E2: Nearly 850 advanced biofuel jobs announced during Q3

Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) recently released its third quarter clean energy jobs report, reporting that more than 18,000 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced in 23 states during the quarter. This includes approximately 850 jobs in the advanced biofuel sector, which is the second-highest quarterly performance for the sector since E2 began tracking jobs in 2011.

Overall, the report indicates 18,035 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced during the third quarter, an increase when compared to both the same quarter of last year and the second quarter of this year. Under the category of renewable energy, 849 biofuel jobs were announced during the quarter, along with 45 biomass generation jobs. An additional 4,602 jobs were announced in the solar generation sector, with 598 jobs in the wind generation sector. Under the category of manufacturing, 6,000 jobs were announced for electric and hybrid vehicles, along with 222 for energy storage and fuel cells, 2,350 for solar and 1,320 for wind. E2 also reported 243 jobs for recycling, six jobs for building efficiency and 1,800 jobs categorized as “other.”

According to E2, the top nine states for clean energy job announcements were Nevada, New York, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Connecticut, Louisiana and Texas. Illinois and Maryland tied for 10^th.

Regarding biofuel jobs, the report notes that the single largest announcement came from Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels, which is building a 10 MMgy biorefinery in McCarran, Nevada. The project is expected to create 450 construction jobs and 50 full-time jobs by 2016. Development of the plant is supported by U.S. Department of Defense grants intended to scale-up production of alternative sources of jet fuel. Over the long term, these investments are expected to help shield the DOD and taxpayers from costly swings in the price of oil.

Within the report, E2 also announced the launch of a new web page dedicated to clean energy on military bases. The site, http://cleanenergyworksforus.org/military, currently showcases approximately 40 clean energy and energy efficiency projects located on military installations. The projects include several related to bioenergy, including a 1.9 MW landfill gas project tin Georgia, a CleanB sludge treatment plant in Florida, and ReEnergy Holdings LLC’s 60MW biomass power plant at Fort Drum in New York.

A full copy of the report is available on the E2 website.