Despite the global pandemic and its economic fallout, British Columbia’s top alternative energy companies appear to have survived unscathed growing at their fastest rate over the past five years, according to data collected on Business in Vancouver’s Biggest Alternative Energy Companies in B.C. list.
Their average number of employees increased 8.76% over the past year to 130.4 in 2021 from 119.9 in 2020.
The growth in the median number of employees at the top companies jumped 67.6% to 94.7 in 2021 from 56.5 in 2020. This suggests that smaller companies lower on the list grew faster their larger counterparts higher on the list.
No. 9 Corvus Energy boasted the largest growth on the list. It doubled its employee base.
In 2021, the company’s number of employees increased 104.5% to 90 from 44 in 2020.
Ballard Power (TSX:BLDP), ranked No. 1 on BIV’s list, continued to add to its employment numbers with a 28.3% increase to 725 employees in 2021 from 565 in 2020.
Meanwhile the number of staff at No. 2-ranked Schneider Electric Canada dropped 40% in 2020 to 450 from 750 in 2019.
Schneider Electric’s large decline coupled with Ballard’s continuous growth allowed Ballard to overtake Schneider as the province’s largest alternative energy company in 2020. •
