April 13, 2016 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

California's advanced energy industry is booming in terms of jobs with more than half a million workers --- up 18 percent from 2014 and six times the rate of statewide employment growth.

California Advanced Energy Employment. Click on image to enlarge. Credit: BW Research

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is according to research from Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) Institute, which also reports that advanced energy accounts for more than three percent of the state total.

More than half a million California workers spend some or all of their time on advanced energy work, including energy efficiency, advanced electricity generation, biofuels, advanced grid technology, and advanced vehicles, AEE Institute reports. Further, employers engaged in the advanced energy business also expect to increase their workforce by 8 percent this year.

At just more than 500,000 workers, advanced energy employs three times as many Californians as the motion picture, TV, and radio industry (145,000); more than agriculture, forestry, and fishing (475,000); and is fast approaching construction (750,000). With one in every five advanced energy workers nationwide, California has the largest advanced energy industry by employment of any state in the country.

Employment grew fastest in the advanced grid segment, which includes smart grid, storage, and electric vehicle charging technologies -- more than doubling between 2014 and 2015, adding over 11,000 new jobs, according to AEE Institute.

The research shows that the greatest increase in number of jobs came in advanced generation, with solar accounting for nearly 80 percent. Advanced generation employment grew 50 percent over 2014, creating almost 48,000 new jobs in the state. Advanced transportation, which includes hybrid, electric, and natural gas vehicles, also saw growth, adding just under 7,000 new workers -- 65 percent more than in 2014.

The only advanced energy segment that lost jobs was advanced fuels, including biofuels and biomass, which were both impacted by low oil and gasoline prices. Advanced fuel employment fell more than 50 percent last year, resulting in a loss of about 8,000 jobs.

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