Last year, over 3.1 million American workers, which accounted for nearly 40% of the total energy industry workforce, dedicated more than half of their time to jobs that aligned with the United States’ climate goals. Among these jobs, positions in the solar, wind, and electric vehicle sectors represented around 50% of the new hires.
While coal-fired power plants experienced a loss of about 6,800 workers between 2021 and 2022, the overall U.S. energy industry added nearly 300,000 new jobs last year. Of these, approximately 114,000 were involved in manufacturing, selling, or installing technologies aimed at reducing the country’s emissions. These figures were reported by the Department of Energy in its latest job census, published on Wednesday.
In response to the post-pandemic demand and the need to provide an alternative supply to countries seeking to reduce imports from Russia, the U.S. added 107,029 mining and drilling jobs in the fossil fuel sector.
However, the most significant growth occurred in non-traditional energy sectors. In total, more than 28,000 individuals began working in battery-powered vehicle roles, 12,256 found jobs in the solar industry, and at least 5,416 joined the wind energy sector, with the offshore turbine subfield experiencing growth of over 20%. The hydroelectric power and geothermal industries also saw increases, with 1,758 and 413 new hires respectively, while nuclear plants added 1,358 workers.
Within the electricity sector alone, clean-energy technologies represented 84% of net new jobs.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm highlighted this comprehensive report, stating, “This job report provides a complete snapshot of the energy field and where those employed are working. It is evident that our plan for the energy sector and the jobs we’re creating are successful.”
Furthermore, the study suggests that the total number of green jobs could be underestimated. If states followed the federal government’s definition of “green” jobs, which includes efficiency and transmission roles, the clean-energy workforce would likely be at least 9% larger.
This report follows the Biden administration’s announcement of a record $9.2 billion loan granted to the Ford Motor Company for electric vehicle production and the establishment of the largest solar manufacturing investment in U.S. history, a $2.5 billion factory in Georgia by Q Cells, a South Korean photovoltaic giant.
These investments are a result of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure-spending laws, which are beginning to allocate federal funds to various projects such as car chargers, window upgrades in homes, lithium mines, and advanced nuclear reactors.
Ali Zaidi, the White House’s national climate adviser, described the situation as a “manufacturing renaissance,” attributing it to Bidenomics.
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