A State Solar Jobs Map released by The Solar Foundation, with information based on its National Solar Jobs Census 2012, has revealed that the U.S. solar power industry now employs 119,016 people. Further, this figure grew by 13.2% over the previous year. This makes it one of the fastest growing industries in the United States economy.
Andrea Lueche, The Solar Foundation Exec. Director, noted that Texas now has more solar jobs than ranchers, and this is despite emerging economies of scale that are making the solar industry more labor efficient, requiring a third of the workers to install a megawatt of solar power as it did back in 2010.
It was also noted that solar is the fastest growing clean energy technology, and employment has doubled in just the past three years. Strong state solar power policies have largely driven the growth in certain states.
The top ten states for solar jobs in 2012 were:
- California
- Arizona
- New Jersey
- Massachusetts
- PennsylvaniaÂ
- Colorado
- New York
- Texas
- Michigan
- Ohio
With solar power becoming cheaper by the year, and the popularity and awareness of rooftop solar increasing in the public sphere, this trend in solar jobs seems likely to continue well into the future. Do you think it’s possible that the solar industry might just emerge to become one of the world’s largest industries in coming years?
Image CC licensed by Wayne National Forest: Installing rooftop solar panels.
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