President Trump may be focused on saving coal miners, but solar continues to be the hot spot in today’s jobs market. Solar employment expanded last year 17 times faster than the total US economy, according to an International Renewable Energy Agency report published on Wednesday that cited data from the Solar Foundation.
Overall, more than 260,000 people work in the solar industry, up by 24% from 2015. The solar business has benefited from the falling cost of solar energy and generous federal tax credits that make it more affordable for businesses and homeowners to install solar panels.
"It seems to be one of the few areas of high-paying, blue-collar jobs — and you don’t have to learn to code," said Bryan Birsic, CEO of Wunder Capital, a fintech company that allows investors to help finance solar panel installations.
Awareness is also up as Americans concerned about climate change look for cleaner energy options. Elon Musk has helped add to the solar buzz. Musk’s Tesla recently started taking orders for solar roofs that is made of shingles to ease concerns that solar panels are ugly.
Most solar workers are in the installation business, the IREA report showed. Other leading jobs include manufacturing, project development, sales and research-and-development.