Clean-tech companies in the Sacramento region now employ more workers than the local agricultural sector, underscoring the importance of the fledgling industry's role to the area's economy.
In a report released today, the Green Capital Alliance, which promotes local green industry, said Sacramento has led the state in clean-tech job growth during the past 13 years and now employs more than 13,000 workers.
By contrast, local farms and other agricultural companies employ about 12,800 people in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, according to the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO).
"I think we have made a lot of progress , but there's a lot to come," said Meg Arnold, CEO of the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance.
The study, "Advancing the Clean Energy Economy in California's Capital Region," offers a five-year progress report on efforts to transition the Sacramento Valley toward a green economy.
It cites a 2009 report by Next 10, a San Francisco nonprofit group that supports green technology, that showed Sacramento was the fastest- growing sector in California with an 87 percent increase in green jobs between 1995 and 2008.
The expansion comes as the other economic stalwarts in the Sacramento area – construction and manufacturing – have lost thousands of jobs in recent years.
To read the complete article, visit www.sacbee.com.
Comments