Clean energy jobs grow in every state according to DOE report

By Brad Rosen, J.D.

According to a report issued by Department of Energy (DOE), America’s energy workforce added nearly 300,000 jobs in 2022 with an increasing percent of those coming from the clean energy sector. The 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report, a comprehensive study designed to track and understand employment trends across the energy sector, found that clean energy jobs gained 114,000 jobs nationally. This is a 3.9 percent annual increase, and reflects over 40 percent of the total energy jobs across the U.S.

Biden’s Investing in America agenda yields clean energy results. Clean energy jobs increased in every state reflecting increased investments due to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda according to a DOE press release. Clean energy technologies, such as solar and wind, accounted for more than 84 percent of net new electric power generation jobs, adding over 21,000 jobs reflecting 3.6 percent growth. Meanwhile, jobs related to zero emissions vehicles saw nearly 21 percent growth, adding over 38,000 jobs. According to the DOE, in order to achieve President Biden’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and a net zero economy by 2050, energy jobs are expected to continue growing across the nation. The agency noted that growth in clean energy jobs was faster than last year’s robust overall job growth, a result of increased investments and jobs which are central to the President’s Investing in America agenda.

Clean energy sector sees significant job growth. According to the report, employment around all forms of clean energy experienced meaningful increases. This includes:

• Clean Vehicles: All clean vehicle jobs, including those related to battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles, exceeded pre-COVID-19 employment levels. The most rapid growth was in battery electric vehicle jobs, which added more than 28,000 jobs (increasing by 27 percent). This is almost as many added jobs as in the gasoline and diesel vehicle sector, but at a growth rate that was 17 times faster.
• Solar: Solar is the electric power generation technology that employs the most workers. There were 12,000 new jobs in solar in 2022 representing 3.7 percent growth.
• Wind: There were 5,000 new jobs in wind representing 4.5 percent growth.
• Geothermal: The geothermal workforce added 1,000 jobs, growing by 5.0 percent in 2022.

States experience rapid job growth in the clean energy sector. Clean energy jobs grew across all 50 states and D.C. The states for top clean energy jobs growth were:

• California, which added 13,000 jobs, representing 3.2 percent growth;
• West Virginia, which added 7,000 jobs, representing 19 percent growth; and,
• Texas, which added 5,100 jobs, representing 3.5 percent growth.

Some energy workforce demographics. The DOE report also contains a variety of demographic data that can be used by companies as well as federal, state, and local governments to better understand workforce trends and shed light on opportunities for workforce recruitment and training programs. Some of those data include:

• Although women make up just 26% of the energy workforce, they made up more than half of the net 300,000 energy jobs added in 2022.
• The energy workforce is younger than the national workforce average. Only 17 percent of the energy workforce is older than 55, compared to 24 percent in the national workforce. In fact, 30 percent of the energy workforce is under 30 years old, much more than the national average of 22 percent).
• Black workers, as well as Hispanic or Latino workers, were underrepresented across the energy workforce.
• Veterans made up 9 percent of the U.S. energy workforce, higher than their representation in the overall U.S. economy of 5 percent.

Union employers had formal diversity, equity, inclusion, and access plans to increase hiring and retention of a diverse workforce at a higher rate than of non-union employers. Union employers were 50 percent more likely to have a policy to recruit women, two times more likely to have a policy to recruit persons of color, and 2.5 times more likely to have a policy to recruit LGBTQ+ people.

DOE leadership weighs in. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm had this to say about the energy jobs data, “Today’s report shows that the clean energy transition is accelerating, with job growth across every pocket of America, and that unionized employers are filling these new positions with much more ease than non-unionized employers.” The secretary added, “Thanks to President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda, we expect to see steady growth of jobs to make and build a resilient and clean energy system offering good-paying and secure employment opportunities to America’s workers across the country.”

The full 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report can be read here.