By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – A new report shows green energy jobs grew in Nebraska over a nine-year period when the state saw overall job growth decline.
The report comes from the Pew Charitable Trust. It found that from 1998 to 2007, green energy jobs grew 108 percent in Nebraska. At the same time, overall job growth declined 4.9 percent. Nebraska was one of only seven states that experienced growth in green industry jobs and a decline in overall jobs.
Phyllis Cuttino is Director of Pew's Global Warming Campaign. She says the growth of green jobs is due in part to consumer demand for environmentally friendly products. According to Pew's report, the majority of Nebraska's clean energy jobs are in repurposing waste, energy conservation, and environmentally friendly production.
In 2007, Nebraska reported 5,300 jobs in clean energy. Cuttino says there's potential for explosive growth in that industry.