Traverse City Light & Power’s board has voted to include a community-wide 100 percent clean energy goal in its strategic plan. Through that goal, the utility plans to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2040. The ARA Jobs Tour hosted a roundtable discussion on the job creation and other economic benefits of that goal at Traverse City Light & Power’s headquarters.
The panel featured local clean energy businesses, city officials, and utility representatives to discuss the future and economic potential of clean energy in the area and throughout the state.
On Sept. 21, 2017, Michigan business leaders highlighted a new clean jobs report demonstrating the state is home to 92,000 clean energy jobs, with more than 6,500 clean energy jobs in Kent County. The analysis – available at http://www.cleanjobsmidwest.com/state/michigan – shows jobs in the solar and wind energy industries grew by more than 14 percent from 2015-2016, with more than 5,600 solar jobs and 4,600 wind energy jobs in place throughout Michigan. The analysis is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a comprehensive survey of thousands of businesses across the region.