Strength in Numbers: The Solar Workforce Continues Record-Setting Growth

The U.S. solar workforce is growing faster than ever, and that is made especially clear in The Solar Foundation’s 2016 National Solar Jobs Census, which shows the industry now employs more than 260,000 Americans.

As the number of solar installations in the U.S. raced past 1 million in 2016, solar companies were hiring tens of thousands of Americans in good, high-paying jobs and growing the solar workforce by 51,000 workers, or 25 percent nationwide since 2015. This is the largest annual growth since The Solar Foundation began the Solar Jobs Census in 2010.

When put in context with overall U.S. job growth, the solar industry is among the best job creators in the country. One out of every 50 new American jobs was in the solar industry last year, which is creating jobs 17 times faster than the rest of the U.S. economy. These are not minimum wage jobs, either. The median wage for a solar installer, more than half of the solar workforce, is $26 per hour.

“With a near tripling of solar jobs since 2010, the solar industry is an American success story that has created hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs,” said Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director of The Solar Foundation.

Much of the solar jobs story, however, is told at the state level, as jobs increased in 44 out of the 50 states in 2016. California maintains the highest total number of solar jobs, followed by Massachusetts, Texas, Nevada and Florida. 

One of the bigger stories from this census is how important policy certainty is for job growth in the states, particularly policies around distributed generation. Nevada, for example, though still ranked fourth for total jobs, saw a net-loss in solar employment in 2016, predominantly in installer jobs after the Nevada Public Utility Commission ended the state’s net metering program in 2016. While Nevada saw big gains in utility-scale project developer jobs last year, its draconian DG policy hurt employment numbers, and is a lesson to be learned as the solar train moves forward.

Last year was a good year for the solar industry’s increasing diversity. Women now make up 28 percent of the solar workforce, rising from 19 percent in 2013, while Latinos/Hispanics and African Americans make up 17 and 7 percent of the workforce, respectively. In addition, 9 percent of solar workers are U.S. military veterans. There is certainly more work to be done in matching America’s diversity in the solar workforce, and the industry is taking steps to ensure representation across all sectors of the solar supply chain.

This annual census from The Solar Foundation shows how vital of a job creator the solar industry is to America’s economy, and how smart solar policy can ensure more job growth in the years ahead. As the solar train chugs forward, and policy battles continue to pop up in state capitals and utility commissions, SEIA will be there fighting to open up markets for more job growth in the solar industry.