Huge numbers of people believe the solar industry is imploding in the USA. I myself have talked to a fair number with that misimpression that comes from headlines about bankruptcies of solar panel manufacturers and partisan political attacks. But the reality of the US solar industry is far removed from the implosion picture painted by some.
While jobs grew in the economy 2.3% over the last 12 months, solar employment jumped 13% over the last 12 months. Solar industry employment increased from about 105,000 to 119,000, according to the solar jobs census taken by the Solar Foundation. www.thesolarfoundation.org/research/national-solar-jobs-census-2012. The rate of job growth in the solar industry is approximately 5 times faster than economy-wide job growth. And the economy has been adding 170,000 jobs per month over the last 3 months.
In the US, solar continues to boom, with strong job growth and installed capacity doubling this year to approximately 7,000 megawatts. And solar's forecast for the future is sunny. More growth in both jobs and capacity is probable for 2013.
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