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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, June 9, 2010
Policy Tracker
Stimulus aids 17,000 new solar jobs; More high-tech firms launched than in high-tech boom
By Kent Hoover, ACBJ Wire Service
Homeland Security Sec. Napolitano speaks with universities
UMass Boston launches Entrepreneurship Center
MHT's Julie Donnelly: Colleges see uptick in interdisciplinary programs
Stimulus helps solar industry add 17,000 jobs
Despite a weak economy, U.S. solar power companies increased their revenue by 36 percent last year and added 17,000 jobs.
A major reason for these gains were grants and tax breaks included in the economic stimulus bill, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Extending this government assistance could produce another 200,000 jobs in the solar industry and supporting businesses, according to a study conducted for the association.
The stimulus breaks for the solar industry got off to a slow start, SEIA said, but by February 2010, more than 46 megawatts of solar capacity had been deployed with the help of cash grants that the Treasury Department offered in lieu of a commercial tax credit. As of February, 182 solar projects had received Treasury grants totaling $81 million. This stimulus-funded program, which significantly lowers transaction costs for solar projects, is scheduled to end in December.
More firms launched than in high-tech boom
There is a bright side to recessions: More businesses were created last year than were created during the high-tech boom of 1999 and 2000, according to a new study by the Kauffman Foundation.
In fact, the rate of entrepreneurial activity among Americans in 2009 hit its highest point in the 14 years of data analyzed by Kauffman.
That should be good news for economic growth this year, “because entrepreneurs drive the economy,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the foundation, a Kansas City-based organization that studies and promotes entrepreneurship.
“Challenging economic times can serve as a motivational boost to individuals who have been laid off to become their own employers and future job creators,” he said.
Entrepreneurship was highest in the 35 to 44 and 55 to 60 age brackets. Men were more likely than women to start businesses. Latinos were the most likely ethnic group to be engaged in entrepreneurial activity, although their rate fell slightly in 2009. The entrepreneurial activity rate among African-Americans rose last year to 0.27 percent, the highest level in 14 years.
Geographically, the West remained the leader in entrepreneurial activity, despite a sharp decline last year.
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