11/4/10 - NC Sustainable Energy 2010 Industry Census
RALEIGH– North Carolina’s emerging green energy economy continues to provide diverse employment for people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds in every region of our state. The emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency industries have expanded rapidly in recent years, despite one of the longest and most severe recessions in our nation’s history. Further expansion is expected in 2011, which will be driven by increasing consumer demand, the on-going implementation of North Carolina’s energy policies, and additional venture capital infusions.
The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) today released the 2010 North Carolina Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census, which estimates12,500 green energy jobs exist across the state and verifies firms maintain a presence in all 100 counties of North Carolina. NCSEA, which is the only organization in the nation that conducts an annual statewide survey of sustainable energy firms, uses the survey to examine timely policy questions impacting the growth of renewable energy and energy efficiency firms.
Click here to download the full report.
The annual census conducted by NCSEA identifies and surveys firms conducting renewable energy and energy efficiency activities in North Carolina. To participate in the research, firms must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Allocate at least 50% of staff time to work related to renewable energy and energy efficiency;
- Generate at least 50% of revenue from work related to renewable energy or energy efficiency; or
- Generate at least $25,000 in economic gain (revenue, avoided costs, etc.) from work directly related to renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Earlier this summer, NCSEA identified and surveyed 1,161 firms potentially meeting these criteria. The firms largely represented businesses, but several state agencies, educational institutions and non-profits were also included. A total of 546 firms met the qualifications and responded to the Census’ 24 questions. Another 292 firms indicated they did not meet the qualifying criteria or did not wish to participate in the 2010 Census.
The 2010 report estimates that the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries employ 12,500 full-time equivalent employees across a broad supply chain in North Carolina, which is a 22% increase from 10,250 jobs estimated in 2009. (The current statewide jobs figure is extrapolated from data collected from 540 firms or 47% of the number of firms identified by NCSEA for the 2010 Census.) Furthermore, the participating firms anticipate an additional 20% growth in employment over the next 12 months.
“Despite our state’s record-breaking unemployment rate and deep economic recession, North Carolina’s green energy industries continue to grow and add new jobs and economic opportunities,” said Paul Quinlan, NCSEA’s Deputy Director who spearheads the annual jobs report. “North Carolina is distinctly positioned as a renewable energy and energy efficiency leader in the Southeast, but maintaining this leadership role – and becoming a national leader – will require additional policy and market advancements; otherwise, we’ll be left behind as other states step up and take the lead.”
Employment growth is reported in each primary business type (ex. R&D, manufacturing, etc.) categorized by NCSEA. Manufacturing accounts for nearly one-third of the renewable energy and energy efficiency jobs in North Carolina and remains the largest source of employment for the third consecutive year. Additionally, manufacturing continues to maintain the largest average number of jobs per firm – providing on average over 25 jobs per firm. Within manufacturing, the largest number of firms focus on energy efficiency or building sciences followed by solar energy.
“North Carolina’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industries support a diverse spectrum of workers,” said Quinlan. “Manufacturers in our state are a major source of employment, and with the right incentives and state policies – like the recently-passed renewable energy manufacturing tax credit – current manufacturing facilities can re-tool, transition, and grow into the sustainable energy industries. This retooling could create even more green jobs, but more importantly, on-going manufacturing layoffs could be prevented in the future.”
As noted in previous years, firms in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries remain comparatively young and small – six out of ten firms support five or less full-time equivalent employees in North Carolina. Nevertheless, NCSEA estimates the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries conservatively generate more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue from North Carolina activities.
NCSEA’s annual jobs report features several maps and statistics that rank our state’s counties, economic development partnership regions and Council of Government regions by presence and primary business locations. NCSEA defines a “presence” as the existence of a primary business location or headquarters, satellite office, manufacturing facility, or remotely located employees. A primary business location would be considered a firm’s North Carolina headquarters. Wake County continues to lead the state’s green energy economy with the presence of 128 responding firms. Mecklenburg County ranks second with the presence of 94 responding firms, and Buncombe County ranks third with the presence of 56 responding firms. In terms of regions, the leaders are the Research Triangle Region, which supports the primary business location of 38% of the responding firms, and the Triangle J Council of Government Region, which supports the primary business location of 36% of the responding firms.
The renewable energy and energy efficiency industries are largely dependent on North Carolina and U.S. markets. Over two-thirds of firms report North Carolina as the final destination for the majority of their products and services. This trend highlights the importance of the North Carolina marketplace for the collective success and growth of these firms. However, the dependence on the North Carolina marketplace varies considerably across both primary business types and primary business focuses. Within primary business types, manufacturing and research and development (R&D) firms display the greatest global reach. These firms, coupled with renewable energy retailers and distributors, maintain the greatest footprint in the U.S. market. Across primary business focuses, smart grid and energy storage firms are most likely to deliver products and services to the international markets, while wind energy firms largely contribute to national markets.
“The policies enacted by North Carolina decision makers have created a more robust market for renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services and laid a strong foundation for our green energy economy; however, our state must do a lot more in order to compete with and lead other states and nations around the globe,” concluded Quinlan. “However, with federal energy legislation stalled in Washington and many other states aggressively competing for green jobs, sustained employment growth in North Carolina’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industries will be dependent on a holistic and coordinated approach to public policy and market development.” Roughly three-quarters of responding firms consider access to finance and North Carolina’s state regulatory structure as “very important” or “important” to their business.
NCSEA conducts the North Carolina Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census annually in order to track the expansion of these fast growing industries.
Additional Background Information:
Click here to download the 2010 NC Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Industries Census.
Click here to download NCSEA's powerpoint presentation on the 2010 NC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census.
Click here to download a printable version of the 2010 NC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census press release.
Click here to learn more about the 2009 NC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census.
Click here to learn more about the 2008 NC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census.
Click here to view power point presentation of images withing the 2010 NC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries Census.
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This post is part of the series NC Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Industries Census
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