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Summary:

Colorado’s clean energy sector employed 61,179 workers by the end of 2021 — an increase of 5.2 percent. The energy efficiency sector continued to lead the field, accounting for 56 percent of all state clean energy jobs, followed by renewable energy and clean vehicles.

• 1 in 10 construction jobs in Colorado are in clean energy
• 27% growth in clean vehicles led all clean energy sectors
• 42% of all energy industry jobs in Colorado are in clean energy
• Small businesses (<20 employees) accounted for about 2 out of every 3 clean energy jobs

Colorado Clean Energy Employment, 2021

FOCUS: New battery projects creating jobs, solutions

It’s a common question when it comes to any discussion about electric vehicles (EVs): What to do with the old batteries?

One huge solution is now on the way.

In February, the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office announced a $2 billion loan to Redwood Materials to build and expand a factory in Nevada that will recycle materials in spent lithium-ion batteries and recover anode and cathode materials that can be used to build new batteries. The funding was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The massive Nevada project is expected to create approximately 3,400 construction jobs and 1,600 full-time jobs once the plant is up and running. It’s one of the latest major announcements in what’s shaping up to be a very busy year across the country for clean energy.

To help stay on top of major projects like these – as well as smaller ones that could slip through the cracks –E2 is launching Clean Economy Works, a rundown delivered to your inbox near the beginning of each month of clean energy project announcements made possible in part due to the IRA and other recently enacted federal policies.

E2 has long expertise in this space: We’ve been closely tracking clean energy jobs and project announcements for more than a decade, and we know there’s never been a more crucial time to know what’s happening than now.

And what’s happening now is that battery projects are popping up everywhere.

Redwood’s Nevada factory is one of numerous battery-related projects announced in February that stem from federal policies, investments and tax credits.

In Michigan, Ford Motor Co. announced plans for a $2.5 billion electric vehicle battery factory that will create an estimated 2,500 jobs. In Wisconsin, WEC Energy Group announced plans in February for a $200 million long-duration energy storage facility in Milwaukee.

These projects are making America more competitive on the global marketplace – something that’s been desperately missing in some sectors. Currently, Asian countries led by China, Korea and Japan account for about 92 percent of the global market share for EV batteries. And of the 304 gigafactories being developed prior to IRA passing, just 23 were in North America.

Last month was a big step forward, but America will need many more as countries everywhere accelerate their own transition timetables. Millions of jobs and trillions in investments are up for grabs in the coming decade.

Want to stay on top of these announcements? Know someone who does? Please forward this to them and/or drop us a note at [email protected].

Quotable

“We can’t control the wind. We can’t control the sun. We know it’s going to be there most of the time. But when it’s not, we need to make sure that we can keep the lights on. And batteries are so great to continue and expand that clean energy.”

– Brendan Conway, WEC Energy Group

“This investment will continue to bring the supply chain of electric vehicle batteries home to Michigan and make sure that production lines aren’t stalled by global shocks or shipping delays. We’re going to make electric vehicles top to bottom right here in the great state of Michigan.”

– Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D)

“It doesn’t pollute; it is the cheapest energy source. The technology we use is American-made.”

– Dominika Sink, director of development, Energix

“As America’s most diverse industrial manufacturer of steel products, we will be able to efficiently supply this new plant, helping to ensure that our nation’s critical energy and digital infrastructure is built with the cleanest, most sustainable steel in the world.”

– Leon Topalian, CEO, Nucor Corp.

“As we work to ensure our state is the e-mobility capital of the nation, projects like this will continue to choose the No. 1 state for business and benefit communities in just about every zip code of Georgia.”

– Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R)

“Hyundai’s new EV facility is drawing an experienced and dedicated supplier network to the [Savannah] region, adding to [Georgia’s] industry expertise and shaping a larger skilled workforce.”

– Pat Wilson, Commissioner, Georgia Dept. of Economic Development

Opportunities

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Funding opportunities you can apply for today

“… [T]here is billions more in funding available today through competitive programs. … This document highlights funding opportunities that communities can apply for today, along with a calendar for funding opportunities across 2023.” Read more

EPA announces initial program design of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

“… [O]utlin[es] key parameters of the grant competitions that will ultimately award nearly $27 billion to leverage private capital for clean energy and clean air investments across the country.” Read more

Biden-Harris Administration announces historic investments to support America’s energy and industrial communities

“… [S]everal major programs to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and ensure traditionally underserved communities benefit from clean energy technologies.” Read more

Floating Offshore Wind Shot

“… [A]n initiative to help usher in a clean energy future by driving U.S. leadership in floating offshore wind design, development, and manufacturing. … [S]eeks to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by at least 70 percent, to $45 per megawatt-hour by 2035 for deep sites far from shore.” Read more

DOE announces $23 million to fund onsite energy Technical Assistance Partnerships to drive industrial decarbonization

“… [A] $23 million funding opportunity that will establish a regional network of TAPs to help industrial facilities and other large energy users increase the adoption of onsite energy technologies.” Read more

DOE’s American-Made Challenges: Perovskite Startup Prize

“… [A] two-stage, $3 million prize competition designed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of perovskite solar cells by moving world-class research out of the lab and into new U.S. companies. … The final cycle of the Countdown Contest opened in November and will close on March 23.” Read more

Funding Notice: Enhanced Geothermal Systems Pilot Demonstrations

“… [U]p to $74 million to support EGS pilot demonstration projects called for in President Biden’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The legislation authorizes DOE to support up to seven competitively selected pilot projects…” (Hurry! Intent letters due March 8) Read more

Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grants

“… [D]esigned to provide grants to small- and medium-sized manufacturers to enable them to build new or retrofit existing manufacturing and industrial facilities to produce or recycle advanced energy products in communities where coal mines or coal power plants have closed.” Read more

American-Made Net Load Forecasting Prize

“… designed to increase adoption of the state-of-the-art in net load forecasting. … [O]pen to forecasting industry organizations that cater to utilities, system operators, and power plant owners, as well as academic teams with machine learning capabilities that are interested in forecasting. … This prize offers up to $600,000 in cash prizes, with three anticipated winners and three anticipated runners-up.” Read more

Summary:

As the Biden administration steps up efforts to expand offshore wind resources, this report finds that development of floating offshore wind in the waters off of Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay in California could create and support nearly 175,000 jobs, add $45 billion to the state’s economy, and produce 4.6 GW of wind energy.

California and federal lawmakers have an opportunity to hasten development—and scale the deployment—of this valuable new technology by enacting appropriate policies now. This is especially urgent on the heels of President Joe Biden signing into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. This bill includes full-value tax incentives for the manufacturing and deployment of technologies like offshore wind in the U.S. The IRA also includes billions of dollars for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help scale up technologies like floating offshore wind.

Offshore wind will diversify California’s renewable energy supply. This is critical to a stable electric grid and, crucially, can help the state achieve its long-term clean energy and climate ambitions in a least-cost manner. At the same time, floating offshore wind can create tens of thousands of new jobs for Californians, benefit underserved communities, and generate billions of dollars’ worth of wages, investments, economic benefits and tax revenues at the state, local and federal levels.

Policy Matters

California has been a global climate leader by passing policies that have created the market structures necessary to drive innovation, build the state’s clean energy economy and reduce carbon emissions. To maximize the economic benefits of harnessing the state’s offshore wind resources—especially in light of the major federal clean energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act—state and federal governments must advance policies that will drive a sustainable, resilient offshore wind industry in California. Specifically, this includes:

// Development of a strategic plan by the end of 2023 that formalizes targets; identifies suitable sea space, programs and funding; advances economic and workforce development and in-state manufacturing opportunities; optimizes transmission planning and permitting; identifies potential impacts on ocean uses and the environment, as well as strategies for addressing those potential impacts; and helps de-risk projects early on in order to provide greater certainty for the industry.

// Ensuring that AB 525 requires the CEC to develop a permitting road-map that describes timeframes and milestones for a permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure off the coast of California.

// The State of California must investigate the need for—and, if warranted, approve construction of—a subsea transmission cable from the Los Angeles Basin to Diablo Canyon. This could resolve current regional transmission constraints, reduce dependency on dirty natural gas peaker plants, and minimize threats of grid-induced wildfire, while providing transmission capacity to connect Southern California with potential future offshore wind development.

// State officials must leverage funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act dedicated for grid modernization to upgrade the grid for offshore wind energy integration.

// Congress must invest more in grid modernization including passing a grid modernization tax credit that is essential to the development of offshore wind and the deployment of utility scale clean energy generally.

// The CEC, in partnership with the Ocean Protection Council and BOEM, must make continued investments in environmental planning and mapping for offshore wind development, primarily through the funding and support of the Offshore Wind Data Basin.

// The State should develop and fund an institute—under the purview of the California Coastal Commission—dedicated to the collecting and public sharing of data related to the monitoring and mitigation of ocean ecosystem impacts.

// BOEM must incorporate ocean ecosystem impact monitoring and mitigation stipulations in its lease agreements.

About this Report

The research team estimated local economic impacts for the Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay offshore wind projects using NREL’s modeling tool Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI). JEDI is an input-output modeling tool used to generate outputs for employment, Gross Regional Product (GRP) and earnings for the construction and operations of a particular offshore wind project. The model illustrates the interdependent relationships between the different sectors of a region’s economy, to produce employment figures that vary according to the modeled project’s energy output and local content. The offshore wind activities modeled for the two locations are used as inputs into the model to estimate the multiplier effect on business, household, and government expenditures and industry employment. JEDI estimates these effects based on facility size, energy output, year of construction and the built-in economic multipliers specific to the project location. The economic outputs outlined in this report include:

// Jobs created from the construction of offshore wind facilities with 1.8 GW of capacity in Morro Bay and 1.2 GW in Humboldt Bay by 2030, a total of 3 GW in capacity across both sites.

// Jobs created from the construction of 4.2 GW of additional capacity in Morro Bay and 2.8 GW in Humboldt Bay between 2030 and 2040, to reach a total of 10 GW of offshore wind capacity across both sites.

// Annual number of jobs created for the operation of the initial 3 GW installed by 2030.

// Annual number of jobs created for the operation of 10 GW installed by 2040.

// Employment split by industry for Construction and Operations phases.

// Labor income resulting from jobs created by offshore wind projects.

// Additional GRP for Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay because of economic activity from offshore wind projects.

// Local, state, and federal tax revenue for Phases 1 and 2.

Summary:

New Mexico’s clean energy sector employed 12,014 workers by the end of 2021 an of 8.1% from 2021, the highest rate of job growth in the country. This strong growth was mainly driven by increase in clean fuels and clean vehicle jobs.

• 8.1% – New Mexico led the nation in clean energy job growth in 2021.
• 56% – Small businesses (<20 employees) accounted for nearly 3 out of every 5 clean energy jobs in New Mexico.
• Most Diverse New Mexico continues to have the most diverse clean energy workforce in the U.S. Hispanic and/or Latinos account for more than 1 in 5 workers (22.6%) and multiracial workers make up more than 1 in 7 (14.0%).
• 11.7% – Clean energy job wages are above state-specific medium wage.

Figure 4 // U.S. Clean Energy Employment by subsector 2021

Summary:

Clean jobs in North Carolina grew by over 4 percent in 2021, more than double the growth rate of the state’s total workforce for the year. That growth also demonstrates the clean energy economy’s strong recovery from the COVID-19 economic downturn and sets North Carolina up for even more clean energy job opportunities in the years to come — especially with the right policies in place.

• Black and African-Americans are under-represented by nearly 60% in North Carolina’s clean energy economy. Black workers occupy more than 21% of all jobs in the state, but less than 9% of clean energy jobs.
• North Carolina was home to 3.2% of the nation’s total clean energy jobs, 9th in the nation.
• More than two-thirds of the 27,217 clean energy jobs lost in North Carolina during the COVID-19 economic downturn had been regained by the end of 2021.
• Small businesses (<20 employees) accounted for almost 4 out of every 5 clean energy jobs in North Carolina, ranking 2nd among all 50 states.
• North Carolina ranked 1st among all 50 states in rural clean energy jobs, with 25,563 clean energy jobs in rural areas.

Figure 4 // U.S. Clean Energy Employment by subsector 2021

Figure 1 // Clean Energy Employment by year 2017–2021

Figure 3 //Clean Energy Employment by value chain 2021

Summary:

Billion Dollar Losses, Trillion Dollar Threats: The Cost of Climate Change reviews the escalating toll of billion-dollar disasters over the last forty years and provides insight into how these disasters—from hurricanes and flooding to wildfires—are compounded by other extreme weather events, such as record-breaking drought, heat waves, and rainfall.

The trends identified in the report are concerning for America’s economy. Every state in the country has been impacted and faces risks from rapidly escalating  weather and climate disaster damages, with a third of all losses since 1980 occurring in the last five years. From 2017-2021, America experienced its four most expensive wildfires, two of its three most expensive hurricanes, and its most expensive winter storm with economic losses from all disasters totaling $765 billion.

Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the form of hurricanes, severe storms, drought, flooding, wildfires, winter storms, and freezing have led to $2.2 trillion in losses since 1980 (see Figure 1) (NOAA, 2022). Across the United States, climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events and severely damaging infrastructure, buildings, roads, and cropland. Annual losses from billion-dollar disasters during the last five years—totalling $765 billion in losses and more than 4,500 deaths from 2017 to 2021—were nearly eight times higher than in the 1980s (NOAA, 2022). While billion-dollar disasters are responsible for an estimated 80 percent of total disaster-related losses, the combination of smaller disasters, heat waves, and ongoing business disruptions that are not captured mean the overall economic turmoil is even greater than this analysis details.

Climate change is not the sole driver of natural disasters, but it contributes to their frequency and severity. The world has warmed nearly 1.1 ˚C since 1880 (NASA, 2022), and warming is likely to exceed 1.5 ˚C in the near term, even with significant efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions (Pörtner, 2022). Each year from 2001 through 2021 were among the 22 hottest years on record (NASA, 2022), and record-breaking temperatures led to a new high of 130 ˚F in Death Valley in 2021.1 These extreme weather events have widespread impacts: a recent analysis from the Washington Post estimated that in 2021 alone, a federal disaster emergency was declared in the home county of more than 40 percent of Americans (Kaplan et al., 2022).

The frequency of climate-related disasters are rising, too. Between 2017 and 2021, the United States experienced its four most-expensive wildfires, two of its three most expensive hurricanes, and its most expensive winter storm (NOAA, 2022). The percentage of state’s total historic weather and climate disaster losses that occurred in the last 5 years is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1 // Billion-dollar disasters across the U.S. are growing in number and severity

(data source: NOAA, 2022).

Figure 3 // Percentage of state’s total historic losses from weather and climate disasters in last 5 years (total losses shown in text)

(data source: NOAA, 2022).

Figure 2 // Billion-dollar climate- and weather-related disasters accounted for 80 percent of disaster-related losses, totaling $2.2 trillion from 1980-2021 (shown in $billions below).

(data source: NOAA, 2022).