U.S. clean energy jobs rose 3.9 percent from 2021 to 2022, with every state posting growth to outpace the overall increase in energy employment, the Department reported Wednesday of Energy (DOE).
Jobs aligned with a net-zero future totaled three million last year, increasing by more than 114,000 from 2021 and accounting for 40 percent of total energy jobs by 2022, according to the “Report of DOE’s “U.S. Energy and Jobs 2023.”
In electric power generation, the solar and wind segments emerged as the main generators of jobs with more than 346,000 and nearly 126,000 people employed, respectively.
“Clean energy electricity technologies, such as solar and wind, accounted for nearly 87% of net new electric power generation jobs, adding 22,279 jobs (+3.6%) “, the report said.
Energy efficiency-related jobs rose 2.3 percent to nearly 2.22 million.
In transportation, the number of people employed in clean energy vehicle manufacturing increased by more than 38,000 to nearly 221,000.
The energy sector as a whole recorded an employment increase of 3.8% in 2022 compared to 2021, exceeding 8.1 million. The figure represented a 71 percent recovery of jobs lost in 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, the report said.
“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy sector was one of the fastest growing job markets in the country. From 2015 to 2019, the annual growth rate of energy employment in the US was 3.0% , twice the 1.5% growth in employment in the US economy as a whole,” he said. “Covid-19 and its associated economic fallout deeply affected energy employment, with the sector losing jobs at a faster rate than the economy as a whole.”
Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said in a press release: “Thanks to President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda, we expect to see continued job growth to create and build a system of clean and resilient energy that provides safe and well-paying job opportunities for American workers across the country.”
Passed in November 2021, the Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act, popularly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, allocates more than $75 billion for clean energy expansion. In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted, securing $370 billion for clean energy and climate resilience.
Investment laws like these “provide the funding needed to modernize America’s power grid, revitalize our manufacturing capabilities, strengthen pathways for STEM. [science, technology, engineering and math] careers and expand access to clean energy, while addressing legacy pollution, creating quality jobs and building healthier communities,” the report says.
“Many projects funded under these laws are still in the design and planning stages, and the full job creation of these investments is likely to emerge in future surveys.”
Employers across all energy technology segments expect job growth of 6.4% in energy efficiency and 1.6% in fuels from 2022 to 2023, according to the report.
“DOE is committed to engaging and investing in a skilled workforce to increase the development and creation of clean energy technologies,” the department said in a statement.
On June 22, DOE announced more than $21 million in grants for the development of technologies and innovations that advance the commercial-scale deployment of clean energy, with selected projects ranging from solar solutions to nuclear solutions.
On June 16, it said it had awarded $77 million in the second rollout of a power modernization grant, bringing total awards to $127 million.
To contact the author, please email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
