Susan Brown was the first employee at The Energy Savings Store in Missouri four years ago. And that was before there was a store.

“Now, we actually have health care,” she said with more than just a hint of excitement in her voice. “Can you believe that? We even have a retirement plan.”

The company has 14 fulltime employees now, Brown said.

“And we’re always looking for good people,” she said.

The Energy Savings Store has grown consistently over the last four years, adding employees when everyone else was laying them off.

The Energy Savings Store is just one among hundreds of businesses in the solar industry that are adding staff during these tough economic times.

Employers and industry analysts credit government stimulus money and new clean energy credits and tax rebates for the growth, but believe that the increased awareness, trendiness and passion for solar and renewable energy will sustain the industry’s development.

The Solar Foundation released a report at Solar Power International in Los Angeles last week that revealed there are currently about 100,000 people employed in the solar industry.

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Pictured: Shane Paulsen and Jesse Flaschbart of The Energy Savings Store are laying out SunPower Powerguard panels for at 16.5 kW grid-tied solar photovoltaic array for Commerce Bank in Kansas City, Mo. Image courtesy of The Energy Savings Store.