TSF State Solar Jobs Census 2015 Fact Sheet

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    The Solar Jobs Census series is a product of The Solar Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3

    nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase understanding of solar energy through strateg

    research that educates the public and transforms markets. The most recent installment of the Nation

    Solar Jobs Census found that the U.S. solar industry currently employs 208,859 workers, a figure whic

    represents 20.2% growth in employment over the previous year. This growth rate makes 2015 the thirconsecutive year in which employment increased by 20% or more. Since TSF first began tracking sola

    employment in 2010, the industry has grown by 123%, resulting in nearly 115,000 new, well-paying, domest

    jobs. In 2012, TSF began estimating solar employment in each of the 50 states, and introduced stand-alon

    Census reports for select states the following two years. This factsheet summarizes the results from the 201

    State Solar Jobs Censuseffort.

    State of the States

    Solar jobs continue to grow across the country,

    almost 12 times faster than the overall economyince 2014, and most states continue to see robust

    olar development. Thirty-three states (including

    he District of Columbia) saw positive growth over

    he past year. While this growth was observed in

    all regions of the country, solar employment is

    more concentrated today, with the Top-2 solar

    tates accounting for over 50% of the employment

    growth since 2014.

    As in previous years, California continues to lead in

    both solar employment and installed solar

    capacity. Of the 75,598 solar workers in the state,

    60% are employed in the installation sector. By the

    end of 2016, California is expected to account for

    over 90,000 solar workers.

    Massachusetts retained its position as the second-

    argest solar employer in the U.S. and passed the

    15,000 solar workers benchmark. Colorado edged

    out Ohio to move into the top-10 in total solar jobs.

    Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Nebraska werehe top-3 in solar job growth since 2014.

    Utahs solar workforce grew an estimated 76.8%,

    propelling the state 8 places in the solar states

    ankings from #27 into the top-20.

    VisitSolarStates.orgfor our 51-state Compendiumreport & 14 stand-alone state reports,

    including solar jobs data at the metro, county, and district levels; and check out

    TSFcensus.orgfor our National Solar Jobs Census 2015.

    STATE SOLAR JOBS CENSUS 2015

    A Deeper Dive

    Since 2013, TSF has produced stand-alone stat

    reports. In 2014, TSF included district-level data for

    states California, Arizona, and Minnesota and i

    2014, TSF produced full reports for 6 states

    California, Arizona, Texas, New York, Georgia an

    Maryland. This year, TSF produced 14 stand-alon

    Solar Jobs Censusreports (for AZ, CA, CO, FL, MA, M

    MN, NC, NJ, NM, NY, TX, UT, and VT) and a 51-stat

    Compendium report, which includes Census dat

    for all 50 states and features regional summarie

    for each of the nine divisions. Finally, TSF ha

    produced MSA, county, and federal and statCongressional district data for all 50 states.

    Key Data from theState Censusreports

    Highest % Solar Jobs Growth:

    1. Rhode Island, 2. South Carolina, 3. Nebraska,

    4. Tennessee, 5. Louisiana.

    Most Solar Jobs Per Capita:

    1. Nevada 2. Massachusetts, 3. Vermont, 4. Hawaii,5.. California

    Highest % Solar Capacity Growth 2014-15 (estimated

    1. South Carolina, 2. Utah, 3. Georgia, 4. Oregon,

    5. New Hampshire.

    http://solarstates.org/http://solarstates.org/http://solarstates.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://solarstates.org/
  • 7/25/2019 TSF State Solar Jobs Census 2015 Fact Sheet

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    THE SOLAR FOUNDATION00 14thStreet, NW, Ste.400 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 469-3750 www.TheSolarFoundation.org

    View statistics for all 50 states in our interactive map:www.SolarStates.org2014 estimates of solar employment for all states except AZ, CA, GA, MD, NY, and TX were produced using a carefully developed dual

    methodology. It is important to note that while the 2014 and 2015 methodologies differ, the results derived from the Census 2015approach are

    statistically significant and, therefore, more credible.

    StateSolar Workers

    2015

    Solar Workers

    2014

    Rank

    2015 (2014)

    Jobs per Capita

    Rank 2015

    Jobs per Capita

    Rank 2014

    CA 75,598 54,690 1 5 5

    MA 15,095 9,400 2 2 7

    NV 8,764 5,900 3 (7) 1 1

    NY 8,250 7,300 4 21 21

    NJ 7,071 7,200 5 12 9

    TX 7,030 7,000 6 34 36

    AZ 6,922 9,170 7 (3) 7 6

    FL 6,560 4,800 8 (9) 28 38NC 5,950 5,600 9 (8) 15 11

    CO 4,998 4,200 10 (11) 8 8

    OH 4,811 4,300 11 (10) 22 22

    MD 4,269 3,000 12 (13) 14 14

    TN 3,798 2,200 13 (18) 16 25

    IL 3,483 3,800 14 (12) 33 33

    GA 3,185 2,900 15 (14) 30 32

    OR 2,999 2,100 16 (20) 13 12

    HI 2,814 2,200 17 (18) 4 2

    MI 2,779 2,100 18 (20) 32 43

    UT 2,679 1,500 19 (27) 10 23

    PA 2,498 2,800 20 (15) 40 40

    Top Twenty Solar Jobs States - 2015 SolarStates.org

    States Gaining Ground

    In addition to California and Massachusetts: Nevada,

    Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Oregon, Michigan, and

    Utah are among the top 20 solar jobs states that grew

    by 30% or more. Since The Solar Foundation began

    estimating state-level solar employment in 2012,

    nearly half the states in the nation have doubled (or

    more) the size of their solar workforce. Thirty-three

    states (including the District of Columbia) saw

    positive growth over 2014.

    The 2015 Censusreports also show parallel growth in

    the total amount of installed capacity.

    http://www.solarstates.org/http://www.solarstates.org/http://www.solarstates.org/