Solar jobs on the rise

Workers in solar and other clean energy fields not only have high-quality, high-paying jobs, but are helping move the U.S. closer to carbon neutrality, thus cutting greenhouse emissions. According to the 14^th Annual National Solar Jobs Census released by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, solar jobs are plentiful. The Census found that the solar industry added 15,564 jobs in 2023 or a growth of 6%, amounting to 280,000 workers in the field.

“This year’s Solar Jobs Census found a record number of Americans working in solar energy and battery storage,” said Larry Sherwood, IREC president and CEO. “Federal policies like the Inflation Reduction Act are helping drive a historic level of clean energy deployment and job creation. We can help ensure future job growth with supportive policies at the federal and state level, along with an industry-wide commitment to a skilled and diverse workforce.”

The utility-scale solar offers the most job opportunities and also saw the greatest growth. While jobs in the sector declined between 2021 and 2022, jobs in utility scale jumped 6.8% in 2023 or 1,888 jobs for a total of 29,708 jobs. The increase was the result of the surge in installations, which amounted to 30.2 GW added, the highest growth ever recorded, according to IREC.

The residential market grew 6.3% with 6,000 jobs added for a total of 100,000 jobs in 2023. This, however, is a slowdown from 2022 when residential jobs grew by 11%. The slowdown is indicative of the challenges that the residential sector faced in 2023 and continuing into 2024 including high interest rates and changing net metering policies.

The commercial solar segment continued to experience a job decline, dropping 4.3% or 1,389 jobs for a total of 30,696 jobs in 2023. Between 2021 and 2022 jobs in this sector dropped 7%. While the commercial solar sector is growing at a record pace, IREC said labor productivity may have increased along with an increase in average system size. In addition, IREC noted that some projects may have been completed in earlier years but held up in interconnection queues.

Community solar jobs were flat in 2023, with an increase of 4.8%, or 809 workers, for a total of 17,594. While the growth in community solar was only 10% in 2023, analysts expect it to grow 5% annually through 2026, with a potential additional boost from the Solar for All program.

With installations expected to level off in 2024 due to a variety of factors IREC expects solar jobs to be “roughly level” in 2023.

Installation and project development jobs represent two-thirds of those in the industry. To keep pace with growth in the U.S., the solar industry is growing its manufacturing workforce as well as operations and maintenance (O&M) and trade and distribution.

Since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022 and the new production tax credit and domestic content bonuses, solar manufacturing in the U.S. is taking off with solar module production growing from from 8.5 GW to 15.5 GW in 2023. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimated that with new facilities going online, solar manufacturing jobs could reach 115,000 by 2030.

O&M workers are trained in repairing and maintaining solar installations. These jobs grew 28% (4,782 jobs), compared to 2022, for a total of 21,368 jobs. This reflects the need to maintain and repair a growing fleet of solar installations.

On the wholesale and distribution side, workers perform logistics, warehousing and related tasks. These jobs grew 8.8% (2,687) for a total of 33,305 jobs.

Location

The highest number of solar jobs are found in the states with the greatest number of solar installations: Florida (15%), Texas (10%), Arizona (17%) and Nevada (14%). California, which used to be the top of the list of all things solar, saw job growth of 2.5%.

An interactive map of solar jobs by state, with links to state-specific fact sheets, is available here.

Union workers

The number of union workers in solar is nearly double the percentage of union workers in the private sector and also higher than the total U.S. workforce. IREC estimates that in 2023 the percentage of union workers in the solar industry was 13.4%, a 3 percentage point increase from 2022.

“Our ability to grow the U.S. solar and storage industry depends entirely on our ability to grow our workforce,” SEIA. “The solar industry continues to outpace the rest of the economy when it comes to employing Gen Z, veteran, and union workers, but only a quarter of the surveyed firms have a strategy in place to hire more women and people of color. As demand for clean energy continues to grow, the industry must invest in workforce development strategies that support equitable growth and create new economic pathways for all Americans.”

Training and pay

According to the IREC Census, solar deployment will experience about 3% growth through 2029, “buoyed by favorable economics and supportive policies like the IRA.” One of the challenges faced by the industry is the availability of skilled labor. The IRA includes prevailing wage requirements and incentives for apprenticeship programs, ensuring that new workers are trained well and paid a competitive wage.

The Solar Jobs Census is based on a survey conducted by BW Research Partnership for the U.S. Department of Energy’s United States Energy and Employment Report 2024.

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