President Joe Biden, as part of his infrastructure proposal, reiterated a campaign goal of achieving 100% carbon-free or clean electricity across the United States by 2035. Creating a workforce More than 900,000 workers will be needed in the solar industry alone to support the 2035 target, four times more than the current workforce, according to a new report.

© (Bill Clark / Getty Images)
UNITED STATES – APRIL 10: A solar farm generates electricity near Bakersfield, Texas on Saturday, April 10, 2021. (Photo by Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“We now have the opportunity to quadruple our workforce, adding diversity and supporting underserved communities by taking policy actions that encourage the deployment of solar power and storage and provide long-term certainty for businesses. solar, ”said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association, in a statement on the report.

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The estimate comes after a year of job losses in the solar industry, attributed to restrictions and coronavirus lockdowns that halted residential and commercial solar installation projects, according to the National Solar Jobs Census released Thursday by the SEIA. In 2020, more than 231,000 workers were employed in the solar industry, down 6.7% from 2019 to the lowest level since 2015, according to the report. The declines were seen across all industries, including installation and developers, manufacturing, sales and distribution, operations and maintenance, and others, which include solar workers in areas such as finance and advocacy.

Despite the decline in employment, the number of solar installations added in 2020 reached an all-time high. And while demand for solar power has generally recovered, according to the report, employment has not reached pre-pandemic levels in all sectors of the solar industry. Employment in installation and construction remains the largest segment of the industry, accounting for 67% of solar jobs, followed by 14% in manufacturing and 11% in sales and distribution.

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FOLLOWING

All but six states saw employment in the solar industry in 2020 – the largest workforce reduction on record in the industry, according to the report. Some of the most populous states – like California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Massachusetts – had the most solar jobs in 2020, though they all saw declines in solar employment ranging from 1 , 7% to 8.7%. Some of these states also saw one of the strongest overall solar employment growth since 2015: Florida saw a 71% increase, Texas increased 44%, and employment in New York City increased by 24%, according to the report.

Despite the decline in solar employment, the industry improved its diversity in 2020. Women in solar now represent 30% of the workforce, up 39% since 2015. Hispanic or Latin American workers have seen their jobs increase 92% since 2015, Asian workers have seen an 18% increase, and black or African American workers have increased 73% over the same period.

The report uses data from the 2021 U.S. Energy and Jobs report from the BW Research Partnership, the Future of Energy Initiative, and the National Association of Canadian Energy Executives. States, and defines solar workers as those who devote the majority of their time to work related to solar energy.

Here are the states with the most solar jobs per capita:

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