During these precarious economic times marked by declining business revenues, widespread job losses and struggling families, we need to identify and support industries that are well-positioned for growth. The renewable energy and energy efficiency industries are generating plenty of attention, but what are their real economic impacts and prospects for job growth?

To help answer these questions, the American Solar Energy Society recently released its report, Green Collar Jobs in the U.S. and Colorado: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century. This groundbreaking study is the result of months of research and analysis in concert with a diverse team of leaders from across the region.

The study shows that by the end of 2007 more than 9 million Americans generated more than $1 trillion in annual revenue as employees directly and indirectly related to the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.

Colorado's share of that impact is $10.2 billion annually, with 91,285 jobs, and the state is now widely recognized as a national leader in the rapidly growing green economy.

The full report can be viewed online at www.ases.org/greenjobs.

Colorado should be proud of the progress being made to attract and grow its energy-efficiency and renewable-energy industries. At a time when jobs are needed most, the multibillion-dollar sectors that make up these industries - including solar energy, wind power, biofuels, and others - have proven to be economic powerhouses.

Rocky Mountain News writers Gargi Chakrabarty and Vincent Carroll have recently noted that there can be challenges when developing definitions for measuring a diverse industry. Some commentators have tried to reframe the report's conclusions, for partisan gain, without even reading the text. Let me address two likely misperceptions.

First, these are not newly created jobs in 2007, but the total number of jobs at the end of 2007, including many jobs created in 2006 and earlier. The second is a misunderstanding of what an "energy efficient" job is. The report defines energy-efficient jobs as those including people who manufacture and install energy-efficient windows, home insulation, highly efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and other related activities.

For example, a gas heater maintenance person who is working on a superefficient burner is classified in the energy-efficiency industry. She is also part of the service (repair) industry. Likewise, the hybrid car salesman is part of the energy-efficiency industry, but also part of the retail trade (auto) industry.

Much of this misperception stems from the fact that renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries are too new to have been assigned their own North American Industry Classification System code. For example, just last month I was asked to review the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship description for "Renewable Energy Technician." The government is working on these classifications because they too realize these are the new energy economy jobs. This underscores the critical nature of the definitions that our study addressed.

The main thing this study shows us is that the renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries in Colorado are large, generate billions in revenue, employ tens of thousands of workers and are well-positioned for future growth. Our study has shown that as the renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries grow, they will be responsible for greater job creation per dollar of economic activity than other industries in the Colorado economy.

Because of our efforts to explicitly define renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries, future researchers can add to the understanding of some of the fastest growing parts of our economy. Now that Colorado has a baseline understanding of how large the renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries are, it can better track and manage the effects its efforts are having on moving us to the New Energy Economy.

There is increasing competition between states to attract green jobs, especially during these tough economic times. Colorado should be commended for its leadership in the nation's green economy.

Brad Collins is the executive director of the American Solar Energy Society in Boulder.