President Biden Created Clean Energy Jobs: Boosting Biden Day 77

Joe Biden sees protecting the planet, creating jobs, and eliminating inequality as all part of the same puzzle. Much of what he does helps push all three of those forward.

A great example is clean energy jobs — which have been booming under the Biden administration. This is from a White House report late last year: 

Bidenomics in Action: Clean Energy Jobs and Investments Taking Hold Across America

Between January 2021 and March 2023, the economy added 21,000 jobs in power generation and supply, reaching its highest level in more than a decade following a prolonged decline in employment in the industry.  Notably, more than half of these job gains occurred between August 2022 (when the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act were signed into law) and March 2023.

These job gains were driven by increased employment in electricity transmission and distribution and increased clean electric power generation. Between January 2021 and March 2023, the economy added 11,000 jobs in electric power transmission and distribution, 8,000 jobs in solar power generation, 2,000 jobs in wind power, and 1,000 jobs in hydroelectric power. 

The 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) found three main encouraging developments in its study of the growth in clean energy jobs (emphasis added).

First, when looking beyond power generation at the full range of clean energy jobs, the Department of Energy found that clean energy job growth outpaced job growth in the energy sector overall. Notably, clean energy employment increased in all 50 States and the District of Columbia in 2022. 

Second, while women have long been underrepresented in the energy sector, 2022 saw progress as women accounted for over half of net energy jobs added, experiencing a 7.8 percent gain in employment over the year.

Finally, the USEER data shows that energy sector employers are seeing the benefits of strong unions. Energy employers with unionized workforces reported substantially less difficulty hiring workers than non-unionized employers. According to the report, this may be in part because they invest in registered apprenticeship programs, which ensure a continuous pipeline of skilled and trained workers. Additionally, unionized workforces were more likely to have policies about recruiting from communities of color or women.

So, this growth in clean energy and clean jobs is happening in tandem with stronger roles for unions and more opportunities for minorities and women. Joe Biden recognizes that a cleaner future can also be a fairer future.

A new analysis commissioned by the BlueGreen Alliance from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds that the more than 100 climate, energy, and environmental investments in the Inflation Reduction Act will create more than 9 million good jobs over the next decade—an average of nearly 1 million jobs each year. 

That includes more than 6 million jobs created over the next 10 years by grants, loans, and tax credits and nearly 3 million jobs stimulated by new loan guarantee authority for the U.S. Department of Energy. The bill’s broad investments will also help sustain the millions of existing jobs in the clean economy. 

The Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investments to accelerate clean energy deployment not only will help achieve our climate goals, but also will create nearly 5 million jobs over the next decade. That includes:

• Clean energy tax credits: More than 1.7 million jobs from tax credits that will dramatically expand access to solar, wind, and other clean energy sources;
• Grid modernization: Nearly 40,000 jobs from loans and grants to make our electricity transmission infrastructure more resilient, reliable, efficient, and accessible; and
• Rural electric coops: More than 90,000 jobs from loans for rural electric cooperatives to support clean energy and economic development in rural communities.

Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.

What can you do to help?

Donate to re-elect Joe Biden!

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This is an entry in my ongoing series Boosting Biden.  

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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, and supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW
as well as several other notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.