Clean Energy jobs increased by 3.9% in the United States, adding 114,000 jobs in 2022, accounting for 40% of the total energy jobs, according to the 2023 Energy and Employment Report (USEER) published by the Department of Energy (DOE).

In 2022, the energy sector as a whole saw an increase of 3.8%, adding approximately 300,000 jobs compared to the previous year.

The report highlights that clean energy technologies, such as solar and wind power, were responsible for more than 84% of the newly generated electric power generation jobs. These sectors collectively added over 21,000 jobs in 2022, demonstrating a growth rate of 3.6% year-over-year.

Specifically, the solar sector added over 12,000 new jobs, reflecting a 3.7% increase from the previous year, while the wind sector contributed an additional 5,000 jobs, representing a growth of 4.5%.

Employment in other renewable energy electric power generation technologies also saw positive growth in 2022. Traditional and low-impact hydropower employers added 1,758 jobs, reflecting a 2.7% increase. Bioenergy employers contributed an additional 462 jobs, marking a gain of 3.7%. Lastly, geothermal employers added 413 jobs, signifying a 5% increase compared to the previous year.

Solar Sector

In 2022, a total of 346,143 workers were employed by solar power generating companies, encompassing activities across the value chain from research and development to installation, operations, and maintenance for both photovoltaics and concentrated solar power. This figure represents an increase of 12,256 employees compared to the previous year, reflecting a growth rate of 3.7%.

The utility industry saw the largest job gains within the solar sector, adding 4,041 new jobs, representing a significant increase of 65.9%. The construction segment added 2,019 jobs; professional and business services added 2,150; manufacturing added 1,784 jobs, 1,279 new jobs were added in the other services segment, and wholesale trade added 984 new jobs.

Wind Sector

In 2022, wind power companies employed nearly 125,580 workers. Most wind workers in the United States, specifically 124,524 individuals, were engaged in land-based wind power generators, while the remaining 1,056 were involved in offshore wind power generators.

The employment trend in the wind sector continued to show positive growth, creating 5,416 new jobs in 2022.

The largest number of employees in the wind sector was in the construction industry, with 45,088 workers — up 1,717 from 2021. Professional and business services reported the most significant number of new jobs, at 1,955, translating to 6.3% growth from 2021 to 2022.

Hydropower

In 2022, the number of workers employed by hydropower companies reached 66,272, indicating a growth of 2.7% compared to the 64,514 individuals employed in 2021. In 2022 the sector added 1,758 new jobs.

Bioenergy

In 2022, employment in the bioenergy electric power generating segment reached 12,850 workers, showing a growth of 3.7% compared to the previous year. The construction industry experienced the most significant job gains within the bioenergy sector, adding 227 new jobs, reflecting a 4.3% increase.

Following that, professional and business services saw an increase of 120 jobs, utilities added 74 jobs, manufacturing contributed 35 jobs, and other services and wholesale trade sectors saw modest gains of five and three jobs, respectively.

Transmission, Distribution, and Storage

In 2022, employment within the transmission, distribution, and storage (TDS) segment experienced a growth rate of 2.2%, adding 29,937 jobs throughout the year.

The largest job gains within the TDS segment came from traditional transmission and distribution, including bulk power transmission and control, electric power distribution, and natural gas distribution. This sector contributed 17,708 new jobs.

EV charging and other electric power transmission and distribution saw an increase of 3,547 jobs. In terms of storage, the battery storage sector, which encompasses battery manufacturing jobs (13,600 in total), accounted for 81% of all storage technology jobs and added 3,225 jobs in 2022.

Within the storage sector, 72,923 workers were employed in the battery storage sector.

Fossil-Fuels & Clean Energy Fuels

In 2022, the fuel sector witnessed a significant rise in employment, with a total of 1,031,799 workers employed. This figure represented a notable increase of 13.6% compared to the 908,422 workers employed in 2021.

Companies involved in clean energy fuels, including corn ethanol, woody biomass/cellulosic biofuel, and other biofuels, added 1,962 jobs, reflecting a growth rate of 1.7% between 2021 and 2022.

Other Biofuels

Other biofuels include fuels derived from biomatter that are not classified within specific categories in the USEER. This includes non-woody biomass, renewable diesel fuels, biodiesel fuels, waste fuels, and ethanol not produced from corn. In 2022, firms within the Other Biofuels sector employed a total of 40,148 workers, marking a 2.7% increase compared to the 39,096 workers employed in 2021.

Energy Efficiency

In 2022, the energy efficiency segment witnessed employment growth, with a total of 2,215,432 workers employed. This represented a 2.3% increase compared to the 2,164,914 workers employed in 2021. Employment in the energy efficiency sector experienced a YoY growth rate of 2.3%, adding 50,517 jobs in 2022.

Electric Vehicles

In 2022, the motor vehicle and component parts industry employed 2,618,241 workers, reflecting a 2.5% increase compared to the 2,553,368 workers employed in 2021.

Throughout 2022, motor vehicle and component parts jobs experienced growth, with an addition of 64,873 jobs, representing a YoY growth rate of 2.5%. The gasoline and diesel vehicles segment contributed the most jobs among all categories, with an increase of 31,017 jobs.

The EV sector exhibited the highest percentage growth, with a significant increase of 26.8%, resulting in 28,366 new jobs. Hydrogen or fuel cell vehicle jobs grew 25.2% YoY, plug-in hybrid vehicle jobs increased by 10%, and hybrid electric vehicle jobs grew by 6.6% during the same period.

Overall, the clean vehicle sector, encompassing EVs, plug-in hybrid vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles, experienced a substantial increase of 47,760 jobs, equivalent to a growth rate of 14.7%.

According to a report by an independent strategic firm Climate Power, clean energy companies in the U.S. had announced more than 101,036  new green jobs in 31 states between August 16, 2022 – January 31, 2023.

Renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal, exceeded coal-fired power generation in the sector for the first time in 2022 in the U.S., according to a report by the Energy Information Administration.