Jigar Shah, President of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE), made the following statement upon the release of the National Solar Jobs Census 2013 from The Solar Foundation:

"The Solar Foundation's new Solar Jobs Census confirms that the United States has found its specialized job-creating role in the global solar market, as 98% of new US solar jobs are in installation, sales & distribution, and project development. These jobs are inextricably tied to the accessibility of affordable solar panels which allow the industry to compete with the price of fossil fuels and local utility electricity rates."

"German manufacturer Solar World's anti-trade petition puts this progress at risk. Domestic solar manufacturing contributed barely 100 out of solar's 20,000 new jobs this year, as the domestic industry's main growth sectors leverage affordable hardware from abroad to deploy record amounts of solar electricity at home. CASE urges the Department of Commerce and the Obama Administration to not miss the forest for the trees, and not risk the once-in-a-generation birth of a mature industry for the misguided benefit of one German company and its dwindling number of employees."

Link to the National Solar Jobs Census 2013 from The Solar Foundation: http://thesolarfoundation.org/research/national-solar-jobs-census-2013

Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy
Ed Rothschild, 202-468-4459
rothschild@podesta.com