Dive Brief:
- The Solar Foundation released a report Wednesday showing 250,271 solar jobs across the U.S. in 2017, about 10,000 fewer than in 2016. Job descriptions include installation, manufacturing, sales and distribution, project development and the ubiquitous "other."
- According to the interactive Jobs Map, California is the largest employer with upwards of 85,000 jobs. Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Florida round out the top 5. Though they are leaders, California and Massachusetts saw a decrease in the number of solar jobs.
- Delaware, Minnesota, Iowa and Utah posted job gains over the previous year of 40% or more. Manufacturing and installation provided the biggest percent increase for Delaware, Minnesota and Iowa. Project development pushed Utah's growth spurt.
Dive Insight:
Utilities such as Xcel are publishing low-priced bids on renewable energy and storage projects. States like Massachusetts are also broadening targets aimed at increasing renewable energy use, including solar.
Coal, by contrast, added less than 1,000 jobs to its mining operations, increasing to 54,819. Utilities don't see a future in new coal capacity, and are retiring coal plants largely due to cheap natural gas and renewable energy. Even so, the Trump Administration is forging ahead with efforts to bring back coal jobs. Just this week, the Department of Energy released a report that said the January bomb cyclone event showed the U.S. power grid could be at risk with coal retirements.