(Reuters) – U.S. clean energy jobs are overwhelmingly dominated by white men, and efforts to boost industries like renewable energy and electric vehicles should make sure that women and people of color are not overlooked, a report published on Thursday said. More than 60% of workers that hold jobs in clean energy industries like electric […]
Despite its broad range of businesses, including construction, utilities, manufacturing, professional services, and repair and maintenance, the clean energy sector is dominated by white men. Given the incredible job growth of the energy sector over the past decade, this lack of diversity threatens to cause women, Hispanic and Latino workers, and Black workers in particular to miss out on one of America’s great economic expansions.
About 61 percent of clean energy workers across America are white non-Hispanics. Black and Hispanic/Latino workers are more poorly represented in clean energy than they are across the rest of the economy, with Black people composing 8 percent of the clean energy workforce (compared with 13 percent economy-wide) and Hispanic/Latinos making up 16.5 percent (versus 18 percent economy-wide). Women represent less than 30 percent of all workers in the sector despite accounting for nearly half (48 percent) of the U.S. labor force as a whole.
As the United States looks to build back a better, cleaner, more equitable economy, a renewed focus on increasing diversity in the clean energy sector should be an economic imperative. Both the transition to a low-carbon energy system and proposed state and federal stimulus to boost the economy have the potential to create millions of new jobs across the United States. Policies that support the energy sector and its low-carbon transition should focus on the inclusion of women and underrepresented ethnic and racial groups, particularly Black workers (who are often the most poorly represented in the sector), so that economic benefits are more equitably shared.
The study expands on data from the 2021 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the U.S. Department of Energy. Among the report’s key findings:
The full report includes national and state-by-state breakdowns on demographics across all clean energy sectors, multi-year demographic trends, comparisons to other energy sectors including fossil fuels and gas and diesel vehicles, and specific findings on individual occupations.
| Demographic | Overall US Labor Force | Total Energy Workforce | Clean Energy Workforce | Fossil Fuel Workforce |
| White | 76% | 74% | 73% | 74% |
| Black/African-American | 13% | 10% | 8% | 9% |
| Asian | 7% | 7% | 8% | 6% |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | <1% | 1% | 1% | <1% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | <1% | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Two or more races | 2% | 8% | 8% | 9% |
| People of Color | 22% | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 18% | 16% | 17% | 13% |
| Women | 48% | 25% | 27% | 27% |
This analysis indicates that more needs to be done to address racial inequities in clean energy and the broader economy. As we rebuild the U.S. economy in the wake of COVID-19, we have a chance to do it in ways that create new opportunities for people of color. As Congress and state lawmakers focus on clean energy’s role in the recovery, they should focus as well on rebuilding the economy more equitably.
President Biden’s Justice40 initiative mandating that 40 percent of the benefits from federal climate action go to disadvantaged communities is a step in the right direction. But there are many steps lawmakers can take—right now—to ensure greater diversity in the clean energy workforce in the months and years ahead.
Read the report’s policy recommendations starting on page 24.
This is the first-ever comprehensive report on diversity in the U.S. clean energy workforce. This analysis was conducted by BW Research Partnership for E2, the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Association of Blacks in Energy, Black Owners of Solar Services (BOSS), and Energy Efficiency for All. Early drafts of this report were also reviewed by the Policy Committee of BOSS. It expands on data from the 2021 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Department of Energy, using data collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership. The USEER analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to track employment across many energy production, transmission, and distribution subsectors. For further methodology questions, see pages 201–206 of the USEER.
Other sources of data are noted throughout.
Bill takes steps for Illinois to remain regional leader in clean energy job growth through bold renewable energy policies, funding for workforce training and equity but falls short on climate action SPRINGFIELD — Last night the Illinois Senate passed comprehensive energy legislation that would make Illinois the first state in the Midwest to commit to 100 percent carbon-free power by 2045. However, the bill lacks a […]
Driven by the unforeseeable impact of last year’s pandemic and resulting economic crisis, California experienced its first decline in clean energy jobs in 2020 since E2 began tracking such occupations. California’s clean energy economy employed about 480,000 Californians at the end of 2020, down from 537,000 the year before.
However, since the sector’s losses peaked at the end of May 2020, jobs grew back by more than 13 percent compared to less than 6 percent in statewide economy overall. In fact, by the end of 2020 more than half of the clean energy jobs lost between March and May had been regained, leaving the sector down just 9 percent (about 52,000 jobs) since COVID-19. Thanks to decades of smart state climate policy leadership, California’s clean energy economy has proven to not only be a core part of the state’s economy – representing 3 percent of overall state employment – but resilient and robust in the face of crushing economy-wide pressures.
Despite the overall decline, clean energy remains the biggest job creator across America’s energy sector:
| Energy Efficiency | 283,839 |
| Renewables | 130,403 |
| Clean Vehicles | 42,503 |
| Storage and Grid | 22,638 |
| Clean Fuels | 5,597 |
| TOTAL | 484,980 |
While clean energy suffered like many sectors of the economy in 2020, the prospects for growth are greater than ever as detailed in this report. Smart public policy leadership created the market environment to position California’s clean energy economy as a global leader over the last 20 years. Furthermore, policies that drive clean energy investments and job growth can also help mitigate the human toll and the economic cost of climate including the over $100 billion lost to extreme weather events in the U.S. in the last year alone. Climate risk is business risk.
Members of Congress can turn risk into opportunity by passing a robust American Jobs Plan anchored in clean energy investments to fund grid modernization, energy efficiency and electric vehicle charging networks at scale to form the backbone of a cleaner, more resilient economy. California lawmakers must build on existing state climate policy leadership to ensure the state remains a hub of job growth and innovation. Lawmakers must codify our state’s carbon neutrality goals while tightening our emissions mitigation targets, and continue to build out complementary policies to drive climate action to meet these goals.
This is the fourth annual Clean Jobs California report produced by E2 based on analysis of the USEER, which was first released by the DOE in 2016. E2 was an original proponent of the DOE producing the USEER and was a partner on the reports produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) after the Trump administration abandoned it in 2017.
For additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs California or our other annual clean energy economic reports, visit e2.org/reports.
An FAQ is available at www.e2.org/reports/clean-jobs-america-faq/.
Clean Jobs California 2021 is the 4th clean energy jobs report for California from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.
For the first time since Clean Jobs Midwest began tracking Wisconsin clean energy jobs in 2017, Wisconsin clean energy jobs declined during 2020’s pandemic-wracked economy. However, the second half of the year showed significant recovery and a strong promise for the future. Clean energy companies employed 69,343 Wisconsinites at the end of 2020, a 9.6% drop […]
According to E2’s analysis, as of 2021 more than 484,000 Californians worked in clean energy and more than $102 billion in public and private clean energy related investments have been injected into the state. California’s climate policies – including its leading Renewables Portfolio Standard and transportation electrification policies such as Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule and the Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) program – are key to this economic growth and future growth as well.
California’s Statewide 2021 Clean Energy Jobs Report
Who Are My Representatives?
Almost 50 percent of the $8.3 billion in clean energy investments from California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds have benefited disadvantaged and low-income communities and households across the state. The state’s climate policies funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund have cut emissions by the equivalent of taking 14 million cars off the road.
How to Download: Use the tables below to locate and download all 120 factsheets for every California state legislative district. Each factsheet details out the district-specific jobs and economic impact resulting from California’s climate policies.
For more information on the source and methodology used to compile the numbers on this sheet, please see Understanding The Numbers or visit https://e2.org/reports/caclimateleadership/sources.
For details on clean energy’s statewide impact on jobs in California, including data at the county, metro, congressional district levels, and for details by subsector and value chain, visit E2’s Clean Jobs California 2021 report page.
This district-by-district report follows E2’s Clean Jobs America analysis which found the clean energy jobs account for over 3 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Both reports expand on data from the U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), using data collected and analyzed by the BW Research Partnership. E2 is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016. Additional methodology on the private and public investment number and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund investments can be found in our About The Numbers reference document.
For additional information, visit e2.org/reports or contact E2 communications director Michael Timberlake at ([email protected]). An FAQ is also available here.
View Report »The pandemic drove employment in Minnesota’s renewable energy and conservation businesses down 10% to 55,329 last year, disrupting several years of double-digit growth. … The report was released by sponsors E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and nonprofits Clean Energy Trust and Clean Energy Economy Minnesota amid revelations that wind-and-solar power have become the cheapest forms of electrical […]
California is already suffering dire economic impacts from the effects of climate change, presenting significant business and economic risk to the world’s fifth largest economy. The costs of extreme climate events such as wildfires and droughts have risen steadily throughout the past decade, and are projected to increase dramatically in California if current trajectories continue. These costs are being borne by everyone who lives, pays taxes, buys insurance, or works in California.
At the same time, aggressively addressing climate change — reducing greenhouse gas emissions while growing the state’s clean energy economy — presents one of the greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century. Ambitious climate action produces robust job creation, sustainable economic growth, and California leading global innovation across a wide range of industry sectors. Members of Congress can seize this opportunity by passing a bold American Jobs Plan anchored in clean energy investments; California lawmakers must build on existing state climate policy leadership to ensure the state remains a nexus of investment and innovation in the 21st-century economy.
This report reviews and compares the damage to California’s economy from recent climate-related disasters and risks from future unabated climate change to the potential impact specific climate action policies could have on job and economic growth in the state’s core industries such as technology, construction, agriculture, and tourism. The report, made possible by the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Foundation, uses publicly-available information and data from previous E2 analysis, BW Research, state and federal agencies, the University of California system, and other sources.
If you are looking for additional insight into the clean economy and how it drives job growth, please see E2’s other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports.
Over 50,000 Missourians now work in clean energy jobs. That growing figure currently ranks the state a middling 22nd in number of clean energy jobs and 25th as a percentage of total employment. But renewable energy advocates in the state are particularly encouraged by Missouri’s recent surge in wind power production and new legislation that is expected to speed the […]
By E2 Interns: Kai Diep and Andrea Guerra California regulators have a critical opportunity to drive economic growth in the state’s blossoming zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) industry and help achieve state climate targets by advancing a strong Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule with a 100% electric truck sales requirement by 2035. This ambitious yet achievable goal […]
Missouri’s clean energy job market faced a considerable decline during 2020’s economic downturn but still managed to bounce back by the end of the year, according to a recent study. More than 9,300 clean energy workers filed for unemployment in Missouri at the peak of the economic crisis tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 2020 Clean Jobs Midwest report from […]
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Midwest clean energy job market hard, with more than 17,000 workers at one point filing for unemployment. But the industry appears to be rebounding, according to an analysis of employment data released by the nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and Clean Energy Trust. Clean energy companies employed 113,456 Michiganders at the […]