The renewable energy sector is the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). More than two million people work in clean energy nationwide, and approximately half of those jobs are located in rural areas with scarce job opportunities for younger workers who might want to start their careers in a rural community. While some doubt that these jobs can be filled by Americans without college degrees or technical training—and I understand why there’s concern about this—what’s clear is that these new technologies and policies are providing good-paying opportunities across America for people looking for work in this growing field!
Renewable energy is a growing field and provides opportunities for job seekers.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, more than two million people work in clean energy nationwide, including solar installers and wind turbine technicians. The solar industry alone employs more than 250,000 Americans–more than coal mining or natural gas extraction–and generated $23 billion in sales last year alone.
The renewable energy sector is the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. economy.
In 2016, renewable energy was the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. economy. The solar and wind industries alone added 51,000 jobs in 2016–a 13% increase over 2015’s figures and an annual growth rate of 10%. This trend is expected to continue into 2017 as well as 2018, according to a report from The Solar Foundation.
In addition to being one of the fastest-growing sectors for employment opportunities, renewable energy sources are also among those with some of highest salaries available today: wind techs earn between $50K-$80K annually; solar installers make about $55K annually; geothermal technicians make about $60K annually; hydroelectric plant operators can make up to $80K annually!
More than two million people work in clean energy nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently released a report that shows more than two million people work in clean energy nationwide. The DOE defines “clean energy” as electricity generated from renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass; or zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
The study found that:
- The number of jobs created by renewable energy increased by 36 percent between 2014 and 2016 to 1,375,350 jobs across all 50 states plus Washington D.C.;
- Solar power accounts for just under half of those jobs with 664,807 workers employed in the industry;
- Wind power employs another 106,735 workers across all 50 states plus Washington D.C.;
- Geothermal employs 27,000 people nationwide while hydropower only has around 1% market share yet still supports over 21k jobs overall
In 2018 alone, solar PV accounted for 41 percent of all new electric generating capacity brought on-line in America. That’s enough power to serve about 10 million homes!
The solar industry has been growing rapidly over the past decade, and it continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy. In fact, according to The Solar Foundation’s annual survey released this year, there are more Americans working in solar now than at any time since 2010 (when we had double today’s number).
Wind power is now the largest source of renewable power in America.
The wind industry is a major employer, with more than 100,000 workers who have helped to generate over $100 billion in economic activity across all 50 states.
In fact, wind energy has become so widespread that it has even surpassed hydroelectricity as our country’s largest source of renewable energy!
In 2018, wind power generated more electricity than any other form of renewable energy, including hydropower, solar and biomass (wood waste).
Wind power is now the largest source of renewable electricity in America, generating more than 2 billion megawatt hours (MWh) in 2018. It’s also the fastest growing energy source in the world and has the potential to meet 20% of global electricity demand by 2030. Wind power has outpaced all other forms of renewable energy since 2007, according to data from BP’s Statistical Review published by Reuters on May 22nd 2019.
The sharp rise in wind power generation can be attributed to advances in technology that make wind turbines lighter and more efficient at capturing wind energy as well as government policies that encourage investment in this type of clean energy source instead of coal or natural gas plants which pollute our air quality while contributing significantly toward climate change through carbon dioxide emissions into our atmosphere
With these new technologies and policies in place, the renewable energy sector continues to grow while providing jobs across America.
Renewable energy is a growing field that provides opportunities for job seekers. The U.S. solar industry alone employed more than 250,000 people in 2018 and added 1,000 new jobs per week during the first quarter of 2019, according to an analysis by The Solar Foundation.
The renewable energy sector is also one of the fastest-growing segments of America’s economy overall; according to a recent report by McKinsey & Company, more than two million Americans work in clean energy nationwide–a number set to rise as we continue our transition away from fossil fuels toward cleaner sources like wind or solar power (or both).
Final Thoughts
With these new technologies and policies in place, the renewable energy sector continues to grow while providing jobs across America.