Solar power may bring new jobs to Texas

 

AUSTIN, Texas, June 29 (UPI)

A study says increased used of solar power could bring 123,000 new jobs to Texas during the next few decades.

The report by the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin said the creation of a vibrant solar power industry could stimulate the state's economy, reduce the cost of power for consumers and minimize green-house gas emissions, the university said Friday in a news release.

Joel Serface, director of the Clean Energy Incubator at the University of Texas at Austin and a contributor to the report, said a recent University of California-Berkeley study found the solar industry produces seven to 11 times as many jobs on a megawatt capacity basis as coal-fired power plants and has a larger positive trickle-down effect than wind energy.

Estimates suggest Texas could generate 123,000 new high-wage, technology-related, advanced manufacturing and electrical services jobs by 2020 by actively moving toward solar power.

While Texas consumed more energy than any other state and has the best overall climate for producing solar energy year-round, it ranked No. 8 in solar adoption in 2006, the report said.