Clean Energy Employment Booming, Creates a More Diverse Workforce and Higher Quality Jobs

Solar employment is up 86% since 2010, with 210K employees expected in 2015

Since 2010 the solar workforce has grown nationally from 93,502 workers to 173,807 workers in 2014 – an 86% increase during that period. Over 2014 alone the solar workforce grew almost 10 times the average national job growth rate.

California continues to dominate the solar job market with a total solar workforce of 54,690 in 2014, more than the state’s three major utilities combined – Pacific Gas & Electric (about 20,000), Southern California Edison (more than 13,600), and San Diego Gas & Electric (about 5,000).

As the maps below demonstrate, several states with significant solar potential are driving job creation with double-digit job growth in 2014 and over 20% solar job growth expected in 2015.

Between 2006 and 2015 SolarCity grew from 20 to over 9,000 employees, a more than 400x workforce expansion. This is markedly faster and larger employment growth than several prominent tech startups.

In the electric vehicles sector, Tesla grew from 250 employees in 2007 to about 10,000 in 2015.

Leading Clean Energy Companies Outpace Prominent Tech Startups in Job Growth

employment levels: solarcity vs tech startups

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

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70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

9,000

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

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70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

GREEN:hex: #007AC3rgb: 63, 174, 42cmyk: 73, 6, 100, 0 Pantone 361 C

70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

GREEN:hex: #007AC3rgb: 63, 174, 42cmyk: 73, 6, 100, 0 Pantone 361 C

70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

GREEN:hex: #007AC3rgb: 63, 174, 42cmyk: 73, 6, 100, 0 Pantone 361 C

70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

GREEN:hex: #007AC3rgb: 63, 174, 42cmyk: 73, 6, 100, 0 Pantone 361 C

70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

solar versus average job growth rates in 2014

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

national california texas arizona new york georgia maryland

Solar Growth Rate

Average Growth Rate

May 2015 DBL Policy Brief

Sources: Solar and national jobs data provided by The Solar Foundation National Jobs Census 2014 Report, state average job growth rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Source links available at http://bit.ly/1Rdp0hI.

Sources: Jobs data estimated from press reports and company websites, DBL internal estimates, and company-reported statistics from SolarCity. Source links available at http://bit.ly/1Rdp0hI.

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

GREEN:hex: #007AC3rgb: 63, 174, 42cmyk: 73, 6, 100, 0 Pantone 361 C

70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

High Quality Clean Energy Jobs in Midwest Outperform Statewide Employment Benchmarks

In Minnesota, clean energy employees earned on average $20,900 more per year than the statewide average. Across the 15,338 advanced energy jobs this represents an additional $320M in additional annual earnings that spurs the local economy and increases the tax base.

With these additional earnings a clean energy employee could cover the cost of an average mortgage in Minnesota for 2.5 years, or more than 2 years of in-state tuition for a dependent.

Solar Installation Employs 16K More Latinos, 4K More African-Americans, 5K More Asian/Pacific-Islanders and 10K More Women Than The Coal Mining Industry, Which is 87% White and Male

The U.S. solar industry supports a more demographically diverse workforce compared with traditional energy generation industries. Only 7.4% of the U.S. coal mining industry is female compared to 17.7% of solar installation workers who are women. Solar is more diverse across a range of demographic categories and the solar workforce is becoming increasingly diverse over time.

Not only is the solar sector more diverse than traditional energy generation like coal mining but there are also more solar jobs than coal jobs. The Solar Foundation National Jobs 2014 Census reports that the solar installation sector employs 80,622 more workers than the coal mining industry.

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

BLUE:hex: #47AD46rgb: 0, 124, 186cmyk: 84, 46, 0, 0Pantone 7461 C

GREEN:hex: #007AC3rgb: 63, 174, 42cmyk: 73, 6, 100, 0 Pantone 361 C

70%

0%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL

LATINO ORHISPANIC

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

ASIAN ORPACIFIC

WOMEN

Average Annual Home Mortgage: $8,124

MN Public 4-Year Tuition & Fees: $9,826

SOLAR INSTALLATION

COAL MINING

Average Growth Rate

Solar Growth Rate

CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARIZONA NEW YORK GEORGIA MARYLAND

13,600

5,000

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

54,690CA Solar Jobs 2014

20,000

64,080CA Solar Jobs 2015

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12

22,000

21,500

21,000

20,500

20,000

19,500

19,000

18,500

18,000

Clean Energy

General Frieght and Trucking

Crop Production

Animal Production

SEPT 06JAN 15

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

SEPT 06 APR 12 JAN 15

comparison of solar and coal workforce

Solar Installation

Coal Mining

latino or hispanic

women african- american

asian/pacific

DBL Investors gratefully acknowledges the research completed by Kenny Fahey, University of Michigan MBA/MS 2015, and the source data from the various clean energy associations, utility and company employment data and press reports. A complete list of the sources is at http://bit.ly/1Rdp0hI. Please note, the information presented was retrieved at a point in time and reflects best estimates, the source organizations frequently update and revise this data. For the most recent data, please refer directly to the source organization’s website.

Sources: The Solar Foundation National Jobs Census 2014 Report and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Source links available at http://bit.ly/1Rdp0hI.

Sources: MN Clean Energy Economy Profile, MN Office of Higher Education, and Zillow. Source links available at http://bit.ly/1Rdp0hI.