Another new report, the National Solar Jobs Census 2022, released in July by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), shows an increase of 3.5% in solar jobs in just the past two years, with an even faster uptake in the industry expected due to the opportunities created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The census is based on a survey administered by BW Research for the U.S. Department of Energy’s United States Energy and Employment Report 2023. It defines solar workers as people who spend at least half of their work time on solar-related tasks.
The increase in solar: Report highlights
- Since 2021, solar jobs have increased by 3.5%. There are approximately 264,000 solar workers in the U.S., the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
- 2022 was a volatile year for solar, partly due to supply chain concerns, which slowed large-scale solar installations. However, residential solar jobs grew by 11%, balancing out the losses in utility-scale solar.
- About two-thirds of solar positions in 2022 (171,558) were available from installation and project development firms. Manufacturing firms supplied 33,473 jobs; wholesale trade and distribution offered another 30,618; operations and maintenance had 16,585 jobs available; and 11,648 were recorded in a miscellaneous category.
- California added the most solar jobs in 2022, with over 2,400. New York created almost 1,000 new jobs, Texas over 900, Florida more than 500 and Massachusetts over 475.
The challenge of filling solar industry jobs
USGBC’s own top 10 list of green jobs with high growth potential, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, published three years ago, included the role of solar energy installation manager as one of its top picks. However, in the 2022 census, 44% of solar industry employers stated it was “very difficult” to find qualified applicants—a common refrain among employers in green industries.
https://www.usgbc.org/articles/increase-solar-jobs-adds-industry-need-green-professionals