One of the strongest, most compelling talking points of the U.S. solar revolution is job creation. When someone says “solar means jobs,” that’s not hyperbole, but a verifiable, nonpartisan, economic fact. On a number of levels, solar has become one of the fastest-growing domestic employment sectors.
The latest document offering proof of the solar jobs engine is the Solar Foundation’s recently released Solar Jobs Census 2016. The rigorously documented report is “the seventh annual edition of current employment, trends, and projected growth in the U.S. solar industry.” The foundation “conducts annual employer surveys of the domestic solar labor force and gathers perspectives on job growth and future opportunities.”
The 2016 census finds that solar employs more than 260,000 Americans full time (or nearly full time), up 25% over 2015. Most of the jobs are centered in the installation sector, along with thousands working in manufacturing, sales and distribution, project development, and other areas. Some 166,500 of those jobs have been added since 2010, a remarkable growth spurt by any standards.
“One out of every 50 new jobs added in the United States in 2016 was created by the solar industry, representing 2% percent of all new jobs,” according to the report.
Forty-four out of 50 U.S. states saw solar jobs growth in 2016. In Inovateus’ Midwestern backyard, double-digit upticks could be found in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, with a healthy surge in Georgia as well. Thousands of workers are helping deploy solar in the American heartland…not just Inovateus!
We’re proud to have been a cog in that job creation machine through our projects in Michigan, Indiana, Georgia and elsewhere that have put our own team to work and employed hundreds of skilled, well-paid folks through our contractor partners. We’ve also been a key supplier and distributor of solar components and systems to scores of residential and small commercial solar installers in the region who have also contributed to the compelling job growth figures.
The Solar Foundation’s approach focuses on employees who spend most or all of their workdays focused on solar. But what about all those others who may not be full-timers but still play significant roles across the solar supply and value chain?
We’re talking about the logistics folks and truckers who schedule and deliver the modules, inverters and BOS components to the warehouses and job sites. The surveyors who lend their keen eyes to the sites where the solar plants are designed and constructed, and the geo-technicians who make sure a project is literally built on solid ground. Even the lawyers and accountants play important roles, navigating the contractual, permitting and policy issues or making sure the financials are duly diligent, realistic and on budget.
As compelling as solar’s fantastic job creation track record has been over the past several years, the story is even bigger than the 260,000-plus counted in the new census. There are tens of thousands of indirect and temporary positions that are paid for, at least in part, by the solar revolution.
In the end, solar is not just a jobs creator – it’s a jobs multiplier. Spread the word.
By Nathan Vogel, director of strategy, Inovateus Solar
