McAuliffe praises solar job grow in Virginia

A new study has found Virginia's solar job market grew 65 percent in 2016.

Nationwide,

, and that meant growth for businesses right here in the Shenandoah Valley,

.

The Solar Foundation's report said Virginia is tied for ninth in country for fastest solar job growth last year and there were more than 3,200 solar jobs in the state last year.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe praised the report's finding, saying it was a testament to his administration's focus on solar energy.

"It is clear that Virginia is moving in the right direction, but there is still work to do," said Gov. Terry McAuliffe. "I will continue to work with our public and private sector stakeholders to implement policies that will continue to bolster not only our solar industry, but the entire clean energy sector in the Commonwealth.”

Much of the growth in solar energy in Virginia has been driven by large tech companies that are trying to be carbon neutral in their energy usage.