U.S. Solar One of the Fastest Growing Job Sectors

April 24, 2013

A new Federal Report shows that solar energy achieved history in March. America’s solar industry employs 119,000 workers throughout the country. That’s a 13.2 percent growth over 2011’s jobs numbers, making solar one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the nation, reports the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Amonix and NREL are testing a concentrating photovoltaic array at SolarTAC in Aurora, Colorado. The Amonix 7700 Solar Power Generator was developed in a partnership between NREL and Amonix. It is a highly concentrated, highly efficient bulk power generator that produces 40 percent more energy than conventional fixed photovoltaic panels. The Amonix 7700 is the first terrestrial photovoltaic system capable of converting one-fourth of the sun’s energy into usable electricity. It produces more power per tower by using record-efficient solar cells, tried-and-true concentrator Fresnel lenses and smart controller and tracker systems. | Credit: Dennis Schroeder | NREL

For the first time, solar energy accounted for all new utility electricity generation capacity added to the U.S. grid last month, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) March 2013 “Energy Infrastructure Update.” More than 44 megawatts (MW) of solar electric capacity was brought online from seven projects in California, Nevada, New Jersey, Hawaii, Arizona, and North Carolina. All other energy sources combined added no new generation.

Solar also had a strong showing in FERC’s quarterly generation numbers, accounting for about 30 percent of all new utility-scale capacity. The report focuses exclusively on larger facilities and does not include energy generated by net-metered installations. Net-metered systems account for more than half of all U.S. solar electric capacity.

This speaks to the extraordinary strides we have made in the past several years to bring down costs and ramp up deployment. Since 2008, the amount of solar powering U.S. homes, businesses and military bases has grown by more than 600 percent—from 1,100 megawatts to more than 7,700 megawatts today. As FERC’s report suggests, and many analysts predict, solar will grow to be our nation’s largest new source of energy over the next four years. –Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA.

FERC’s report supports other findings which show solar power to be one of the fastest growing energy sources in the U.S., powering homes, businesses and utility grids across the nation. The Solar Market Insight annual edition shows the U.S. installed 3,313 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2012, a record for the industry.

Some of this growth is attributed to the fact that the cost of a solar system has dropped by nearly 40 percent over the past two years, making solar more affordable than ever for utilities and consumers.

In 2012, the U.S. brought more new solar capacity online than in the three prior years combined. These new numbers from FERC support our forecast that solar will continue a pattern of growth in 2013, adding 5.2 GW of solar electric capacity. This sustained growth is enabling the solar industry to create thousands of good jobs and to provide clean, affordable energy for more families, businesses, utilities, and the military than ever before. –Rhone Resch.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

– FERC’s March 2013 Energy Infrastructure Update: www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2013/mar-energy-infrastructure.pdf
– 2013 SEIA Policy Priorities: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/2013-policy-priorities-federal-state
– U.S. Solar Market Insight: 2012 Year-in-Review: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/us-solar-market-insight

By Amber Archangel