We’ve long maintained that clean energy and efficiency are good for the economy. More proof: a new report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows that the clean energy and efficiency industries put people to work between 2009 and 2011. In fact, over 30 percent of all available positions were in energy efficiency, and another 11 percent were related to renewable energy. Most of these jobs were in companies with nine or fewer employees, and for the most part, they paid more than average. That’s good news for Minnesota families.

Boosting the nation’s energy efficiency and using more renewable energy creates many advantages. In Minnesota, these fields provide local jobs and economic development across the state—especially in areas that really need it. Using more local, homegrown energy also means sending less money to other states and countries for nonrenewable resources like coal and oil, which we don’t have in Minnesota. Reducing the $20 billion we send to other states every year to pay for energy will create stronger local economies and provide jobs and financial resources for even more economic development.

Photo: Nick Wolcott/Bozeman Daily Chronicle

We’ve long maintained that clean energy and efficiency are good for the economy. Now there's even more proof.