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Governor Deval Patrick today announced that clean energy jobs in Massachusetts grew by 11.8 percent between June 2012 and June 2013, the second year of double digit growth. 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 the Commonwealth.

The results of the 2013 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report were announced today at the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems.

“Building a clean energy future is central to our growth strategy, and another year of double digit job growth is proof that our strategy is working,” said Governor Patrick. “We pursue our clean energy agenda because we cannot leave our future to chance. Our clean energy industry is putting thousands of our residents to work in every corner of the Commonwealth, catalyzing economic development and creating a healthier Massachusetts for the next generation.”

The job growth over the past year is eight times faster than the overall three percent growth rate among all industries combined in the Commonwealth over the same period.

“The Patrick Administration’s commitment to proactive clean energy policies, coupled with access to private capital and a skilled, educated workforce create the basis for the strong job creation numbers we see in this report,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan.

All four geographic regions of the state saw an increase in clean energy employment over the past 12 months. The South Coast experienced the most growth, with jobs increasing 14.3 percent from 2012 to 2013.

“Massachusetts remains a top destination for innovation, including clean energy innovation,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki. “Supporting this sector, which is providing good jobs to residents throughout the state, will help us continue to grow our economy and maintain our competitive edge as a Commonwealth.”

The report for the first year directly counts jobs within the solar industry, with more than 8,400 workers spending at least 50 percent of their time supporting solar energy businesses. This growth follows on Massachusetts’ success in building a robust solar market. This year, Massachusetts reached the Patrick Administration's 2017 goal of 250 megawatts of solar installed four years early. To keep this sector thriving, Governor Patrick recently established a new goal of 1,600 megawatts of solar installed by 2020.

More than half of the Commonwealth’s 5,557 clean energy firms are classified as small businesses, meaning they have five or fewer full-time employees. The overwhelming majority of job creation over the past year came from new entrants into the sector, including clean energy startups.

Larger, more established and global companies have also shifted into the clean energy market and added to the industry’s growth in recent years. Firms like FedEx, Gillette and Shell, which recently opened an office in Cambridge focused on harnessing local innovation, have made clean energy part of their strategic investments.

“The dramatic influx of new firms and the growth in small companies in the industry show the success we’ve had in growing this sector from the ground up,” said Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton. “Our investments in internships and job training, bringing technologies to the marketplace and infrastructure projects are driving this growth and creating jobs across the Commonwealth.”

For the second straight year, manufacturing and assembly jobs rose, this year by 20.6 percent. Clean energy engineering and research jobs grew by 32.4 percent.

“The remarkable growth in Massachusetts’ clean energy industry in recent years proves that the combination of forward-thinking clean energy policies and a strong innovation economy is the right model for sustainable economic growth,” said New England Clean Energy Council President Peter Rothstein.

The 2013 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report, which includes a breakdown of company and employment data by technology sector and geographic region and information on workforce trends, was prepared for MassCEC by BW Research Partnership.

"The Massachusetts clean energy sector's continued growth highlights the importance of leveraging innovative entrepreneurs and research universities and the importance of informed consumers that provide strong demand for clean energy goods and services all across the Commonwealth," said the report's author, Philip Jordan of BW Research Partnership.

Please visit this animated map of clean energy installations across the Commonwealth.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today announced MassCEC will begin accepting applications for the fall session of the 2013 Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Internship Program. The program provides paid internship opportunities for college students and recent graduates at Massachusetts-based clean energy companies.

For the fall session, MassCEC will provide Massachusetts-based clean energy companies with stipends of up to $12 per hour for up to 10 weeks for each full-time intern, with a cap of $2,400 per intern.

Clean energy businesses interested in hosting a student can find out more information and students and recent graduates can apply to the program by visiting the program page.

Companies interested in participating can complete an employer application form.

Students and recent graduates can fill out an intern application form.

Since 2011, the program, a partnership between MassCEC and the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC),  placed 328 students and recent graduates in internships at more than 110 clean energy companies across the state. As a result of the internship program, 40 students gained full-time and part-time employment at their host companies.

During this summer’s internship round, a record number of 125 companies and 914 students and recent graduates applied to the program.

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan joined Congressman Joe Kennedy and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today to announce more than $457,000 in grants to fund clean five energy science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs across the state.

The grants, funded as part of MassCEC’s Workforce Capacity Building Program, will aid projects that help build STEM skills in students and boost the number of high school graduates pursuing STEM majors in college.

“The rapid expansion of Massachusetts’ clean energy industry is bringing fresh opportunities for job growth and economic activity across our Commonwealth,” said Congressman Joe Kennedy, who chairs the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council. “In order to maximize that potential it is critical we have a workforce prepared to seize these jobs. The grants announced today will support innovative partnerships between clean energy professionals, educators and students all geared at making sure we have the human capital to support this promising new industry. On the South Coast specifically, this grant money will allow Bristol Community College to help prepare workers across the region for the opportunities that wind, solar and other green technologies are already bringing to the area.”

“To continue expanding Massachusetts’ clean energy sector, we need to prepare educators and students for the clean energy jobs of tomorrow,” said Secretary Sullivan, who serves as the chairman of MassCEC’s board of directors. “Bringing clean energy professionals together with educators and students will train the next generation of clean energy workers.”

The Workforce Capacity Program provides funding for programs that develop and integrate clean energy- and STEM-related curricula, create practical problem-solving projects to address student skill development; and/or, provide clean energy and STEM-focused career exposure and/or work experience opportunities for both educators and students.

“Massachusetts clean energy companies are looking for qualified employees and this program provides students with the skills they need to compete in this rapidly growing sector of the global economy,” said Barton.

Programs receiving funding under the program are:

• Boston Private Industrial Council $20,000 – The Boston Private Industrial Council will reach out to more than 600 youths through several events, including a Green Career Exploration Conference in the winter of 2014, a Youth Leadership Summit in July 2014 and monthly green jobs seminars with clean energy professionals. 
• Bristol Community College $100,000 – Bristol Community College’s (BCC) Green Center will partner with local high schools, area clean energy companies and government agencies to provide training for STEM educators and guidance counselors to ultimately increase students’ exposure to clean energy career paths through revised curricula and dual enrollment programs, in which high school students are able to take college courses.
• Cape Cod Community College $144,000 – Cape Cod Community College will build a Bridge to College program to serve eligible low income high school seniors enrolled at Barnstable and Dennis Yarmouth high schools who are interested in pursuing advanced studies and careers in the solar energy field. The program will focus on math and renewable energy coursework, hands-on learning activities, lectures on clean energy topics and mentoring and other support services.
• Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board $50,072 – The Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board (MVWIB) will expose students at Lawrence, Haverill and the Greater Lawrence Technical high schools to clean energy job opportunities through workshops, internship opportunities and visits with area clean energy companies. The program will also expose area teachers in clean energy concepts.
• Northeastern University $143,000 – Northeastern University will build a Dual Enrollment program to serve eligible low-income high school seniors enrolled in the Boston Public Schools. The program will allow 30 students to participate in a Northeastern University credit bearing clean energy course as well as assist students with passing Advanced Placement (AP) high school mathematics courses. The program is designed to increase student interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and to increase student confidence to succeed in College.

Programs also engage clean energy industry in the classroom by providing dual enrollment programs that allow high school students to take college courses, offering high school internships for low-income youths and developing activities and practical laboratories for applied science in the clean energy field.

Clean energy jobs are on the rise in Massachusetts. From 2011 to 2012, clean energy jobs rose by 11.2 percent. There are 5,000 clean energy companies in Massachusetts that employ 72,000 workers. 

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today announced $924,233 in grants that will fund six clean energy job training programs for low and moderate-income individuals across the Commonwealth.

As part of the Pathways out of Poverty program, these grants will fund for green collar job training offered by clean energy companies, community-based nonprofit groups, educational institutions and labor organizations throughout Massachusetts.

“There programs will connect low- and moderate-income workers with an expanding clean energy industry in need of well-trained employees,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, who serves as the chairman of MassCEC’s board of directors. “Workers will learn valuable clean energy skills, while putting themselves on the road to economic self-sufficiency.”

"The clean energy industry employs 72,000 workers in Massachusetts and continues to grow,” said Barton. “These programs will match the unemployed or underemployed with the training programs needed to join this booming sector.”

Four of the projects will target workers in Worcester, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, which are all designated by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development as Gateway Cities.

"By investing in new energy technology and career education programs, we are creating new economic opportunities throughout Massachusetts," said Greg Bialecki, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. "By concentrating this program in Gateway Cities, we are generating new potential in communities that might otherwise miss out on these opportunities."

Programs receiving funding under the program are:

• Boston – Jewish Vocational Services – $250,000 – Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), in partnership with Ben Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT) and Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), will build new pathways from JVS’ college transition program for adult learners, Bridges to College & Careers, into college-credit level courses in clean energy and science technology engineering and math (STEM) fields.
• Berkshire County – Berkshire Community College – $81,188 – Berkshire Community College (BCC) will offer transitional programming to connect higher education for low-income disconnected youth, as well as unemployed and dislocated workers with the Berkshire County employers who need workers skilled in clean energy and green technologies.
• New Bedford – New Bedford Economic Development Council – $250,000 – The Bridge to Greener Futures project will provide motivated, low-income, disconnected youth with academic, occupational and life skills that lead to college and careers in clean energy with an emphasis on offshore wind. MassCEC is currently overseeing the construction of the nation’s first marine commerce terminal in New Bedford equipped to serve as a staging area for offshore wind projects.
• Statewide – Co-Op Power – $181,045 – Co-op Power’s Good Green Jobs training program will train individuals from Gateway Cities and Economic Target Areas in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Greater Boston for entry-level positions as weatherization installers, providing the workers mentors and on-the-job training with employers.
• Worcester – Worcester Youth Center – $112,000 – STEMming the Opportunity Gap (SOG) is a three-phase program partnership between the Worcester Youth Center (WYC), Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) and the Central Mass Workforce Investment Board (CMWIIB). The year-long program will engage out of school, unemployed or underemployed youth ages 16 to 24 who meet low-income requirements, introducing them to clean energy concepts and putting them on the path towards higher education in the field.
• Cape Cod – Northeast Offshore Renewable Energy Training Program – Self Reliance Corporation – $50,000 – The Northeast Offshore Renewable Energy Training Program will implement the WindSkill BZEE curriculum, which will train workers looking for employment in the burgeoning offshore wind industry. The program will include training at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, internships and hands-on experience.

Authorized by the Act Relative to Clean Energy signed into law by Governor Patrick in November 2009, MassCEC’s Pathways out of Poverty program is designed to jumpstart training in clean energy careers for low- and moderate-income residents. Eligible projects must include on-the-job-training models or bridge-to-college programs that serve the target population and provide services and activities to address employer workforce needs and optimize opportunities for participant learning, career development and economic advancement within the clean energy industry. Projects must assure that individuals will improve their economic circumstances as a result of participation in the program. 

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced four grants totaling $734,000 green job training programs that will help train unemployed and underemployed people for jobs in the clean energy community.
“MassCEC’s Pathways Out of Poverty grants program has a proven track record – with many of those trained through our initial 2009 grant round either placed in full time employment, continuing their training at community colleges, or starting their own “green” businesses,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs the MassCEC board of directors.  “The program is a true win-win for the Commonwealth’s economic and clean energy future, and we are pleased to be awarding this new round of grants.” 
“The Pathways Out of Poverty grants will help further the Commonwealth’s dedicated workforce, which is a key asset in our clean energy community,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “By ensuring that people throughout the Commonwealth have access to clean energy job training and real-world learning we are strengthening our leadership in clean energy and our economy.”  
Authorized by the Act Relative to Clean Energy signed into law by Governor Patrick in November 2009, MassCEC’s Pathways out of Poverty Program is designed to jumpstart training in clean energy careers for low- and moderate-income residents.  In February 2011, MassCEC solicited proposals from organizations to develop projects that include on-the-job-training (OJT) models that serve the target population and provide targeted services and activities that address employer workforce needs and optimize opportunities for participant learning, career development and economic advancement within the clean energy industry. 
Funding for the Pathways Out of Poverty program includes $600,000 from MassCEC, and $134,000 from the Commonwealth’s State Energy Sector Partnership grant, awarded to the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Funds provided through the State Energy Sector Partnership are provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 
“This investment expands on the ongoing work of the State Energy Sector Partnership, a $5.973 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration that is supporting programs to prepare Massachusetts residents for jobs in the clean energy sector,” said Commonwealth Corporation President and CEO Nancy Snyder. “Leveraging these funds with funds from the Clean Energy Center will help us to serve more residents who need significant assistance in building their skills if they are to benefit from clean energy job opportunities.”
"The clean energy sector is one of the strongest and fastest growing in Massachusetts. These grants will help ensure that every resident can enjoy the opportunities that are created as we transition to a clean energy economy," said Senator Benjamin B. Downing.  
“We are proud to partner with the Clean Energy Center to create the Metro Boston Green On-the-Job Training Collaborative,” said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.  “This innovative initiative will bring together Boston’s most dynamic employers with the untapped talent of our underemployed workforce, creating pathways out of poverty and into our growing clean tech economy.”
MassCEC awarded funds to the following projects: 
Co-op Power
Franklin County, Pioneer Valley and Boston
$175,000
Co-op Power is a consumer-owned cooperative with chapters in Boston and Western Massachusetts. Co-op provides residential and small commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy services. In addition to professional services, Co-op offers neighbor-to-neighbor weatherization and solar installation programs in which people help each other make energy improvements under the supervision and guidance of trained energy auditors, efficiency contractors, and renewable energy system installers. Through its Good Green Jobs Project, Co-op and its partners will target unemployed and underemployed young adults, high school drop-outs, long term unemployed and dislocated workers in Dorchester, Roxbury, Holyoke, Springfield, Orange, Franklin County and Pittsfield. Co-ops program funded by this grant will provide on-the-job training at companies such as Energia and Spirit Solar. Trainees will learn skills in energy efficiency, solar hot water installations and green energy marketing.
Economic Development and Industrial Corporation
Greater Boston
$200,000
The Economic Development and Industrial Corporation will lead the Metro Boston Green On-the-Job Training (GOJT) Collaborative, a partnership of clean energy employers, municipalities, workforce boards, career centers and training providers that will train and place underemployed and unemployed residents from the 64 communities in the Metro-Boston region in on-the-job training experiences leading to full-time permanent employment. Partners include Next Step Living, FastCAP Systems, SatCon, Maloney Properties, Lime Energy Co. and Sagewell.  The GOJT Collaborative will target five specific sectors: facilities maintenance, HVAC/R, renewable energy component manufacturing, clean energy company customer support, and weatherization.
Massachusetts Manufacturing Advancement Center 
Central Mass.
$194,000
The Manufacturing Advancement Center (MAC) is a non-profit organization founded to create a conduit between today’s evolving workforce, entry level and advanced skills training, and job opportunities. The MAC collaborates with employers and educational institutions to develop and maintain a well-trained, flexible workforce. The MAC will work closely with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership to  implement its Mobile Outreach Skills Training Program and provide on-the-job training for low income individuals, dislocated workers, youth that are out of work or school, and veterans in entry level manufacturing at contract manufacturers in the clean energy supply chain.  
South Middlesex Opportunity Council
MetroWest
$165,000
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc. (SMOC) is a private, nonprofit corporation committed to mobilizing and utilizing private resources to advocate for and to improve the quality of life for low-income people. SMOC’s Energy Conservation Services (ECS) has 32 years of experience in the weatherization industry. Through their work with contractors, ECS has identified a significant gap in the availability of qualified weatherization workers in the regional labor force.  In 2009 SMOC established a Green Jobs Academy (GJA) to offer career ladder training in the weatherization industry for low-income, under/unemployed, and incumbent workers and to utilize the expertise of ECS. Through its grant, SMOC will work more as many as 25 weatherization and energy efficiency contractors to provide on-the-job training for low-income participants as weatherization installers and will also provide career ladder opportunities for new crew chief and home auditors. 
In 2009, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in collaboration with MassCEC, issued the nation’s first state-funded Pathways Out of Poverty program. Based on the requirements of the 2008 Green Jobs Act, $1 million was awarded to five grantees in Lowell, Brockton, Worcester, Springfield/Holyoke and Pittsfield to expand the clean energy workforce by boosting skills of low-income workers. The five projects trained 196 individuals in clean energy skill programs. Of those trained, 108 were either placed in full time employment, began their own businesses or decided to continue with school by matriculating into for-credit community college programs. Results equate to an average placement rate of approximately 60 percent across the training programs.  The program also resulted in more than 340 industry-recognized certificates and credentials being awarded to trainees, which will assist trainees in building a career pathway and make them more competitive candidates for jobs.

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray joined the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the New England Clean Energy Council (Council) today to recognize participants in the first year of MassCEC’s Clean Energy Internship Program.
“Governor Patrick and I continue to invest in job creation across all industries and regions in the Commonwealth,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.  “With this economic development agenda, we need to also think about generational responsibility, providing students today with the right tools and resources to succeed in the future.  The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program is an effective educational and workforce training program that is helping students gain hands-on learning experience for future jobs in Massachusetts’ growing, clean energy sector.”
“The 117 students and recent graduates who participated in MassCEC’s internship placement program this summer represent the Commonwealth’s future.  By investing in their education and training, we are furthering the Patrick-Murray Administration’s clean energy agenda by ensuring a state-of-the-art workforce for this burgeoning sector of our economy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs the MassCEC board of directors.  
This summer, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program placed 117 students and recent graduates in paid summer internships at 70 clean energy companies across the state. This program continues MassCEC’s commitment to supporting education and training opportunities that align with the Commonwealth’s clean energy goals and industry growth, while furthering the career goals of those considering career opportunities in clean energy. The program provides stipends of up to $15 per hour or $6,000 for up to ten weeks for summer interns, and also created a database for students interested in clean energy to upload their resumes for potential employers.
Participants obtained meaningful employment, networking opportunities, mentoring from their host employers as well as firsthand experience in the clean energy industry. Participating interns represented college majors ranging from engineering and science to business, economics and management. A total of 47 percent of the participating interns spent their summer working on research and development projects that have helped advance or launch a clean energy product or initiative, while 32 percent aided in the development of new clean energy technologies or new ways to implement existing services. 
“These 117 students and recent grads are part of the Commonwealth’s most vital asset; a highly-skilled, values-driven workforce,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “This program has helped companies take advantage of that asset and enhance their talent pipleline, while training the next generation to be part of our clean energy future.” 
"The students aren't the only ones benefitting from these internships," said Peter Rothstein, president of NECEC. "The clean energy sector gains tremendously from the development of a new generation of entrepreneurs and future business leaders who can ensure that Massachusetts continues to lead in this area."
“I applaud the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and their summer internship program,” said Senator Karen Spilka, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development & Emerging Technologies.  “Programs like these are not only a valuable investment in the education and training of our students, they are also a great way to expand our presence in clean energy initiatives which helps us maintain the reputation as a leader in cutting-edge industries and keeps our economy moving forward.”
State Representative John Keenan, House Chair of the Joint Committee Telecommunications Utilities and Energy said, "Massachusetts has become a leader in the nation in energy policy with its support for renewable energy, a green economy and green jobs. Just as important as meeting the Commonwealth's laudable renewable energy goals is making certain that workforce development training is taking place to fill the jobs created in this new and growing industry. I applaud the Patrick-Murray administration and the Mass Clean Energy Center for their investment in Massachusetts future." 
"With a continued focus on our strengths in the Commonwealth's high growth industries such as clean energy, initiatives such as the Clean Energy Internship program are important building blocks of the overall job creation and economic development agenda of the Commonwealth," said Representative Joseph F. Wagner, House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development & Emerging Technologies.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced a new funding opportunity for grants for clean energy workforce development programs at secondary and vocational-technical high schools, colleges and universities, and community-based non-profit groups. 
“Having a highly skilled, educated workforce is a critical factor to the success of the Massachusetts clean energy sector,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs MassCEC’s board of directors. “By providing our workforce and education organizations with the means to train that talent pipeline, we are addressing industry needs and closing the skills gap.”
MassCEC has up to $850,000 available to support workforce training program enhancement, expansion or new program development activities that build the instructional capacity of staff, faculty and instructors and expose students to clean energy concepts at higher education institutions, secondary and vocational technical high schools, and community-based or non-profit organizations.  The funding opportunity will also seek projects that will work directly with clean energy companies to provide work experience to low-income high school students and disconnected youth between the ages of 16 and 24.
Applications are due February 17, 2012.  Interested applicants can learn more about the funding opportunity at an optional bidders’ webinar being held on Monday, December 19, 2011.
Click here to download solicitation documents for this opportunity. 
“Access to work experience is an important element in teaching students about career options in the clean energy industry and it provides a meaningful opportunity to understand the knowledge and skills required to develop career pathways and obtain future employment.” said MassCEC Chief Executive Officer Patrick Cloney
The funds available through this opportunity build on an existing infrastructure of projects and training programs funded by MassCEC.  Curriculum and course development strategies are available now at www.masscec.com/curriculum and at www.cleanenergyeducation.org, which catalogues  more than 140 different clean energy-related education and training programs in Massachusetts at over 80 different institutions, including universities, community colleges, vocational/technical schools, labor unions, not-for-profit groups, professional associations, and for-profit institutions.
Clean energy has made a significant impact on the Massachusetts economy in recent years and now employs more than 64,000 people, according to the 2011 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report. The report identified 4,909 clean energy companies across the state that saw a 6.7 percent increase in jobs between July 2010 to July 2011.