A Refrigerator-Worthy Report Card

Every year, MassCEC puts together a report detailing the state of the clean energy industry here in Massachusetts, looking to see how many people and firms are working in this rapidly expanding field.

For MassCEC and me, this is like a report card – showing how well we’re doing in fulfilling our mission to create high-quality clean energy jobs for the long term.

… And this year’s report card is one my parents can hang on the fridge.

At an event Tuesday at the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Gov. Patrick announced that the Commonwealth’s clean energy sector grew by 11.8 percent last year.

Over the past two years, clean energy jobs have grown by 24.4 percent with 5,557 clean energy companies now employing 79,994 workers across Massachusetts.

The number of clean energy workers grew in all four of the state’s geographic regions, across all technologies and types of positions.

We’re seeing the fruits of the progressive vision Gov. Patrick and the Legislature had in mind when they passed a series of sweeping legislative efforts aimed at putting Massachusetts on the forefront of the clean energy revolution.

As we celebrate this year’s success, we can’t let up – we must keep pushing this cause forward, supporting the clean energy businesses and employees of tomorrow as we look towards next year’s report card.

My parents better start clearing some room on that fridge.