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Clean Jobs Midwest 2022

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

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

PREVIOUS CLEAN JOBS MIDWEST REPORTS

• Clean Jobs Midwest 2021
• Clean Jobs Midwest 2020
• Clean Jobs Midwest 2019
• Clean Jobs Midwest 2018
• Clean Jobs Midwest 2017
• Clean Jobs Midwest 2016

E2 California Action Alert: Advanced Clean Fleet Rule

Clean Jobs America 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.

• Clean Jobs America 2021
• Clean Jobs America 2020
• Clean Jobs America 2019 
• Clean Jobs America 2018 
• Clean Jobs America 2017 
• Clean Jobs America 2016

Building Opportunity: New York

The Jobs, Economic and Equity Benefits of Decarbonizing
and Electrifying Buildings Across the Empire State

Summary

New York State is home to more than 120,000 workers engaged in work directly related to decarbonizing and electrifying buildings across the state. This includes work like installing electric induction stoves in apartment buildings on Staten Island, replacing old insulation in the attics of single-family homes in Plattsburgh and fitting new pipes for geothermal heating and cooling systems in commercial buildings in Rochester.

To better understand how decarbonizing and electrifying New York’s buildings would impact the state’s labor market, E2 took a deeper dive into the state’s overall building decarbonization and electrification employment data.

By looking at five employment areas — technology; value chain; residential and commercial energy efficiency; electrification, building envelope and other energy efficiency; and a specific occupational analysis — we found that:

• In New York State, building decarbonization and electrification employment is 2.2 times greater than employment in fossil fuels as they relate to buildings.
• While New York City, Long Island and the mid-Hudson Valley are home to the majority of the state’s building decarbonization and electrification jobs, Western New York, the Finger Lakes, Central New York, the Southern Tier, the North Country and every other region in the state is home to thousands of building decarbonization workers, and all counties and regions stand to gain from stronger building decarbonization and electrification policies.
• Statewide, there are 73,000 workers involved in residential building decarbonization; nearly 48,000 work helping to decarbonize commercial buildings, suggesting broad opportunities across the state’s building stock, from ranch houses to apartments and high-rise office buildings to commercial buildings and industrial parks.
• In 2020, average annual wages for five occupations within building decarbonization and electrification in New York State ranged from $48,800 (for workers who are involved in insulation, floors, ceilings and walls) to $81,200 (electricians)
• The education required for entry-level jobs and the on-the-job training received varies
  depending on the occupation, suggesting a broad range of opportunities for workers
  across New York State.

Building Decarbonization and Electrification Employment by Technology, 2020

Jobs Growth Potential 

While 120,000 workers represent a sizable segment of New York State’s current overall labor force, the number of people who work on building decarbonization and electrification is expected to dramatically increase in the coming decades. By 2050, over 400,000 New Yorkers could be expected to work in building decarbonization and electrification — nearly four times as many as today.

Policy Leading the Way

Power sector policies have helped put New York at the center of the nation’s rapidly growing clean energy industry. In 2019 the state enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which sets targets and timelines for economy-wide emissions reductions, requires at least 35 percent of climate action benefits directly impact environmental justice and disadvantaged communities, and establishes the New York Climate Action Council (CAC) to oversee the efforts required to meet these nation-leading climate and equity commitments.

The state is already on track to meet CLCPA goals of sourcing 70 percent of its electricity supply from renewable energy by 2030, and making it 100 percent emissions-free by 2040. With buildings now representing a significant portion of economy-wide emissions, additional policies that could help equitably accelerate this shift include: better building codes; standards that help make appliances and other equipment found in residences and commercial buildings more efficient; statewide legislation that helps modernize new buildings; facilitating more disclosure of how buildings consume energy; eliminating fossil fuel subsidies while aligning incentives with state and local climate goals; and scaling up green, affordable housing.

Credit: NYSERDA.

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Download the complete report at at this link.

BACKGROUND

This is the first Building Opportunity: New York 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.

North Carolina Offshore Wind Cost-Benefit Analysis

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

• Offshore Wind: Generating Economic Benefits on the East Coast | August 2018

Clean Jobs Colorado 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.

• Clean Jobs Colorado 2020
• Clean Jobs Colorado 2019 
• Clean Jobs Colorado 2018 
• Clean Jobs Colorado 2017

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