(WAND) - Clean energy businesses in Illinois added more than 3,600 workers in 2022, now employing 123,799 people in Illinois.
That is according to a new study of employment data released by the national business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs and Evergreen Climate Innovations.
The report comes after the one-year anniversary of the largest federal investment in climate and clean energy in history.
Two years ago, Governor JB Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) into Illinois law.
The energy efficiency sector continued to lead clean energy in total jobs in 2022 in Illinois with more than 84,300 workers. The fastest growing sector in 2022 in Illinois was clean transportation with 6.9 percent growth, adding over 897 new jobs for a total of 13,968 workers.
Micaela Preskill, Midwest Advocate for E2, said, “The Midwest saw impressive clean energy job growth in 2022, but it is essentially the calm before the storm in terms of expected job growth for the sector and region. Private companies have gone full speed ahead with new investments in clean energy and transportation projects since historic clean energy investments and incentives were passed last summer. Growth of 3 percent in Illinois is fantastic, but I’m on the edge of my seat to see what these numbers look like next year.”
According to the analysis, clean energy and clean transportation companies employed more than 734,000 Midwesterners at the end of 2022, a nearly 4 percent increase from 2021. Nationally, clean energy employment grew 4 percent to reach 3.3 million jobs.
Ian Adams, Managing Director at Evergreen Climate Innovations, said, “The Clean Jobs Midwest report along with our own portfolio underscore the growth of both large and small clean energy firms. They're expanding facilities, hiring, and introducing new technologies in the region. Evergreen startup, NanoGraf, an innovative battery materials firm, recently opened a new Chicago facility. Additionally, CorePower Magnetics and Marel Power Solutions, both in the vehicle electrification sector, have secured funding and significant federal grants this past year. This momentum hints at even more promising developments in the future, reinforcing our region's reputation as a hub for sustainable innovation."
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said, “Supporting green manufacturing and green energy benefits us all in so many ways: we’re creating jobs, saving money and developing a more sustainable, safer and healthier world not just for ourselves but for our kids and generations to come. This report confirms something I’ve been working hard to support in Washington –the expansion of clean energy and the programs that support it are at the heart of job growth in Illinois and throughout the Midwest. Thanks to the leadership from the Biden Administration in pushing for laws like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’ve created significant support to help move our country forward and today’s report makes clear these policies are working."
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said, “I’m thrilled to see that our intentional investments in clean, equitable jobs continue to pay dividends in the form of good-paying, long-term sustainable jobs that uplift families and communities across the state. With thousands more jobs created in 2023 and more already in the works for 2024, we will continue to see the benefits of laws like CEJA and the REV Act, positioning Illinois for a bright future with opportunities for exponential growth.”
Utopia Hill, CEO of Reactivate, an Illinois renewable energy company supporting renewable energy development in local communities, said, “Our Gooseberry Solar in Ford Heights is a great example where CEJA is helping create well-paying union jobs with family sustaining wages and benefits for a diverse workforce, building economic growth in underserved communities by contracting with local, minority- and women-owned businesses, and providing direct savings from community solar to low-to-moderate income households to lessen the burden of high energy costs and keep more money in their pockets.”
Other Findings:
- There was 3.6 percent growth in clean energy jobs in 2022 in the Midwest.
- The Midwest is now home to 734,753 clean energy jobs.
- There was 11.2 percent growth of jobs in the clean transportation sector in the Midwest, the region’s fastest-growing sector in 2022.
- Small businesses account for 3 percent of Illinois’s clean energy sector – in 2022, 72.7 percent of Illinois’s clean energy businesses employed fewer than 20 people.
- 10.1 percent of Illinoisans employed in clean energy are veterans.
For a full breakdown of clean energy jobs for every state in the Midwest, see www.cleanjobsmidwest.com.
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