By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jobs in the U.S. clean energy industry will grow more than twice as fast as the nation’s total employment in 2023, and unionization in clean energy exceeded the pace in the broader energy industry for the first time, according to the Energy Department. Wednesday.
Employment in clean energy companies — including wind, solar, nuclear and battery storage — rose by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2% last year, compared to a 3.9% increase in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report . The rate was above the overall U.S. job growth rate of 2% by 2023. Total energy sector jobs increased by 250,000, of which 56% were in clean energy.
The unionization rate in the clean energy sector was 12.4%, higher than the 11% in the overall energy sector, the report said. That was driven by growth in the construction and utilities sectors and after passage of legislation in 2022, including the bipartisan CHIPS Act and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the department said.
Clean energy construction jobs, driven by legislation and private sector investment, “are expected to continue building out the clean energy infrastructure we need for decades to come,” Betony Jones, head of energy jobs at the Energy Department, to reporters in a press conference. telephone conversation. While union members “may move from project to project, there is continuity in that work so workers can build a career in that industry,” she said.
Employment in the utility and rooftop solar sectors grew by 5.3%, adding more than 18,000 jobs. The solar installation industry in California, the nation’s most populous state, says it has lost more than 17,000 jobs due to high interest rates and the state’s reduction in net metering rates, which allows customers to be credited for the excess power that their roof panels generate.
New fossil fuel jobs were mixed. The workforce grew by more than 77,000 or 13.3%, while jobs in the petroleum sector fell by more than 44,000 or 6%. The number of jobs in the coal sector fell by almost 8,500, or 5.3%, as power generation continued to switch from coal to gas, wind and solar energy.
White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters that the report demonstrated the administration’s commitment to pursuing both energy and climate security. Zaidi said bills supported by some Republican lawmakers to repeal IRA programs would not only eliminate clean energy jobs but also create some 28,000 additional manufacturing jobs that build capacity for renewable energy and things like heat pumps that save electricity.
Energy remained a predominantly male workforce, with an average of 73% in 2023, compared to the national occupational average which was 53% male, the same number as the previous year. Women accounted for about half of new jobs in the energy sector in 2022, but only 17% of new jobs in 2023, the report said.
