2013 was a record-shattering year, with the solar industry creating more than 10 new jobs every hour of every work day throughout the year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With today's release of The Solar Foundation's National Solar Jobs Census, Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), issued the following statement:

"When it comes to the U.S. economy, solar is continuing to create tens of thousands of new jobs across the country. The Solar Foundation's latest national jobs census confirms that 2013 was a record-shattering year, with the solar industry creating more than 10 new jobs every hour of every work day throughout the year.

"Added together, solar's final box score for 2013 is impressive by any measurement: Nearly 143,000 American jobs; 400,000 installed solar systems nationwide; an estimated 13,000 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity, generating enough clean, reliable and affordable electricity to power more than 2 million homes; and ten of billions of dollars pumped into the U.S. economy. That's a remarkable return on investment for the smart public policies, including the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), 1603 Treasury Program and Net Energy Metering (NEM), that are helping to drive our country's deployment of solar across the United States, making solar the fastest-growing source of renewable energy nationwide.

"It's also a big reason why America supports solar – with 9 out of 10 voters wanting to see more solar development nationwide, according to a Hart Research poll. And here's the best news of all – 2014 may be even better. SEIA congratulates the thousands of American companies that are continuing to make solar energy one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S., and the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are choosing to #gosolar."