Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

The document outlines job estimates for various green energy sectors in the U.S., distinguishing between direct, indirect, and induced employment. It provides specific figures for wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass industries, while noting the difficulty in quantifying energy efficiency jobs due to their integration into larger industries.

• Employment in the U.S. solar industry grew significantly from 50,000 workers in 2009 to an estimated 93,000 in 2010, with a projected growth of 26 percent by August 2011.
• The wind industry employed 85,000 Americans in 2010, but the American Wind Energy Association estimates this number dropped to approximately 75,000 due to the economic downturn and a lack of federal long-term energy policy.
• Hydropower is estimated to support between 200,000 and 300,000 direct jobs, based on an assumption of 2-3 full-time equivalents per megawatt for the existing 100,000 MW fleet.
• The biomass sector includes 14,000 jobs in biopower, 51,893 jobs in biodiesel as of 2008, and approximately 70,400 direct jobs in ethanol, which support an additional 400,677 indirect and induced jobs.
• Energy efficiency employment is difficult to quantify because many jobs are embedded in larger industries; however, a 2011 study found that appliance, equipment, and lighting standards generated 340,000 jobs in 2010 from $34 billion in energy savings.
• The geothermal industry had 5,200 direct jobs as of 2010, with 13,100 indirect and induced jobs, and was expected to grow by 2,805 jobs in the current year.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2011). Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-jobs-in-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency1

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. 2011. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-jobs-in-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency1.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency |date=1 June 2011 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-jobs-in-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency1 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2011jobs, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2011}, month = jun, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-jobs-in-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency1}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }