Clean Jobs America 2024

Date: September 17, 2024

SOUTHERN STATES DRIVE JOB SURGE; 3.46 MILLION AMERICANS WORK IN CLEAN ENERGY

Summary:

Clean energy companies added almost 150,000 jobs in 2023, growing more than three times faster than overall U.S. employment to 3,460,406 clean energy jobs nationwide. Last year’s jobs spike corresponds with the first full year of historic clean energy investments and incentives under the landmark federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Only the post-pandemic recovery surge of 2021 (152,000 jobs) added more new jobs in a single year.

Every clean energy sector grew at least twice as fast as overall national employment. Clean vehicles saw double-digit growth for the third consecutive year. Energy efficiency continued to lead the clean economy in total jobs. Jobs in manufacturing and other services (including vehicle maintenance and repair) accounted for nearly 60 percent of all new clean energy jobs.

Over the past three years, clean energy jobs increased 14 percent to nearly 3.5 million workers. By comparison, that’s more jobs than there are nurses nationwide. The 149,170 new clean energy jobs created in 2023 accounted for 6.4 percent of all jobs created economywide, and nearly 60 percent of all jobs in the entire energy sector.

This growth sets the stage for the next several years as the industry begins to feel the full impact from historic investments and incentives in the IRA. Three hundred and forty major new clean energy projects have been announced across 40 states and Puerto Rico since the IRA passed. In those announcements, companies have said they are creating more than 109,000 new jobs while investing over $126 billion in private-sector capital.

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Key Findings

RENEWABLE GENERATION: Renewable generation sectors added more than 25,000 jobs in 2023, led by solar (+18,400) and wind (+5,700). In all, almost 560,000 Americans now work in renewable generation— a 14 percent increase since 2020. 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Energy efficiency remains the single-largest employer across the entire energy sector, employing nearly 2.3 million Americans. The sector accounted for half of all new clean energy jobs in 2023, adding nearly 75,000 workers (+3.4%). 

STORAGE + GRID MODERNIZATION: The storage and grid modernization sector added over 7,000 jobs (+4.6%) and now supports nearly 160,000 workers—more than there are highway maintenance workers.5 Jobs making power grids more resilient and able to handle more wind and solar generation led the sector, growing 5 percent followed by battery and energy storage (+4.3%). Since 2020, the sector increased employment by 15 percent. 

CLEAN VEHICLES: Clean vehicle makers continue to lead all sectors in growth, adding over 40,000 jobs (+11.0%). Electric vehicles (EVs) led the sector, adding over 17,000 jobs (+12.9%), followed closely by hybrid EVs with 15,900 jobs added (+10.5%). Over the past three years, clean vehicle jobs have jumped nearly 60 percent. The sector continued to outgrow the gas- and diesel-powered vehicle industry (+1.5%) and now employs over 410,000 workers. 

BIOFUELS: The smallest clean energy sector, biofuels added over 1,200 jobs in 2023. Since 2020, the sector has increased employment by 12 percent to more than 

2024 Clean Energy Employment Toplines

Total Clean Energy 3,460,406
Renewable Energy 559,971
Grid & Storage 158,423
Energy Efficiency 2,290,179
Clean Fuels 41,412
Clean Vehicles 410,420

Looking for More Info?

This is the ninth  annual Clean Jobs America 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 2018, 2019, and 2020 reports produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) after the DOE chose not to produce them in 2017.

If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs America 2024 or our other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports.

Previous Reports

Clean Jobs America 2023 is the 9th national clean energy jobs report from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.

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Clean Jobs America 2023

Date: September 14, 2023

CLEAN ENERGY JOBS SURPASS 3.3 MILLION; IMPACT OF NEW CLIMATE POLICIES JUST BEGINNING.

Summary:

Clean energy and clean vehicle jobs in America grew 4 percent in 2022, bringing the total number of workers in renewable generation, energy efficiency, clean vehicles, battery and storage, grid modernization, and biofuels to more than 3.3 million. Clean energy now employs over 40 percent of all energy workers in America.

The increase in 2022 marked the full workforce recovery for multiple sectors following the earlier impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renewable energy, biofuels, and storage and grid modernization sectors officially surpassed their sectors’ pre-pandemic job numbers in 2022 while clean vehicles—which continued to add jobs during the pandemic—kept up its industry-leading growth pace.

Approximately 127,000 jobs were added across all sectors—accounting for more than 3 percent of all U.S. jobs added in 2022. Over the past two years clean energy jobs have grown by more than 10 percent, faster than the overall energy industry and overall U.S. employment.

It’s a trend that’s expected to continue as the clean energy sector begins to feel the full impact from historic investments passed in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Clean energy and clean vehicle companies announced 210 major projects across 38 states in the year after the IRA was signed into law on August 16, 2022.2 The numbers in this report do not reflect the estimated 74,000 jobs to be created by the projects announced.

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Key Findings

  • The states with the most clean energy jobs remained unchanged from 2021, led by California and Texas with over 500,000 and 250,000 jobs respectively, followed by New York, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, and North Carolina all with at least 100,000.
  • Employment increased by more than 6 percent in five states (Tenn. Ky., Okla., N.J., N.M.), while the sector accounted for more than 5 percent of all 20 jobs in Vermont and over 3 percent in four other states (Mass., Wyo., Md., R.I.).
  • Los Angeles County (Calif.), Harris County (Texas), Orange County (Calif.), Cook County (Ill.), and San Diego County (Calif.) led all counties for the most clean energy jobs with at least 50,000 jobs in each. 
  • Kenedy County (Texas), Pulaski County (Ill.), and Storey County (Nev.) had the highest density in clean energy employment while Dewey County (Okla.), Hoke County (N.C.), and Hopewell County (Va.) had the fastest growth rates. 
  • Clean energy sectors set record employment highs two years after the pandemic-fueled unemployment crisis cost the industry more than 620,000 jobs. 
  • Energy efficiency remained the single-biggest employer across the entire energy sector, employing more than 2.2 million Americans, adding more than 50,000 jobs in 2022 (up 2.3%). 
  • 1.6 million construction jobs were supported by clean energy in 2022, which would account for about 1 in every 7 construction workers nationwide. 
  • Jobs grew across all subsectors of renewable energy, led by wind energy (7.5%) and geothermal (5.0%). In all, nearly 20,000 jobs were added in 2022 and over 535,000 Americans now work in renewable energy sectors—an 8.5% increase since 2021. 
  • The storage and grid modernization sector added over 8,000 jobs in 2022, up 5.8%. Jobs making power grids more resilient and able to handle more renewable energy led the sector, growing 11.6% followed by battery and energy storage (6.2%). Since 2021, the sector increased employment by 9.8%. 
  • Clean vehicle makers continue to lead all clean energy sectors in growth, adding nearly 50,000 jobs. Electric vehicles (EVs) led the sector, adding nearly 30,000 jobs alone in 2022 (26.8%), followed closely by hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles (25.2%). Since 2021, every clean vehicle subsector has increased employment by over 27% with EVs and hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles seeing job growth rates over 60%. The sector also continued to outgrow the gas and diesel-powered vehicle industry (1.6%). 
  • The smallest clean energy sector, biofuels, added over 1,000 jobs in 2022. Since 2021, the sector has increased employment by 8.4% and over 3,000 jobs. 

2023 Clean Energy Employment Toplines

Total Clean Energy 3,315,199
Renewable Energy 534,603
Grid & Storage 151,412
Energy Efficiency 2,215,432
Clean Fuels 40,148
Clean Vehicles 373,604

Looking for More Info?

This is the eighth annual Clean Jobs America 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.

If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs America 2023 or our other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports. A FAQ is also available here to answer any questions.

Previous Reports

Clean Jobs America 2023 is the 8th national clean energy jobs report from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.

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Healthy Soils and Innovation: Cultivating Economic Security on America’s Farms

Date: July 18, 2023

The Rising Opportunity For Resilience In Rural America

Summary:

Innovation is at the heart of America’s farm tradition. Having proven over more than two centuries that they can thrive while dealing with uncertainty and unforeseen challenges, adapt to new circumstances often out of their control, and innovate practical solutions to ongoing change, America’s farmers are proven entrepreneurs. Whether it’s rising input costs, fluctuating commodity prices and tariffs, or market disruptions based on events thousands of miles away, farmers are skilled at seizing the opportunities in adversity.

Now the agriculture industry increasingly faces unprecedented challenges from severe and unseasonable weather, putting practices that were effective in past decades in question. Out of necessity, farmers and ranchers are experimenting with and adopting forward-thinking methods to ensure that their operations, both large and small, survive and thrive in the face of these swiftly evolving circumstances.

More than ever, American farmers need the support and freedom to innovate. But U.S. federal farm policies do not sufficiently incentivize, and in many cases hinder, this farmer-led entrepreneurial activity. The 2023 Farm Bill represents a timely and strategic opportunity to greatly increase investment and innovation in new practices and technologies that:

  • restore and increase soil health
  • reduce farm input costs
  • boost crop resilience to extreme weather events while reducing crop loss risk and insurance costs
  • store atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change
  • enhance additional ecosystem benefits such as reduced soil erosion and input runoff, improved water and air quality, and increased biodiversity
  • bolster economies of hard-hit communities in rural America

These economic and environmental benefits can be achieved through three policies in the 2023 Farm Bill that will incentivize and promote the freedom to innovate that so many farmers are demanding to manage their operations for maximum health and productivity.

The next decade represents a critical window to enact policies that address the climate challenge. It’s imperative that the next Farm Bill helps transform U.S. agriculture to meet 21st century challenges with a framework that robustly incentivizes innovation—and actively partners with the producers, Ag tech, equipment and input companies, consumer product companies and consumers, and other stakeholders who are leading the Ag sector to a new, innovative, and economically sustainable future.

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A  Report on Three Policy Opportunities

Include The Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act

The 2018 Farm Bill introduced a new program, On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials, under the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The program included the Soil Health Demonstration Trial (SHDT) program with a specific focus on practices and innovations to improve soil health. Hundreds of farmers and ranchers in nearly all 50 states are now participating in SHDT trials, and many more would like to. As called for in the Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act introduced in Congress6, the 2023 Farm Bill should greatly expand the SHDT program and make it permanent.

Create And Fund An Advanced Research And Innovation Hub Within the U.S. Department of Agriculture

With the emergence of Ag Tech as a potentially transformational and fast-growing investment sector in recent years—akin to the clean-energy sector in 2009—Congress should create and fund an entity comparable to ARPA-E within USDA to support and accelerate private and academic R&D in future-focused Ag areas such as soil health data collection and measurement; farm robotics; precision Ag management software; and bio-based fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The new entity should create partnerships with other relevant agencies such as EPA, DOE, DOD and National Labs, as well as land grant universities across the U.S. These federally funded research hubs will bring high-quality jobs, both directly and indirectly through p

Include the Cover Act

Crop insurance has been a cornerstone of U.S. federal agriculture policy and an essential economic safety net for America’s farmers for nearly a century. Under policies administered by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), some 90% of all farmed acres in the U.S. are covered by federal crop insurance. However, some crop insurance policies have become a barrier to best practices and have reduced producers’ ability to innovate for crop resilience in their specific regions and on their individual farms. And the current system costs U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

Related Reports

About E2

E2 is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital.

For additional insight into E2’s other reports, visit e2.org/reports.

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California’s Offshore Wind Opportunity

Date: February 27, 2023

Creating jobs in CA by developing a new clean energy resource

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.

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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.

For questions on this report, methodology, reported job numbers, or requests for specific additional data, email E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]).

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Clean Jobs Midwest 2022

Date: August 11, 2021

A Return to Rapid Growth, with Clean Vehicle Jobs Driving Ahead

Clean energy companies employed more than 714,000 Midwesterners at the end of 2021, over a 5 percent increase from 2020 and a return to growth after an unprecedented decline in 2020. Approximately 55 percent of the clean energy jobs lost during the COVID-19 economic downturn were regained. In 2021, clean energy jobs grew almost 40 percent faster than the overall economy. More Midwesterners worked in clean energy than the number of lawyers, accountants and auditors, web developers, and real estate agents in the region combined.

The biggest sector of the Midwest clean energy industry is energy efficiency, over 67 percent of the region’s clean energy workforce. The 479,626 energy efficiency workers in the Midwest manufacture ENERGY STAR-rated appliances, install efficient lighting, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and install advanced building materials in homes and commercial buildings.

As more automakers and their suppliers continued to shift to electric vehicles, the advanced transportation sector saw an increase of 24 percent in the Midwest.

The sector added 21,939 new jobs for a total of 112,591 workers. Hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric-vehicle sector jo

MIDWEST HIGHLIGHTS

  • Energy Efficiency – 479,626 jobs
  • Clean Vehicles – 112,591 jobs
  • Renewable Energy – 88,898 jobs
  • Grid & Storage – 25,279 jobs
  • Clean Fuels – 7,928 jobs
  • ALL Clean Energy Sectors – 714,323 jobs

OTHER KEY FINDINGS

  • Clean energy occupations accounted for 23% of all construction jobs and 4% of all
    manufacturing jobs in the Midwest.
  • Small businesses drive Midwest’s clean energy sector – in 2021, 69% of Midwest’s clean
    energy businesses employed fewer than 20 people.
  • 11% of Midwesterners employed in clean energy are veterans

DOWNLOAD

The complete report along with interactive breakdowns for all states is available at this link.

PREVIOUS CLEAN JOBS MIDWEST REPORTS

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Clean Jobs America 2022

Date: August 3, 2022

A return to rapid growth, with clean vehicle jobs driving ahead

Summary:

Clean energy and clean transportation jobs grew by more than 5 percent in 2021, with electric vehicle manufacturing jobs leading the way and renewable energy regaining most of the jobs lost in the COVID-19 economic downturn.

More than 3.2 million Americans were employed in renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage and grid modernization and clean fuels at the end of 2021, according to an E2 analysis of U.S. Department of Energy jobs data.

Approximately 156,000 jobs were added across all clean energy and clean vehicle subsectors in 2021—more than half of all jobs added to the total energy sector. Clean energy and clean transportation now employs more than 40 percent of all energy workers in America. Two years after the COVID-19 economic downturn wiped out more than 600,000 clean energy jobs, nearly 75 percent of those jobs were regained.

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Findings

  • 3.2 million Americans now work in clean energy, up 5 percent from a year earlier.
  • Every clean energy subsector, from renewables and energy efficiency to electric vehicles and grid modernization, grew last year. Conversely, fossil fuel jobs fell 4 percent.
  • While clean jobs grew along with most of the rest of the economy in 2021, they are still well below their pre-COVID peak, in part because of lingering uncertainty around federal policy.
  • California, Texas and New York continue to lead the U.S. in total clean energy jobs. Following (in order) were Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
  • New Mexico saw the biggest percentage growth in clean energy jobs last year after it passed some of the most promising clean energy policies in the country. But other states – led by Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana and Idaho – are also benefiting. Clean energy investments included in the Inflation Reduction Act would drive more job growth in those states and others.
  • Clean vehicles were the big story in 2022. Jobs building electric vehicles grew by a dramatic 26 percent. Many Republican-led states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Texas and Tennessee, benefited greatly from expansions of EV and other clean transportation manufacturers, and also would benefit from electric vehicle tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • Small businesses, the backbone of America’s economy, continue to employ the majority of the clean energy workforce. About 90 percent of all clean energy jobs were at companies that employed fewer than 100 workers.

Despite the strong job growth in 2021, uncertainty around federal policy cast a pall over the industry and job growth at the beginning of 2022. New clean energy project installations declined by 55 percent in the second quarter of 2022 alone, according to the American Clean Power Association, putting future job growth at risk.

However, with promising climate and clean energy investments and tax credits moving again in Congress in the summer, and the Biden administration stepping up its efforts to expand clean energy and cut carbon pollution, the second half of 2022 was looking brighter for continued strong growth in clean energy jobs.

2022 Clean Energy Employment Toplines

Total Clean Energy 3,201,602
Renewable Energy 515,248
Grid & Storage 143,052
Energy Efficiency 2,164,914
Clean Fuels 39,096
Clean Vehicles 339,291

Looking for More Info?

This is the seventh annual Clean Jobs America 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.

If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs America 2022 or our other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports. A FAQ is also available here to answer any questions.

Previous Reports

Clean Jobs America 2022 is the 7th national clean energy jobs report from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.

View Report »

North Carolina Offshore Wind Cost-Benefit Analysis

Date: January 19, 2022

SUMMARY

Over the next decade offshore wind is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing the U.S. electric sector, and especially along the East Coast. When states are considering offshore wind goals, they will certainly evaluate the myriad of associated costs and benefits.

This analysis was developed to help decision makers quantify some of the economic development and environmental benefits associated with offshore wind. This analysis calculates the costs and benefits associated with a single 2.8-gigawatt (GW) offshore wind project off the coast of North Carolina in operation by 2030. Both a base scenario, assuming a standard amount of local manufacturing/supply chain content, and a high local content (or “high”) scenario, were developed.

The high scenario assumes 100% local content for both the blades and offshore substations of a single 2.8GW theoretical project. Content assumptions are based on findings from the March 2021 offshore wind supply chain study conducted on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, which indicates these components being most likely to locate production in-state. While not within the scope of this calculation, it is important to highlight the compounded value that new or expanded offshore wind supply chain capabilities located in North Carolina will create. In addition to providing economic benefit to the state through projects developed off the coast of North Carolina, offshore wind manufacturers will also supply components for projects along the Atlantic coast or potentially across the country or the globe — generating continued economic benefit to the state, absent the cost of generating electricity.

RESULTS

DOWNLOAD

View and download the complete report at at this link.
View and download a one-page summary of the report’s key findings at this link.

BACKGROUND

Recently codified in state-level legislation, North Carolina has asserted the carbon-reduction goal of 70% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century4 . To that end, the Governor’s administration, the North Carolina General Assembly, and Duke Energy have all endeavored to examine pathways to reliably and costeffectively decarbonize the state’s electric grid5,6,7,8. While offshore wind has occasionally been an element of these discussions, due to relative cost and nascency of the U.S. offshore wind industry, it hasn’t been evaluated as a primary tool for decarbonization.

Absent from any of the decarbonization modeling or stakeholder processes conducted in the state since 2018 is the consideration of the economic benefits that accompany offshore wind. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), now the American Clean Power Association (ACP), an estimated 30GW of offshore wind deployment in the U.S. by 2030 could generate as much as $57 billion in economic output9 . As such, the inclusion of these benefits is critical when understanding the full value of the technology.

This analysis determines both the costs and benefits of a theoretical 2.8-gigawatt (GW) offshore wind project developed off the coast of North Carolina in operation by 2030 using industry-standard practices, data, and modeling tools. The costs and benefits are measured against one another to determine the net economic impact.

PREVIOUS REPORTS

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Clean Jobs Colorado 2021

Date: December 13, 2021

The Promise of a Bright Future and Strong Economy

Summary:

Driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis, Colorado experienced its first decline in clean energy jobs in 2020 since E2 began tracking the industry with this methodology in 2017. Colorado’s clean energy economy employed more than 58,000 workers at the end of 2020, down from 62,400 the year before, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and the findings of a national survey of more than 35,000 businesses across the U.S. economy.

By May of last year, more than 7,500 clean energy workers in Colorado had lost their jobs since the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading widely, according to monthly analysis of unemployment data by E2 and partners.2 Since the sector’s losses peaked at the end of May 2020, jobs grew back by 6 percent. In fact, by the end of 2020 more than about 40 percent of the clean energy jobs lost between March and May had been regained, leaving the sector down about 7 percent (about 4,200 jobs) since COVID-19.

Thanks to smart state climate policy leadership, Colorado’s clean energy economy has proven to be a core part of the state’s economy—representing more than 2 percent of overall state employment. It has been resilient and robust in the face of crushing economy-wide pressures.

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Findings

  • Colorado’s Clean Vehicles sector, made up of Hybrid Electric Vehicles, PlugIn Hybrid Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Natural Gas Vehicles, and Hydrogen & Fuel Cell, grew almost 6 percent over the previous year, as automakers increasingly shift to cleaner and more efficient electric cars, trucks, and buses. With smart policies, Colorado can be a center for innovation and high-tech manufacturing in this sector.
  • The most significant sector decline was in the Energy Efficiency sector, where the pandemic curtailed in-person engagement with customers.
  • The total clean energy generation sector ended the year with a 3 percent loss. Wind and solar gained jobs, while geothermal, bioenergy/combined heat & power and low-impact hydro took the hit in job losses.

Colorado Clean Energy Employment, 2020

Energy Efficiency 32,595
Renewables 17,324
Clean Vehicles 3,392
Storage and Grid 2,912
Clean Fuels 1,959
TOTAL 58,182

Policies Matter

Colorado’s landmark bill that passed and became law in 2019, Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution (HB19-1261),4 and was strengthened during the 2021 legislative session, requires the state to reduce 2025 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 percent, 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent and 2050 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90 percent of the levels of statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that existed in 2005. In 2021, HB21-1266 defines disproportionately impacted communities, requires engagement of those communities, and creates staffing, task forces, and boards focused on addressing environmental justice. These two laws inform how agencies are required to meet the GHG reduction goals, in with equity and justice at the forefront.

Several agency commissions are continuing to promulgate rules. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is developing rules to affect utilities that provide retail electricity. The Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) is developing rules to curb emissions in the oil and gas sector and together with the Colorado Department of Transportation Commission are designing rules to electrify transportation, increase transit, walking and biking options, and reduce individual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).

The 2022 legislative session should continue to address GHG emissions, as well as reduce waste, improve recycling, support renewable energy and regional transmission, improve monitoring emissions of oil and gas operations, and other policies in support of the environment and the clean economy.

Background

This is the fourth annual Clean Jobs Colorado 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 Colorado or our other annual clean energy economic reports, visit e2.org/reports.

An FAQ is available at e2.org/reports/clean-jobs-america-faq.

Previous Reports

Clean Jobs Colorado 2021 is the 5th clean energy jobs report for California from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.

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