Summary
North Carolina’s clean energy workforce added 3,254 new workers in 2024, growing three percent and adding jobs at a rate more than six times faster than the state’s overall employment, which grew at less than a half percent. The state ranked eighth for largest clean energy workforce in 2024, with 113,052 clean energy jobs in total. The bulk of the workforce were in the construction and professional services industries, with about 41,300 workers and 34,200 workers respectively. In 2024, clean energy accounted for 57 percent more jobs than fossil fuels in North Carolina while two North Carolina counties made the top 30 list for counties with the most clean energy jobs in the nation: Mecklenburg County (19,732 jobs) and Wake County (17,697 jobs).
It’s important to note that the jobs data in this report predates the early July 2025 passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has been forecast to slow clean energy job growth nationwide. It also predates the late July passage of SB266 in the NC General Assembly, which is expected to slow clean energy development in North Carolina. Still, these numbers point to a resilient and increasingly essential industry and workforce. As energy demand grows, North Carolina’s clean energy companies and workers are positioned to play an even greater role in shaping the state’s economic future.
Previous Reports
Clean Jobs North Carolina 2025 is the 7th clean energy jobs report for North Carolina from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.
Background
This is the seventh Clean Jobs North Carolina 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 decided to not produce it in 2017.
For additional insight on clean energy’s economic impact, visit e2.org/reports/ to access E2’s full slate of economic reports on the clean energy sector and related industries,