Although President-elect Trump has called for reinvestment in fossil fuel industries, there are those, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, who claim that the “train to a global clean energy future has already left the station.” What is the status of renewable energy employment in the United States? What are some promising jobs in the renewable energy sector?
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In its latest report on renewable energy and jobs, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that in 2015, renewable energy employed 8.1 million people, directly or indirectly, around the world (excluding large hydropower). According to the agency, this is a 5% increase from the number reported the previous year. In addition, in its first global estimate of large hydropower employment, IRENA research showed approximately 1.3 million direct jobs in the sector (IRENA (2016), Renewable Energy and Jobs—Annual Review 2016).
Although the growth in jobs slowed down from previous years, IRENA claims that the total number of jobs in renewables worldwide continued to rise.
This article will focus on the state of renewable energy employment in the United States. According to the IRENA report, driven by the growth in wind and solar, renewable energy employment in the United States increased by 6% from 2014.
Sources of Renewable Energy
Commonly accepted sources of renewable energy include:
- Wind. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), at the end of 2015, there were 88,000 wind-related jobs in the United States (up from 73,000 in 2014), across fields such as development, siting, construction, transportation, manufacturing, operations, and services. The AWEA claims that the fastest growing profession in the United States is wind turbine technician. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), wind energy could be supporting over 600,000 wind-related jobs in the United States by 2050.
- Solar. According to the latest figures by The Solar Foundation, as of late 2015, the solar industry employs almost 209,000 solar workers, representing a growth rate of 20.2% since late 2014. The Solar Foundation claims that 1 out of every 83 new jobs created in the United States in 2015 was created by the solar industry.
- Geothermal. According to a 2015 report by the Geothermal Energy Association, geothermal power plants employ about 1.7 persons per mega-watt (MW) at each operating power plant. These are permanent jobs that last the entire 30–50 year lifetime of a power plant. In addition, according to the report, geothermal plants during construction employ about 3.1 person-years per MW, and the manufacturing of the equipment requires an additional 3.3 person-years per MW.
A 50 MW geothermal plant will require 310 person-years of construction and manufacturing employment. Many new projects are under development and will likely come online within the next few years, which will significantly expand geothermal employment. According to a report by the Western Governors Association (WGA), development of near-term geothermal potential of 5,600 MW of geothermal energy would result in the creation of almost 100,000 jobs. - Biomass and biofuels. According to the IRENA report, in 2015, indirect and direct jobs related to biomass accounted for 822,000 jobs worldwide (up from 724,000 in 2014), with 152,000 in the United States. Statistics from the IRENA report show that there were 277,000 jobs in the United States in 2015 related to biofuels (1.7 million worldwide—a 6% decline from 2014). Even though ethanol production rose 3.7% to a record 56 billion liters (L) (approximately 15 billion gallons (gal)) in 2015, employment dropped by 2% (278,000) because of decreasing labor intensity. Also, according to the report, biodiesel production (4.8 billion L or 1.06 billion gal) and employment (49,500 jobs) in the United States was unchanged from 2014.
- Hydropower. According to the National Hydropower Association, the U.S. hydropower industry currently employs over 300,000 workers. In addition, a study commissioned by the Association claims that hydropower can create 1.4 million cumulative jobs and add 60,000 megawatts of affordable, domestic, renewable energy by 2025.
Tune into tomorrow’s Advisor for a look at some of the most promising jobs in the renewable energy sector in the United States.