State Clean Energy Employment Projection Support
NREL's U.S. job growth and employment potential projections provide a simple and transparent approach for states to gain insights and estimate the workforce needed to support clean energy.
These modeled deployment projections include four clean energy applications—grid-connected battery storage, land-based wind energy, solar photovoltaics (PV), and utility program energy efficiency—and provide an overview of job potential under "business-as-usual" and "more accelerated" deployment scenarios.
NREL's analysis also summarizes national deployment trends, national employment estimates, and COVID-19 impacts and includes descriptions of occupations and general credentials.
In 2022, the state job projections were incorporated into the State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform. View the projections in SLOPE's Data Viewer interactive map.
State-Level Employment Projections for Four Clean Energy Technologies in 2025 and 2030, NREL Technical Report (2022)
State-by-State Clean Energy Jobs Potential Projections
Use the map below to view the clean energy job projections for each state and Washington, D.C.
Methodology
These projections are meant to provide general guidance on state-by-state clean energy job growth. Actual job potential may vary based on state priorities and areas of focus. Readers may use the 2022 report's methodology to gain a more accurate projection based on local priorities and variables. The report contains job "multiplier" values that can be applied to any deployment scenario.
The battery energy storage (BES), photovoltaic (PV), and land-based wind tables below include job multipliers broken out by industry subsector in 2020, 2025, and 2030. For PV and BES, job multipliers were reduced over time in alignment with cost reductions anticipated for each technology in 2025 and 2030, as published in the 2021 Annual Technology Baseline because cost reductions are assumed to come from labor efficiencies. Land-based wind and energy efficiency job multipliers were held constant due to relative industry maturity.
The 2020 cumulative U.S. BES deployment was approximately 4,000 megawatts (MW). Labor requirements per megawatt are expected to decline 31% between 2020 and 2025 and another 20% between 2025 and 2030.
Data for BES is sourced from the U.S. Energy and Employment Jobs Report (USEER), NREL's Regional Energy Deployment System, and Annual Technology Baseline.
| Industries | No. of Jobs 2020 | U.S. BES Industry Composition 2020 | U.S. BES Jobs/MW by Industry 2020 | U.S. BES Jobs/MW by Industry 2025 | U.S. BES Jobs/MW by Industry 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 35,263 | 53% | 8.8 | 6.1 | 4.9 |
| Professional Services | 10,988 | 16% | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| Manufacturing | 11,910 | 18% | 3 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Wholesale Trade and Distribution | 7,549 | 11% | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1 |
| Other | 1,041 | 2% | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Total 2020 | 66,751 | 16.7 | 11.6 | 9.1 |
The 2020 cumulative U.S. PV deployment was approximately 102,500 MW. Labor requirements per megawatt are expected to decline 28% between 2020 and 2025 and another 40% between 2025 and 2030. Note that numbers are rounded.
Data for PV is sourced from USEER, Solar Energy Industries Association, and Annual Technology Baseline.
| Industries | No. of Jobs 2020 | U.S. PV Industry Composition 2020 | U.S. PV Jobs/MW by Industry 2020 | U.S. PV Jobs/MW by Industry 2025 | U.S. PV Jobs/MW by Industry 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 156,634 | 53% | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Professional Services | 43,266 | 15% | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Manufacturing | 39,420 | 13% | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Wholesale Trade and Distribution | 28,635 | 10% | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Utilities | 5,176 | 2% | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 20,742 | 7% | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Total 2020 | 293,874 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.2 |
The 2020 cumulative U.S. land-based wind deployment was approximately 122,000 MW. Labor multipliers are not expected to decline for U.S. land-based wind in 2025 or 2030. Note that numbers are rounded.
Data for wind is sourced from USEER and the U.S. Department of Energy.
| Industries | No. of Jobs 2020 | U.S. Wind Industry Composition 2020 | U.S. Wind Jobs/MW by Industry 2020 | U.S. Wind Jobs/MW by Industry 2025 | U.S. Wind Jobs/MW by Industry 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 42,054 | 36% | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 |
| Professional Services | 29,204 | 25% | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.24 |
| Manufacturing | 24,532 | 21% | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Wholesale Trade and Distribution | 11,682 | 10% | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Utilities | 7,009 | 6% | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 |
| Other | 2,336 | 2% | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Total 2020 | 116,817 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.96 |
The energy efficiency job potential calculation is estimated based on projected investments in utility energy efficiency programs.
Data for energy efficiency is sourced from the Electric Power Research Institute.
| State | Estimated Investment in Utility Cost-Effective Energy Efficiency Programs 2025 | Estimated Investment in Utility Cost-Effective Energy Efficiency Programs 2030 | Average Direct Jobs/$1M USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| AK | $33,307,204 | $51,494,832 | 5.61 |
| AL | $426,497,279 | $720,254,982 | 5.83 |
| AR | $303,474,359 | $521,944.586 | 6.62 |
| AZ | $547,905,330 | $927,275,446 | 5.44 |
| CA | $1,625,991,860 | $2,518,732,887 | 4.32 |
| CO | $341,537,337 | $576,299,939 | 4.45 |
| CT | $80,939,193 | $125,596,993 | 4.73 |
| DC | $90,427,042 | $151,968,187 | 3.63 |
| DE | $66,475,483 | $111,716,125 | 5.69 |
| FL | $1,817,829,818 | $3,229,205,021 | 6.36 |
| GA | $798,661,768 | $1,342,116,034 | 5.43 |
| HI | $57,915,209 | $89,540,208 | 5.47 |
| IA | $190,947,795 | $316,731,190 | 5.97 |
| ID | $135,228,258 | $228,180,139 | 6.38 |
| IL | $374,590,108 | $646,768,067 | 4.60 |
| IN | $437,641,529 | $755,632,783 | 5.59 |
| KS | $155,327,393 | $257,646,494 | 4.32 |
| KY | $371,107,290 | $626,714,138 | 4.87 |
| LA | $528,438,214 | $908,859,206 | 6.38 |
| MA | $151,827,113 | $235,596,975 | 4.07 |
| MD | $454,343,507 | $763,552,117 | 5.91 |
| ME | $34,289,747 | $53,208,946 | 7.21 |
| MI | $514,488,817 | $888,317,470 | 3.84 |
| MN | $273,575,909 | $453,789,075 | 5.46 |
| MO | $312,730,305 | $518,735,718 | 5.62 |
| MS | $238,689,718 | $403,091,571 | 6.50 |
| MT | $84,510,837 | $142,601,072 | 6.77 |
| NC | $837,115,455 | $1,406,823,841 | 4.66 |
| ND | $69,277,476 | $114,912,755 | 5.34 |
| NE | $113,312,146 | $187,954,466 | 6.73 |
| NH | $31,837,044 | $49,402,977 | 6.04 |
| NJ | $303,100,200 | $512,984,987 | 4.81 |
| NM | $145,331,535 | $245,959,213 | 6.19 |
| NV | $236,014,058 | $399,430,393 | 6.21 |
| NY | $618,569,396 | $1,077,089,368 | 3.71 |
| OH | $686,398,246 | $1,185,136,652 | 5.37 |
| OK | $387,075,044 | $665,729,139 | 6.24 |
| OR | $225,821,649 | $349,133,115 | 5.29 |
| PA | $485,956,839 | $822,462,546 | 5.04 |
| RI | $20,631,559 | $32,014,920 | 5.18 |
| SC | $458,816,730 | $771,069,642 | 4.47 |
| SD | $45,804,961 | $76,949,675 | 6.01 |
| TN | $515,076,183 | $869,844,205 | 5.43 |
| TX | $2,439,826,750 | $4,207,054,168 | 5.33 |
| UT | $179,612,826 | $303,073,338 | 6.02 |
| VA | $635,254,214 | $1,067,583,649 | 5.34 |
| VT | $17,024,643 | $26,417,906 | 5.16 |
| WA | $414,641,915 | $641,059,987 | 4.85 |
| WI | $334,441,981 | $577,448,227 | 4.90 |
| WV | $168,397,008 | $283,001,495 | 6.04 |
| WY | $75,721,273 | $127,769,823 | 6.96 |
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