and about half the size of the well-established information technology sector.

“It is critical that the next Massachusetts governor recognizes that the industry is at a tipping point, and supports further expansion of the state’s clean energy policies to develop markets that will drive innovation, scale clean energy in a cost-effective manner and advance a more resilient 21^st century energy system.”

In July, the NECEC released Empowering New England with Clean Energy, an original white paper outlining a compelling vision for the potential for clean energy growth, and critical clean energy policies that the next governors must support to ensure that the clean energy sector continues on its current path to becoming New England's next dominant innovation industry. Read the report here. http://www.necec.org/other-module/news/news-reader/-2949.html

About NECEC (New England Clean Energy Council and NECEC Institute)

NECEC is a regional non-profit organization representing clean energy companies and entrepreneurs throughout New England and the Northeast through programs and initiatives that help clean energy businesses at all stages of development to access the resources they need to grow. NECEC includes New England Clean Energy Council, which is the lead voice for hundreds of clean energy companies across New England, influencing the energy policy agenda and growing the clean energy economy, and NECEC Institute, which leads programs that support Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Cluster and Economic Development and Workforce Development. NECEC’s mission is to accelerate the region’s clean energy economy to global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean energy companies.