CLEAN ENERGY JOBS GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES

This World Resources Institute fact sheet provides data on employment growth within the United States clean energy economy, focusing on solar, wind, energy efficiency, and alternative fuel vehicle sectors as of early 2016 and 2017.

• In early 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that approximately 800,000 people were employed in low-carbon-emission generation technologies, which include nuclear, renewables, and advanced/low-emission natural gas. This figure is significantly higher than the 160,000 Americans employed in coal during the same period.
• The solar industry experienced rapid growth in 2016, creating jobs 17 times faster than the general economy and accounting for one out of every 50 new jobs in the United States. The solar workforce grew by 25 percent between 2015 and 2016, reaching a total of 374,000 employees.
• Wind energy employment grew by 32 percent between 2015 and 2016, reaching 102,000 workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies wind-turbine technicians as the fastest-growing occupation for the following 10 years.
• Energy efficiency employment in early 2016 totaled 2.2 million Americans involved in the manufacture, installation, and design of products and services, with 1.4 million of those workers employed in the construction industry.
• Within the auto industry's 2.4 million workers in early 2016, over 259,000 worked with alternative-fuel vehicles—including fuel cell/hydrogen, all electric, plug-in hybrids, hybrids, and natural gas—and at least 710,000 focused on transitioning to alternative fuels or improving fuel economy.

APA

World Resources Institute (2017). CLEAN ENERGY JOBS GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Clean_Energy_Fact_Sheet_final.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. CLEAN ENERGY JOBS GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES. 2017. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Clean_Energy_Fact_Sheet_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=CLEAN ENERGY JOBS GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES |date=February 2017 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Clean_Energy_Fact_Sheet_final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2017clean, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{CLEAN ENERGY JOBS GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Clean_Energy_Fact_Sheet_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }