The Solar Foundation reports 13.2% growth in U.S. solar jobs

5th November 2012

Job growth in solar power is far outpacing the broader economy.

The Solar Foundation (TSF), an independent non-profit solar education and research organisation, has produced its third annual National Solar Jobs Census. This reveals that the U.S. solar industry now employs 119,016 Americans, a figure which represents the addition of 13,872 workers and a 13.2% employment growth rate over the previous year. Based on 2012 data collection, TSF also revised the 2011 total jobs number from 100,237 to 105,145.

Andrea Luecke, TSF Executive Director: "The solar industry has grown at significantly higher rates than most other industries in the past several years, making it one of the foremost creators of new jobs in the United States. Our census findings indicate that these new jobs are highly skilled in nature, including solar installation, sales, marketing and software development. These new solar industry jobs are sustainable, cannot be outsourced and play a critical role in our country's economic recovery."

Decline in component prices

The National Solar Jobs Census 2012 measured employment growth in the solar industry between September 2011 and September 2012. During the same period, employment in the overall economy grew at a rate of 2.3% (BLS), while the fossil fuel electric generation industry shed 3,857 jobs or 3.77% of its workforce (EMSI). Nearly one third of employers who responded to the survey cited the continued decline in component prices as the primary driver of employment growth. State legislation enacting Renewable Portfolio Standards or authorising third-party system ownership and federal tax incentives were other leading drivers of growth.

"The census findings simply validate the continued boom in business growth that we have experienced over the past year," said Danny Kennedy, co-founder and president of Sungevity, a leading residential solar provider. "Our expansion to the six new states from 2011 to 2012 created over 100 new jobs at Sungevity and other companies that partner with us. Solar power is an American invention and it is exciting to see it become one of the fastest growing job engines in America."

The full report will be presented at the Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference on November 14th in Albany, NY. It will contain additional results, including a detailed breakdown of the overall employment figure by industry sector, providing growth rates for each. It will also include 2013 employment projections, information on hiring trends and, among other things, some state level data on company distribution.

Amonix announces world record for module efficiency

In a related story, Amonix – a leading designer and manufacturer of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) energy – has achieved a milestone in the industry by successfully converting more than a third of sunlight into electricity. Its figure of 33.5% efficiency broke the previous record of 30.3%.

Comments »