Shortly after the Bureau of Labor statistics reported that unemployment in the U.S. had reached 10.2 percent, President Obama gathered 135 of the nation’s top leaders in business, government labor, non-profits, and academia to bring new ideas, fresh perspectives, and specific recommendations to the table. Invited was our very own Lynn Jurich, president and co-founder of SunRun! Lynn iterated the importance of local renewable energy production, such as residential solar, in creating green jobs. Solar creates electricity and jobs where they are needed most: close to home.
The potential for residential solar to create jobs is astounding. Rather than relying on machines like the coal industry does, solar relies on labor. The numbers speak for themselves. Currently, there are around 4,000 residential solar jobs in the U.S. By 2010, this number will nearly reach 7,000. By 2012, there will be over 20,000 jobs in the home solar industry! These include installation crews, salespeople, and corporate & administration positions. SunRun’s partners were able to grow their business between 50-70% in 2009, with our new partners ramping up jobs by as much as 100%! For every six solar installations, a green job is created. In just four months, SunRun contracted for 400 systems and created 40 new green jobs in Los Angeles.
While high upfront costs are the biggest obstacle to going solar, especially in this economy, SunRun overcomes this with its financing system. There’s no cost to switch to clean energy. Soon, your meter will start spinning backwards as the green economy moves forward.
Thomas Jefferson had said that “action will delineate and define you.” Let our actions delineate and define our nation — clean, smart, and sustainable.
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