Page 9 - Green Builder Magazine Spring 2018 Awards Issue

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Green Building NEWS

The Latest on Sustainability and Renewable Energy
Massachusetts is

nation’s LEEDer again

The Bay State is tops in U.S. for number
of certifications in 2017.
OR A SECOND YEAR,
Massachusetts was
the state where more
buildings became
F Leadership in En- CREDIT: THE SOLAR FOUNDATION
ergy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certied. In
2017, 130 projects totaling
4.5 square feet per resident A new Sun Belt. According to new data from The Solar Foundation, solar
and 29 million square feet jobs are most robust in New England —particularly Massachusetts—plus
overall earned a thumbs-up the Southwest and California.
for environmentally sound CREDIT: NEIL SNYDER‚U.S. ARMY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMAND
construction from the U.S. Solar industry’s job
Green Building Council
(USGBC), according to the growth triples since 2010
council’s latest annual rank-
ing of Top 10 States for LEED. New interactive data shows changes in workforce
The Bay State also ranked Certified green. Led by
No. 1 in UCGBC’s survey for Massachusetts, the top 10 and types of employment available nationwide.
2016. states for projects built to N INTERACTIVE MAP AVAILABLE ON The Solar
New York finished sec- LEED’s strict standards totaled Foundation’s website (www.solarstates.org) offers
ond, with 3.39 square feet 1,399 certifications and nearly insight on the number of solar jobs by state, metropolitan
of certied space per capita 315 million square feet in 2017. area, county and congressional district, and who makes
from 192 projects, totaling 65.75 million square feet. Illinois A up the solar industry.
was third, with 3.38 square feet of certied space per capita According to the data, 250,271 people had a solar-related job in
from 135 projects, totaling 43.36 million square feet. 2017, down 4 percent from 2016 but up almost 200 percent from
LEED’s top 10 is predominantly East Coast, with Hawaii 2010. Jobs included manufacturing, project development, sales and
(fourth, 3.32 square feet of certified space per capita, 16 installation. California was easily the biggest player, with more than
projects, 4.52 million square feet), California (eighth, 2.4 square 86,000 people working in the solar industry—roughly 1 in every
feet of certied space per capita, 475 projects, 89.26 million 458 employees statewide. Vermont, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii and
square feet) and Colorado (10th, 2.27 square feet of certied Washington, D.C., were other leaders.
space per capita, 76 projects, 11.4 million square feet) as the In terms of job growth by percentage, Delaware and Minnesota
only states west of the Mississippi. led the way, with each posting nearly 50 percent gains in solar jobs
Maryland (fth), Minnesota (sixth), Georgia (seventh) and from 2016 to 2017.
Virginia (ninth) rounded out the list. “Our solar jobs map shows that many states and cities bucked the
Overall, the top 10 states totaled 1,399 projects and 314.73 national trend and enjoyed signicant jobs growth in 2017,” says Andrea
million square feet, or about twice the number of projects Luecke, president and executive director of The Solar Foundation. “In
throughout the U.S. (2,647), and almost two-thirds of the the future, states and localities should look to solar as a key strategy
nation’s total square footage (484.56 million). for building local economies and supporting high-quality careers.”
“These states showcase exceptional leadership,” USGBC The data also reveals the similarity between the workforce makeups
President and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam says. “By using of the solar industry and the U.S. as a whole. In both cases, veterans,
LEED, businesses, property owners and policy makers in these Latinos and Asian-Americans/Pacic Islanders are solid parts of the
states are strategically addressing some of the most critical workforce, but women and African-Americans are underrepresented.
social and environmental concerns of our time—meeting The map provides complete data on solar jobs in all 50 states. Users
carbon reduction targets, reducing waste, energy and water can toggle between 2015, 2016 and 2017 data to see the number of
consumption, and more.”
jobs year over year.
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