Clean Energy Pioneers
"From wind farms in Montana to solar arrays in Arizona to geothermal heat plants in Nevada, the West is pioneering clean energy solutions and creating expansive job opportunities. In the 10 years between 1998 and 2007, job growth in the clean energy field rose by more than 30 percent in the West, creating economic opportunity in both urban and rural communities."
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer
in his introduction of the CEP report to the Western Governor's Association
As federal policy on clean energy and climate change regulation is being debated in Washington, another part of the story of this nation's drive to cleaner energy remains to be told: the story of the people who are making it happen right now on the ground. Clean Energy Pioneers is a project of Environmental Defense Fund, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union,and Western Resource Advocates to give voice to those who are advancing clean energy through their hard work and vision. These are the stories of the men, women, tribes, and institutions that are opening up the new frontier of economic opportunity that clean energy will provide for this nation.
The wind and the sun are forces that have shaped the very character of the West. Combined with the bounty of geothermal energy, these renewable energy resources have the power to shape the West's future as well. Clean energy can:
- Keep western skies clear by limiting pollution from fossil-fueled electrical generation.
- Preserve western landscapes by reducing the need for vast coal strip mines and intensive gas drilling.
- Protect western water supplies by greatly reducing the amount of water required to produce electricity.
- Create new economic opportunities in the rural West,a region that has been losing its young people because of the lack of new jobs.
- Provide family farms with other means of income, allowing families to stay on their land and continue with their agricultural heritage.
Read the stories of these inspiring entrepreneurs:
- Solar energy in Arizona
- Colorado farmers harvest the wind
- Idaho gets a geothermal economic boost
- Montana harnesses its powerful wind
- Geothermal sparks a new goldrush in Nevada
- New Mexico's economic tailwind
- Clean energy powers Utah neighborhoods
- Energy-rich Wyoming develops its cleaner energy
- Renewables bring heat, jobs to tribal lands
- Non-profits provide green jobs, hope to low-income families
- Community colleges educating the next generation of clean energy pioneers
Download the full report here - 4.23MB, pdf file
Visit the Clean Energy Pioneers website