Jobs from Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) provides a comprehensive overview of employment data and projections across the renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) sectors, comparing them with traditional fossil fuel and nuclear energy industries at national, state, and international levels.

• In 2006, the renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries in the United States created 8.5 million total jobs, with 8 million in EE and 450,000 in RE.
• Renewable energy is found to be more labor-intensive than the fossil fuel sector, creating more jobs per megawatt of installed power, per unit of energy produced, and per dollar of investment.
• Proposed national policies in the U.S. could significantly boost employment: a 20% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 2020 is estimated to create 185,000 new RE jobs, while requiring a fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon for automakers by 2018 could create 241,000 additional jobs nationwide by 2020.
• Various U.S. states show significant job potential from clean energy: Texas could add 123,000 high-wage jobs by 2020 via solar power; Florida could create over 14,000 jobs by 2023 through energy efficiency; and California's RPS of 20% by 2017 was estimated to create 119,000 person-years of employment.
• International employment trends show growth in the European Union, where net employment could increase to 1,660,000 under the Advanced Renewable Strategy. Specific examples include over 20,000 wind energy jobs in Denmark and over 214,000 RE employees in Germany in 2006.
• Employment in the U.S. coal mining industry has seen a steady decline, dropping from 185,000 jobs in 1985 to 80,000 in 2005.
• Sector-specific U.S. data indicates that the ethanol industry created 163,034 jobs in 2006, while the wind industry created 36,800 total jobs in the same year.
• Legislative efforts in the U.S. Congress in 2007 included the 'Sanders-Clinton Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program' ($100 million) and the 'Green Jobs Act of 2007' ($125 million), both aimed at job training in RE and EE.

APA

Elles, C., & Beck, F. (2007). Jobs from Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/EEREJobsFactSheet_11-8-07_0.pdf

Chicago

Elles, Chrissy, and Fredric Beck. Jobs from Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2007. https://www.eesi.org/files/EEREJobsFactSheet_11-8-07_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Elles |first1=Chrissy |last2=Beck |first2=Fredric |title=Jobs from Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=8 November 2007 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/EEREJobsFactSheet_11-8-07_0.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elles2007jobs, author = {Elles, Chrissy and Beck, Fredric}, title = {{Jobs from Renewable Energy \& Energy Efficiency}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2007}, month = nov, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/EEREJobsFactSheet_11-8-07_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }