Jobs from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) details the employment potential of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) sectors globally and within the United States. It compiles various studies and reports to argue that clean energy transitions can provide quality, long-term jobs and economic growth, contrasting these trends with the decline of traditional fossil fuel employment.

• Research by Roger Bezdek for the American Solar Energy Society indicates that the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries created over nine million direct and indirect jobs in 2007, with 450,000 in RE and 8 million in EE. Projections suggest that by 2030, as many as 37 million jobs—representing one in four U.S. workers—will be in these sectors, spanning manufacturing, construction, accounting, and management.
• Clean energy jobs have shown faster growth than traditional employment; the Pew Charitable Trusts found a national growth rate of 9.1 percent for clean energy jobs between 1998 and 2007, compared to 3.7 percent for traditional jobs.
• Various U.S. state-level initiatives demonstrate significant job creation potential: Texas could add 123,000 high-wage jobs by 2020 through solar power; Florida could create over 14,000 jobs by 2023 via energy efficiency; and California's energy efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs between 1977 and 2007.
• Global renewable energy employment was estimated at 2.3 million people in 2006, with the biomass and biofuels sector accounting for over 1 million of those jobs. Specific international projections include the potential for 900,000 jobs in biomass gasification in India by 2025 and up to 1.66 million net employment growth in the European Union under an Advanced Renewable Strategy.
• The U.S. wind sector is a significant job driver, with the American Wind Energy Association reporting 35,000 jobs created in 2008. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that achieving a goal of 20 percent wind energy by 2030 would create 260,000 jobs per year.
• The U.S. ethanol industry showed substantial employment growth, supporting 163,034 jobs in 2006 and 238,541 jobs in 2007. By 2008, the industry employed 494,177 people, with predictions that it will create one million new jobs by 2022.
• In contrast to clean energy growth, U.S. coal mining employment has declined steadily; the National Mining Association reported a drop from 184,373 jobs in 1985 to 84,071 in 2007.
• Legislative actions such as the Green Jobs Act of 2007 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 have provided funding for worker training and clean energy deployment. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is expected to create more than 500,000 jobs.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2009). Jobs from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. https://www.eesi.org/files/101909_jobs_factsheet.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Jobs from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. 2009. https://www.eesi.org/files/101909_jobs_factsheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Jobs from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency |date=October 2009 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/101909_jobs_factsheet.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2009jobs, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Jobs from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2009}, month = oct, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/101909_jobs_factsheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }