One in every 17 Vermont workers is employed in the clean energy sector, according to a new report commissioned by the state to track the economic impact of Vermont's renewable energy efforts.
Gov. Peter Shumlin said the report highlights that the state's renewable energy goals are helping the economy and the environment at the same time.
Shumlin said the study "indicates that we've added another 1,400 clean energy jobs in the last year, bringing the total number of Vermonters employed in the clean energy sector to 17,715 Vermonters."
The report shows the number of jobs in the clean energy industry went up 9 percent between 2015 and 2016.
Shumlin used the opportunity to challenge politicians who are calling for a temporary halt to renewable energy development.
"Whose job are you proposing to eliminate when you propose a moratorium?" Shumlin asked, rhetorically, before a group of renewable energy workers assembled at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation in Burlington.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lisman has called for a two-year moratorium on the development of industrial-scale renewable energy generation projects.
