Job boards like the one that Renewable Energy Vermont has launched will be important to connect newly qualified workers with jobs, said Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, an environmental advocacy group that tracks clean energy workforce trends. But their impact will be limited without more investment in training workers who don’t yet have the […]
“Right now, there are about three million people who work in clean energy in America,” said Bob Keefe, the executive director of E2. “That’s three times the number of people that work in fossil fuels. It’s also more people than work as bankers, as real estate agents, as farmers in America.”
Policymakers in North Carolina are currently considering whether the state will join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as a key component to achieving our statewide climate goals. RGGI is a regional climate program that sets a declining cap on carbon pollution from the power sector while generating revenue that can be invested in the […]
New report points to potential for clean energy job growth in Illinois Clean energy sees first recorded drop in overall jobs, yet policies like the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) hold promise for unparalleled growth in years ahead Sector recovered 7,000 jobs since unemployment peaked in Q2 CHICAGO (Apr. 22, 2021) – Clean energy jobs […]
Clean energy sees first recorded drop in overall jobs, yet policies hold promise for unparalleled growth in years ahead Sector recovered 300,000 jobs since unemployment peaked in Q2 Clean vehicles and wind energy finish year in the positive, despite early losses WASHINGTON, DC – Clean energy jobs surged nearly 11 percent in the second half […]
In 2020, the number of clean energy jobs in America fell for the first time since E2 began tracking nationwide employment across the entire clean energy sector in 2015. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic contraction and the lingering impacts of policies from the previous administration that encouraged fossil fuels over clean energy, nearly 307,000 jobs were lost in wind, solar, energy efficiency and other clean energy sectors.
About 3 million Americans worked in clean energy at the end of 2020, down from 3.36 million the year before, according to the analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and the findings of a national survey of more than 30,000 businesses across the U.S. economy.
Despite the overall decline, clean energy remains the biggest job creator across America’s energy sector, employing nearly three times as many workers as work in fossil fuel extraction and generation. More Americans still work in clean energy than work as middle and elementary school teachers, bankers, farmers or real estate agents. Median hourly wages for clean energy jobs also are about 25 percent higher than the national median wage, and also pay better than most fossil fuel extraction jobs (See Clean Energy Wages And Making Good Jobs Even Better sidebar on page 5).
California, Texas, New York and Florida remain the nation’s leaders for clean energy jobs, but smaller states such as Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Ohio all employed more than 100,000 clean energy workers each at the end of last year.
| Total Clean Energy | 3,048,603 |
| Renewable Energy | 492,891 |
| Grid & Storage | 137,872 |
| Energy Efficiency | 2,107,174 |
| Clean Fuels | 37,036 |
| Clean Vehicles | 273,630 |
This is the sixth 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 2021 or our other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports. An FAQ is also available here to answer any questions.
Clean Jobs America 2021 is the 6th national clean energy jobs report from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.
According to a report by E2, energy efficiency has historically been the biggest, fastest-growing energy sector in the US, and we’ve barely scratched the surface of our job-creation potential. Bolstered by RGGI proceeds, energy efficiency has the capacity to power Pennsylvania’s economic recovery even as it reduces emissions and cleans our air
Harrisburg, P.A. – Pennsylvania will be making the single-largest solar procurement by a state government in the country, Governor Tom Wolf announced today. The block of solar power purchasing agreements will supply about 50% of the state government’s electricity demands, exceeding the commitment made in the governors’ 2019 executive order. The following is a statement […]
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33,700 Nevadans worked in clean energy before pandemic hit in 2020 LAS VEGAS – Projected to add 1,500 workers in 2020, Nevada’s clean energy economy lost nearly 4,000 after a tumultuous year driven by the global COVID-19 economic crisis. Despite losing 11% of its workforce, clean energy remains the state’s leader for energy sector jobs […]
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.
This report focuses solely on the energy sector of the economy and does not include jobs in retail trade, repair services, water or waste management, and indirect employment or induced employment.
| Energy Efficiency | 11,988 jobs |
| Renewable Energy | 11,265 |
| Solar Energy | 10,101 |
| Energy Storage | 8,634 |
| Clean Vehicles | 1,299 |
| Grid Modernization | 465 |
| Clean Fuels | 138 |
| Wind Energy | 124 |
| All Clean Energy Sectors | 33,788 jobs |
This report follows E2’s Clean Jobs America analysis which found the clean energy jobs account for nearly 3.3 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.
If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs Nevada 2019 or our other Clean Jobs America reports, visit e2.org/reports. You can also contact E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]). An FAQ is also available here to answer any questions.
PORTLAND, OR – Projected to reach nearly 60,000 jobs in 2020, Oregon’s clean energy economy lost more than 6,000 after a tumultuous year driven by the global COVID-19 economic crisis. Despite losing 10% of its workforce, clean energy remains the state’s leader for energy sector jobs and the best bet to power a fast and […]