The Midwestern U.S. has more clean energy – and clean energy jobs – than you might think. In fact, the region now leads the country in clean energy job growth.
And with good reason, according to a Fast Company article, calling for the U.S. to, “build new renewable energy in the upper Midwest first.” The article bases this rallying cry on a new Harvard study, which found that the location of a renewable energy project, like a wind farm or solar farm, greatly affects its potential impact to offset emissions in that region. The Midwest was the top benefactor for renewables, according to the study’s lead author, Jonathan Buonocore, who wrote that, “installing wind turbines in the upper Midwest will offer both the greatest cost and public health benefits compared to locations anywhere else in the country. As for solar panels, they’re best set in the Great Lakes/mid-Atlantic region.”
According to the Department of Labor Employment Statistics, the region’s clean energy economy now employs more than all the waiters and waitresses, computer programmers, lawyers, and web developers in the Midwest combined. In fact, the 4 percent growth rate of clean energy jobs in the Midwest exceeds the sector’s national growth rate, of 3.6 percent. The clean energy sector added more than 28,000 jobs to the Midwest in 2018 alone, according to Clean Jobs Midwest, and now employs over 737,000 people in total.
At Redaptive, we’re happy to be a part of this changing narrative of a greener Midwest and we’re proud of the many clean energy jobs we’ve helped to generate in the region. We work with clients across the plains of the Midwest, helping them upgrade commercial buildings in the region with major energy efficiency improvements. In fact, Redaptive already has worked on 408 sites (and growing) in the region, from Kansas to Ohio, where we support large-scale manufacturing and retail operations for clients like AT&T, McKesson, and Iron Mountain. In Illinois alone we’ve completed 129 projects, employing local workers to help businesses increase energy efficiency and in turn save on their energy bills.
Virtually anyone, regardless of their political stripes, can agree that a growing job sector in clean energy that saves money for companies while helping to combat climate change makes good business sense. That’s why Redaptive is proud to unlock savings by upgrading lighting, HVAC systems, RTUs, and more for our clients, not only saving them millions of dollars on their energy bills as a result, but also creating jobs in the process.
We are excited to see these gains in the Midwest and look forward to energy efficiency jobs continuing to grow across the country.