TSF State Solar Jobs Census Compendium

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2015

STATE SOLARJOBS CENSUSCOMPENDIUM


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ABOUT THE SOLAR FOUNDATION

Considered the premier research organization on thesolar workforce, employer trends, and the economicimpacts of solar, TSF has provided expert advice to leadingorganizations such as the National Academies, the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Department of Energy,and others during a time of dynamic industry growth andpolicy and economic uncertainty.

While TSF recognizes that solar energy is a key part of ourenergy future, it is committed to excellence in its aim to helppeople fairly and objectively gauge the value and importance

of these technologies.

ABOUT BW RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP

BW Research is widely regarded as the national leader inlabor market research for emerging industries and cleanenergy technologies. In addition to the Censusseries, BWResearch has conducted rigorous solar installation andwind industry labor market analysis for the National

Renewable Energy Laboratory, wind energy and energyretroit studies for the Natural Resources Defense Council,a series of comprehensive clean energy workforce studiesfor the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Illinois, Vermont,Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and California, as well asnumerous skills and gap analyses for community colleges,workforce investment boards, state agencies, and nonproitorganizations.

COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF DIRECT ENERGY SOLAR, CT


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Solar Foundation (TSF) is a national 501(c)

(3) nonproit organization whose mission is toincrease understanding of solar energy throughstrategic research and education that transformsmarkets. In 2010, TSF conducted its irstNational Solar Jobs Census report, establishingthe irst comprehensive solar jobs baselineand verifying that the solar industry is having apositive impact on the U.S. economy. Using thesame rigorous, peer-reviewed methodology,TSF has conducted an annual Censusin each ofthe last six years to track changes and analyze

trends.

This Census Compendium is an offshoot fromTSFs National Solar Jobs Census 2015 effort.TSF would like to acknowledge and thank itsresearch partners. Without their foresight andleadership, this report would not have beenpossible. Research partners include: the GeorgeWashington University Solar Institute forproviding assistance and support in reviewingand validating report results and analysis; the

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) foruse of its National Solar Database and peerreview; GTM Research/SEIA for providingsurvey respondents with the U.S. Solar Market

Insight: 2014 YIR report, and; the following

universities for their contributions to the theirstate Census reports: Florida Solar EnergyCenter at the University of Central Florida,North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Centerat North Carolina State University, Energy PolicyInnovation Council at Arizona State University,and Michigan State University.

Sponsors of this years Census effort include:Energy Foundation, William and Flora HewlettFoundation, Tilia Fund, George Washington

University Solar Institute, State of MinnesotaDepartment of Commerce, State of NewMexico Energy Minerals and Natural ResourcesDepartment, Utah Governors Ofice of EnergyDevelopment, SEIA, Recurrent, SolarCity,First Solar, Sol Systems, E.ON, Trina, sPower,Standard Solar, CALSEIA, All Earth Renewables,and groSolar.

We also want to thank all the solar employersthat participated in the survey. Your responses

were critical in providing us with accurate andtimely data.

Andrea LueckePresident and Executive Director

The Solar Foundation202-469-3750;[email protected]

Philip JordanPrincipal and Vice President

BW Research Partnership508-384-2471; [email protected]

For questions or comments about this report, please contact either:

Please cite this publication when referencing this material as State Solar Jobs Census Compendium2015, The Solar Foundation, available at: www.tsfcensus.org
mailto:%[email protected]://www.thesolarfoundation.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.bwresearch.com/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.bwresearch.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.thesolarfoundation.org/mailto:%[email protected]


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Photo courtesy of Borrego Sola


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1State Solar Jobs Compendium 2015

INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW

The Solar Foundations State Solar Jobs Census

2015 provides current employment, trends,and projected growth in the solar industry. Thisyears State Census is comprised of individualreports for 14 states, an interactive district-levelmap at SolarStates.org, and this Compendium,which includes summaries of all states andregions based on the nine U.S. Census Divisions.

This work follows the January 2016 release ofthe National Solar Jobs Census 2015. The NationalCensusfound that as of November 2015, the U.S.

solar industry employs nearly 209,000 solarworkers, representing a growth rate of 20.2%since November 2014, and 123% since The Solar

Foundation irst started tracking solar workers

in 2010. In 2015, the solar industry addedworkers1at a rate nearly 12 times faster thanthe overall economy, accounting for 1.2% of alljobs created in the U.S. Over the next 12 months,employers expect to see total employment inthe solar industry increase by 14.7% whichis 13 times faster than the U.S. workforce as awhole is expected to grow2 to approximately240,000 solar workers.3Nationally, solar powercurrently produces approximately 1% of U.S.electricity generation, but that too is expected

to increase in coming years.4

Factors that Differentiate Solar Power Among States

This section addresses key factors that help to differentiate solar power employ-ment and development among the states. Such factors include:

Customer demand Solar radiation/resource Grid access

Installation costs Energy prices Local and state policies

More populated states generate greater resi-dential, commercial, and industrial demand forelectricity, including solar power. While Cali-fornia, the nations most populated state, leadsthe country in solar power, the next four mostpopulated states Texas, Florida, New York, andIllinois do not rank in the top ive for installedsolar capacity, and only New York joins Califor-nia as a top ive state for total solar jobs.

Some states receive far greater solar radiation ina given year than others, as seen in the NationalRenewable Energy Laboratory map below. Thesunny, dry Southwest has the greatest natu-

ral solar resource, generating on average moreelectricity from photovoltaic cells per squaremeter than in other part of the country. Not sur-prisingly, the four states with the best solar re-source Arizona, California, Nevada, and NewMexico rank in the top ten for solar jobs percapita. Nonetheless, regions that receive lesssolar radiation can also generate ample power.Germanys solar resource is less than that of anyU.S. state except Alaska, yet Germany boasts 40GW of installed solar capacity, more than all U.S.states combined.5Closer to home, even a systemin Portland, Maine can produce over 90% of the
http://solarstates.org/http://solarstates.org/


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2State Solar Jobs Census Compendium 2015

solar electricity, on an annual basis, as a compa-rable system operating in Miami, Florida.6

Solar power systems typically require access tothe grid. Large, utility-scale solar generation, forexample, must have access to the electric grid to

sell bulk power to consumers. While it may bepreferable to locate utility-scale solar projectsin remote areas, such areas often lack trans-mission lines that allow access to the grid. Thisdisconnect can limit the potential for high radi-ation regions with ample open space to supportmore populated regions. However, the growthof distributed solar power could decrease theneed for additional bulk power generation andrelated transmission lines.7

The general decline in installation costs hasbeen essential to solar market growth. Since2010, U.S. average installed costs have declined35% for residential, 58% for nonresidential,and 67% for utility-scale installations.8 How-ever, among the states, there is a considerableamount of variability in these costs. A 15-statestudy of smaller (


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Average Price of Electricity to Customers by State, Year-to-Date, Through Sept. 2015

Division & States

Price

(cents

per kWh)

State Rank:

Highest

to LowestPrice

Division & States

Price

(cents

per kWh)

State Rank:

Highest

to LowestPrice

Division 1 16.73 North Carolina 9.41 31

Connecticut 17.99 2 South Carolina 9.58 28

Maine 13.08 11 Virginia 9.39 32

Massachusetts 17.11 5 West Virginia 8.06 46

New Hampshire 16.17 6 Division 6 9.13

Rhode Island 17.20 4 Alabama 9.52 29

Vermont 14.33 9 Kentucky 8.02 47

Division 2 13.22 Mississippi 9.65 27

New Jersey 14.14 10 Tennessee 9.36 33

New York 15.54 8 Division 7 8.48

Pennsylvania 10.42 19 Arkansas 8.22 44

Division 3 9.87 Louisiana 7.71 50

Illinois 9.30 35 Oklahoma 7.94 49

Indiana 8.82 39 Texas 8.77 41

Michigan 10.89 16 Division 8 9.65

Ohio 9.91 21 Arizona 10.64 18

Wisconsin 11.01 15 Colorado 9.86 23

Division 4 9.43 Idaho 8.18 45

Iowa 8.72 43 Montana 8.99 37

Kansas 10.11 20 Nevada 9.74 26

Minnesota 9.75 24 New Mexico 9.89 22

Missouri 9.44 30 Utah 8.74 42

Nebraska 9.20 36 Wyoming 7.97 48

North Dakota 8.94 38 Division 9 (cont.) 12.95

South Dakota 9.35 34 California 15.63 7

Division 5 10.06 Oregon 8.80 40

Delaware 11.21 14 Washington 7.32 51District of Columbia 12.01 13 Division 9 (non-cont.) 23.34

Florida 10.71 17 Alaska 17.96 3

Georgia 9.75 24 Hawaii 26.81 1

Maryland 12.11 12 US AVERAGE 10.51


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cents per kWh nationwide. Due to the increasedeconomic beneits of solar in states with tradi-tionally expensive electricity, nearly all of thehigh-rate states have seen signiicant solar de-velopment in recent years.

State and local policies and incentives can differ-entiate solar development among states. Chiefamong these are net metering and intercon-nection. A majority of states offer net metering,which allows owners of residential and com-mercial solar energy systems to sell excess pow-er back to the utility. For most states, customerscan sell the excess power back to the utility atthe retail electricity rate. For other states, suchas Hawaii and Nevada, excess power is credit-ed at a lower wholesale rate, decreasing invest-ment return on solar installations in those ar-eas. States may also have aggregate system caps,meaning that utilities will only purchase a ixedamount of distributed power in a given year. Fi-nally, there may be interconnection charges orfees for hooking distributed power up to thegrid. Almost half (22) of all states received anA or B grade for net metering and intercon-nection as shown in the table on the next page.

There are numerous state incentives, such asrebates and tax credits, that encourage solar de-velopment. Such incentives are often inluencedby broader goals for renewable portfolio stan-dards (RPS) in which case states commit to de-rive a speciic percent of their power generationfrom renewable energy sources by a speciiedyear. RPS designated renewable energy sourcestypically include hydro-electric, wind, solar (PV& thermal), biomass, and geothermal. States

typically designate 15% to 30% of their electric-ity generation from renewable sources by a yearin the relatively near future. Some states suchas California, New York, Maine, and New Hamp-shire have set aggressive RPS goals that willhelp to drive solar development in those statesfor years to come.

There are policy developments related to tech-nological changes that can differentiate solar

power among states. Demand response tools,such as automated load control, smart grid andsmart metering, real-time pricing, and time-of-use tariffs, can provide lexibility for intermit-tent power sources, such as solar, to more efi-ciently meet demand.11Eficient battery storagecould further leverage these demand responsetools. Additionally, the growing use of electricvehicles will increase demand for electricity.States that are quick to accommodate electricvehicles will experience a correlated growth inelectricity demand, which may serve as an ad-ditional driver for increased solar development.


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Top Scoring States(A & B grades)

Policy Grades12Renewable Portfolio

Standards (RPS)13

State Net Metering Interconnection RPS Target RPS Target Deadline

CA A A 50% 2030

CO A B 30% 2020

CT A B 23% 2020

DC A B 20% 2020

DE A B 25% 2026

IA B B 105 MW N/A

IL B A 25% 2023

IN B B 10% 2025

MA A A 15% 2020

MD A B 20% 2022

ME B B 40% 2017

NH A B 24.8% 2025

NJ A B 20.38% 2021

NM B A 20% 2020

NY A B 50% 2030

OH A A 12.5% 2026

OR A A 25% 2025

PA A B 18% 2021

RI B B 14.5% 2019

UT A A 20% 2025

VT A B 75% 2032

WA B B 15% 2020


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State Solar Employment

California leads the nation with over 75,000solar jobs. It has ive times the number of solarjobs as the second highest state of Massachu-setts (15,095). California is expected to contin-ue to lead the nation in solar jobs with a fore-casted 19% growth in 2016. The third largeststate by solar jobs, Nevada, has the most jobsper capita, followed by Massachusetts. Howev-er, given recent policy changes in Nevada, thestate's solar workforce is no longer expected togrow in 2016 at the 18% rate projected. Nation-ally, solar jobs are expected to grow 14.7% in2016.

California leads the nation in installation jobs,followed by Massachusetts and Nevada (though,as noted, this may no longer be true). The pro-portion of Nevada, New York, Tennessee, andMarylands installation jobs is well above thenational average of 57.4%. Of the top ten statesfor total installation jobs, Nevada has by far thegreatest proportion of such positions, with in-stallation irms employing nearly 95% of itssolar workers. Thus, Nevadas solar economyis highly dependent on the residential rooftopsolar business, where most installation jobs aretypically found.

California leads the nation in solar manufactur-ing jobs, followed by Arizona and Massachu-setts. Arizona and Oregon manufacturing irmsemploy over a third of their states' solar work-ers, which is well in excess of the national aver-age of 14.5%.

California leads the nation in project devel-opment jobs, followed by Massachusetts andFlorida. Massachusetts, Florida, and Louisianaemploy a signiicantly greater proportion ofproject development workers than the nationalaverage of 10.8%. Notably, Nebraska project de-velopment irms employ an impressive 61.4%of the state's solar workers. While a high pro-portion of project development jobs may implythat utilities and large irms are actively pursu-ing solar power, it could also indicate a missedopportunity to develop more residential andsmall commercial rooftop solar.

Top 10 States in Installation Jobs

State Installation % of Solar Jobs

CA 40,597 53.7%

MA 8,741 57.9%

NV 8,285 94.5%

NY 5,829 70.7%

TX 4,547 64.7%

NJ 4,303 60.9%

FL 3,217 49.0%

TN 3,047 80.2%

MD 3,025 70.9%

CO 2,958 59.2%

National Average 57.4%

Top 10 States in Manufacturing Jobs

State Manufacturing % of Solar Jobs

CA 11,183 14.8%

AZ 2,400 34.7%

MA 2,098 13.9%

TX 1,424 20.3%

OR 1,149 38.3%

NC 1,144 19.2%

OH 834 17.3%

IL 822 23.6%

NY 800 9.7%

GA 751 23.6%

National Average 14.5%


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Top 10 States in Solar Jobs

State2015

Jobs

National

Rank

Jobs Per

Capita

Rank

2016 Projected

Growth

Cumulative Q3

2015 Installed

Capacity Rank

California 75,598 1 5 18.9% 1

Massachusetts 15,095 2 2 8.6% 6Nevada 8,764 3 1 18.5% 5

New York 8,250 4 21 11.6% 7

New Jersey 7,071 5 12 10.3% 3

Texas 7,030 6 34 12.7% 10

Arizona 6,922 7 7 8.4% 2

Florida 6,560 8 28 7.8% 13

North Carolina 5,950 9 15 10.2% 4

Colorado 4,998 10 8 10.3% 9

Methodology

The State Solar Jobs Census 2015demonstratesthat the U.S. solar industry is having a positiveand growing impact on the national economy,supporting jobs across every state in the nation.As with the previous Censusstudies, this reportseries includes information about all types ofcompanies engaged in the analysis, research

and development, production, sales, installa-tion, and use of all solar technologies rangingfrom solar photovoltaics (PV), to concentratingsolar power (CSP), to solar water heating sys-tems for the residential, commercial, industrial,and utility market segments.

The indings presented herein are based on rig-orous survey efforts that include nearly 288,000telephone calls and over 44,000 emails to knownand potential solar establishments across the

United States, resulting in a maximum marginof error for state employment of 5% at a 95%conidence interval. Unlike economic impactmodels that generate employment estimatesbased on economic data or jobs-per megawatt(or jobs-per-dollar) assumptions, the Solar JobsCensus series provides statistically valid andcurrent data, gathered from actual employers.

In contrast, The Solar Foundations 2014 stateestimates of solar employment (for all states ex-cept CA, AZ, NY, TX, MD, and GA) were producedusing a carefully developed dual methodolo-gy one for installation and construction jobsand another for non-installation jobs (coveringindustry sectors such as manufacturing, sales &distribution, project development, and other

occupations that support the solar industry).Method one used labor intensity multipliersdeveloped internally and cross-checked withleading studies on the subject, while methodtwo was based not only on a direct count of so-lar workers, but also the average number of jobsper solar establishment and total number of es-tablishments in the state.

This year's full methodology can be found in theAppendix of the National Solar Jobs Census 2015

report: www.TSFcensus.org.State-speciic Census reports were completedfor 14 states including: Arizona, California, Col-orado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minne-sota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, NorthCarolina, Texas, Utah, and Vermont. These re-ports can be found at www.TSFcensus.orgor onThe Solar Foundations new interactiveSolarStates.orgmicrosite.
http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://solarstates.org/http://solarstates.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/http://www.tsfcensus.org/


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dv 1: Pg. 9-25 Connecticut Maine Massachusetts

New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

Dv 2: Pg. 26-35 New Jersey New York Pennsylvania

Dv 3: Pg. 36-49 Indiana Illinois

Michigan Ohio Wisconsin

Dv 4: Pg. 50-67 Iowa Kansas

Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Dakota

South DakotaDv 5: Pg. 68-89 Delaware Distict of Columbia Florida Goergia Maryland North Carolina Virginia South Carolina

Dv 6: Pg. 90-101 Alabama Kentucky Mississippi Tennessee

Dv 7:102-113 Arkansas Louisiana Oklahoma

TexasDv 8: Pg. 114-133 Arizona Colorado Idaho New Mexico Montana Utah Nevada Wyoming

Dv 9: Pg. 134-147 Alaska California Hawaii Oregon Washington

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration


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DIVISION 1

NEW ENGLAND

Photo Credit:

Division 1 contains the New England states

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hamp-shire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. While thisregion is not typically associated with a strongsolar resource, a rooftop solar photovoltaic(PV) system installed in Portland, Maine pro-duces over 90% of the electricity on an annualbasis as a comparable system operating in Mi-ami, Florida.14 Coupled with the highest aver-age utility rates in the nation (16.73 cents perkilowatt-hour (kWh) for the region, nearly 60%more than the national average of 10.51 centsper kWh), the New England solar resource issuficient for providing positive inancial re-turns on an investment in solar.15

Massachusetts leads the region both in termsof cumulative installed solar capacity and solaremployment. Though the state ranks sixth in thenation in terms of solar capacity, it is the sec-ond largest employer of solar workers in part

due to its focus on the more labor-intensive res-

idential and non-residential market segments(as compared with the utility-scale segment).The states success with solar in both regardsis the result of a strong policy commitment togrowing the Massachusetts solar market. Chiefamong these policy tools is the MassachusettsRenewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which re-quires 15% of each investor-owned utility andretail electricity suppliers sales be derived fromnew renewable resources by 2020. In 2010, thestate included a solar carve-out requirementthat 400 megawatts (MW) of the 15% standardcome from solar facilities within the state. Thisrequirement gave rise to a strong Solar Renew-able Energy Certiicate (SREC) market, whichprovided an additional revenue stream for solarenergy system owners. The 400 MW carve-outwas achieved well ahead of schedule, spurringthe state to increase the requirement to 1,600

Photo Credit: Direct Solar En


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MW under the SREC II program.16 Growth wasalso encouraged through robust net meteringrules, which have consistently received the topgrade from Freeing the Grid since 2010.17 In2015, however, much of the state reached util-ity aggregate net metering capacity limits andthe year ended without a legislative solution toraise these caps.

Connecticut is the second largest solar marketand solar employer in the region. Like Massa-chusetts, the state has supportive net meteringrules and a strong RPS policy (20% from renew-ables including solar by 2020) though nosolar carve-out. Over 60% of the new solar ca-pacity installed through Q3 2015 was in the res-idential market segment, driven by both upfrontstate rebates and a statewide Solarize program(another similarity with Massachusetts) that

brings homeowners together to go solar at thesame time and providing them with a discounton solar equipment and installation. Vermontranks third in New England in terms of both so-lar capacity and employment. Success here hasalso been driven by the state RPS (with a carve-

out for distributed generation, including solar)and strong net metering rules. Under the statenet metering rules, owners of small-scale solarenergy systems receive credits at the retail ratefor any net excess generation, as well as a solaradder for all metered gross kilowatt-hours.

Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island allhave solar capacity of 20 MW or less, and few-er than 1,000 solar workers each. Each statehas an RPS and has received the highest or sec-ond-highest grade for its net metering rules.However, each of the three states faces limita-tions in its current net metering policy or im-minent changes to these policies or utility ratestructures that stand to impact solar deploy-ment moving forward.

As seen at the national level, most solar workersin the region are employed by companies in theinstallation sector. In every New England state,the proportion of solar workers employed in theinstallation sector exceeds the national aver-age (57.4%), with the exception of Connecticut(53.6%). All states in the region employ manu-

*through Q3 2015

Solar Jobs Solar Capacity*18

State2015

Jobs

National

Rank

Jobs Per

Capita

Rank

2016

Projected

Growth

Cumulative

Installed

Capacity (MW)

National

Rank

Connecticut 1,951 25 18 6.8% 191.7 16

Maine 330 43 35 11.7% 18.6 31

Massachusetts 15,095 2 2 8.6% 944.5 6

New Hampshire 731 36 17 1.8% 14.0 36

Rhode Island 941 34 11 14.6% 17.2 34

Vermont 1,367 31 3 13.0% 104.4 21


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New England

DivisionNational

Hiring Requirements

Previous Work Experience 69.2% 67.0%

Bachelor's Degree or Beyond 51.3% 34.9%

Associate's Degree or Certiicate but not BA 18.5% 9.7%

Hiring Dificulty

Very Dificult 25.0% 24.2%

Somewhat Dificult 51.9% 51.7%

Not at all Dificult 23.1% 24.2%

Median Wages

Installer $23.00 $21.00

Sales Representative $24.04 $28.85

Designer $25.00 $26.00

Assembly Worker - $15.00

facturing workers at or below the national av-erage (14.5%), though in Vermont, this sectoraccounts for a greater percentage of the solarworkforce (18.4% of workers). Connecticut,Maine, and New Hampshire employ a greaterproportion of sales and distribution workersthan the national average (11.7%). In Massa-chusetts and Rhode Island, the project develop-ment sector represents a comparatively largerpercentage of the solar workforce (10.8% na-tionally), as is the case with Other workers inMaine and Vermont (5.7% nationwide).

Requirements for previous work experiencewere close to those observed at the national lev-el, though New England solar employers appearto place a greater emphasis on post-secondaryeducation when recruiting new talent. Hiring

dificulty in the region is nearly identical withthe national trend, with approximately 77% ofemployers reporting at least some dificulty inhiring new workers (compared with nearly 76%at the national level). Median wages paid to NewEngland solar installers were a full two dollarshigher than the national median installationwage. Wages paid to both solar designers andsales representatives in the region were belowthe national median wages for these workers.Solar designers receive one dollar less per hourthan at the national level; sales representatives

receive nearly ive dollars less per hour.


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Policy Grades19 Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)20

StateNet

Meter.

Intercon-

nection

RPS

Target

RPS Target

DeadlineRPS Notes

Relevant RPS

Carve Out Target %

CT A B 27% 2020 20% from Class I (in-cluding solar) -

ME B B 40% 201710% must be from new

sources-

MA A A 15% 2020

15% target from new re-sources, plus an addition-

al 6.03% from existingsources in 2016

1600 MW solar PV by2020

NH A B 24.8% 2025 15% from new renew-ables 0.3% from solarelectric by 2014

RI B B 14.5% 2019 - -

VT A B 55% 2017Increases 4% every 3

years up to 75% in 2032

1.0% DG by 2017;increases to 10% by

2032


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Photo Credit: Direct Solar Energy, VT


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Projected SolarJobs Growth, 2016

132(6.8%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#18

CONNECTICUTTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

1,951Solar Jobs

Rank

#25Total Solar

Companies**

154

Cumulative Installed

Capacity thru Q3 2015 (MW)

191 7


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Connecticut is expected to end 2015 with a irmhold on its position as the second-largest solarmarket in New England. Its cumulative solarphotovoltaic (PV) capacity installed through Q3

2015 of 191.7 megawatts (MW) is more thanthat found in Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, andNew Hampshire combined though lags far be-hind the 945 MW in Massachusetts, the regionssolar leader.21This market activity has support-ed a commensurate level of solar employment.As of November 2015, the Connecticut solarindustry supported 1,951 solar workers at 154companies across the state.

Over 60% of the 62 MW of new solar PV capac-

ity installed in 2015 through Q3 was in the res-idential market segment. The 38 MW installedover the irst nine months of the year already ex-ceeds all the residential solar installed in 2014(23 MW) by half.22

Connecticut

Such strong success with residential solar in2015 can be largely attributed to a concertedstate-level effort to promote the use of solar byConnecticut homeowners. The upfront rebatesoffered by the Connecticut Green Bank throughthe Residential Solar Investment Program con-

tinued to help fuel growth in the residential mar-ket segment.23 In June of last year, the programwas expanded signiicantly, allowing it to sup-port up to 300 MW of residential solar PV capac-ity by the end of 2022 (a tenfold increase overits previous goal of 30 MW).24 In addition, theConnecticut Green Bank continues to supportthe Solarize Connecticut program (administeredby the clean energy marketing non-proit Smart-Power), which since its inception in 2012 has led

to the development of 16 MW of residential solar nearly one-quarter of which was contracted in2015.25

Solar employers remain optimistic aboutgrowth. By late 2016, the state solar workforce isexpected to increase by approximately 132 solarworkers, a igure that represents 6.8% growthover the 2015 employment total.26

Sector

CT

Solar

Jobs

% CT

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Installation 1,047 53.6% 57.4%

Manufacturing 81 4.1% 14.5%

Sales &

Distribution566 29.0% 11.7%

Project

Development

166 8.5% 10.8%

Other 92 4.7% 5.7%

Demographic

% CT

Solar

Jobs

% CT

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 24.3% 48.6% 23.8%

African-

American13.0% 9.5% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

10.9% 5.1% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic10.9% 11.1% 11.3%

Older

Workers(55+)

12.7% 24.0% 18.6%

Union

Members10.9% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

7.4% 5.0% 8.1%


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39(11.7%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#35

MAINETotal Solar Jobs, 2015

330Solar Jobs

Rank

#43Total Solar

Companies**

48



18 6


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Maine ranks 31st in total installed solar capacityin the nation and fourth among the six New En-gland states. Maine is ifth in the region in termsof per capita solar capacity (just under 14 watts

per person) and only slightly ahead of NewHampshire (11 watts per person). Though the5.5 megawatts (MW) added last year throughthe third quarter represents over 40% growthin the states cumulative 2014 installed capaci-ty27, whether the state is able to maintain strongpositive solar growth remains to be seen. Asof November 2015, the Maine solar industrysupported 330 solar workers at 48 companiesacross the state.

While Maine may not stand out to most as an ide-al location for solar, a photovoltaic (PV) systeminstalled in Portland produces over 90% of theelectricity on an annual basis as a comparablesystem operating in Miami, Florida28. Residen-

Maine

tial utility customers throughout the state alsoface some of the most expensive electricity ratesin the nation.29These two factors, along with theprospect for utility rates to continue to increase1-3% per year30and falling installed costs for so-

lar across the country, make solar an increasing-ly attractive investment for Mainers.

A comprehensive new solar policy is being ac-tively discussed in Maine. The Maine Public Util-ities Commission has been coordinating a stake-holder-driven process to develop an alternativeto the states current net metering-only regime.31Though a inal report on the process is not dueto the legislature until January 30, 2016, the lat-est proposal is designed to help the state achieve

255 MW of total installed solar capacity by 2021,with speciic targets for different market seg-ments.32

Despite policy uncertainty, Maine solar em-ployers remain somewhat optimistic about thestates solar industry and employment growth.By late 2016, the Maine solar industry is expect-ed to realize a net gain of 370 solar workers.33

Sector

ME

Solar

Jobs

% ME

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Installation 220 66.6% 57.4%


Sales &


ProjectDevelopment 21 6.3% 10.8%

Other 41 12.5% 5.7%

Demographic

% ME

Solar

Jobs

% ME

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 19.0% 48.9% 23.8%

African-

American- 1.1% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

- - 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic- - 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

26.7% 29.6% 18.6%

Union

Members- - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

- 9.0% 8.1%


22/176


1,306(8.6%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#2

MASSACHUSETTSTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

15,095Solar Jobs

Rank

#2Total Solar

Companies**

403



944.5Read the fullMassachusettsSolar Jobs Census 2015for more information.
http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/MA-2015/http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/MA-2015/


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As in previous years, Massachusetts remaineda national leader in solar throughout 2015. ByQ3 2015, its cumulative installed solar photo-voltaic (PV) capacity had grown to nearly 945

megawatts (MW).34Though the state ranks justoutside of the top ive in terms of total installedcapacity, its focus on the more labor-intensiveresidential and non-residential market seg-ments (as compared with the utility-scale seg-ment) has contributed to its ranking as 2nd inthe nation for solar employment. As of Novem-ber 2015, the Massachusetts solar industry sup-ported 15,095 solar workers.

To date, Massachusetts solar growth has been

largely driven by the non-residential marketsegment, which represented nearly 70% ofthe states cumulative installed solar capacitythrough Q3 2015. While the irst quarter of theyear was strongest Q1 ever for this market seg-

Massachusetts

ment, capacity additions began to slow in Q2 andQ3 as new projects became subject to the morerestrictive provisions of the SREC II incentiveprogram and as more and more parts of the statereached net metering program caps.35 Despite

concerted efforts to arrive at a legislative solu-tion to the net metering issue, the year endedwithout these caps being raised.36As a result ofthese factors, Massachusetts is expected to haveexperienced its irst-ever annual decline in thenon-residential sector in 2015.37 By contrast,the states residential market segment remainsstrong. Nearly 90 MW of capacity was installedin this market segment in Massachusetts duringthe year through Q3, which compares favorably

with the 64 MW of residential capacity installedin all of 2014.38

Despite policy uncertainty, Massachusetts re-mains one of the nations strongest solar mar-kets, with 2016 installed capacity across all mar-ket segments projected to exceed that expectedby the end of 2015. Solar employers in the stateare optimistic though guardedly so about em-ployment growth over the next twelve months.39

Sector

MA

Solar

Jobs

% MA

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs


Manufacturing 2,098 13.9% 14.5%

Sales &


Project

Development 2,811 18.6% 10.8%

Other 544 3.6% 5.7%

Demographic

% MA

Solar

Jobs

% MA

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 22.4% 48.7% 23.8%

African-

American1.9% 6.7% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

4.2% 6.7% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic3.8% 8.5% 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

13.4% 24.2% 18.6%

Union

Members- - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

4.5% 4.9% 8.1%


24/176


13(1.8%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#17

NEW HAMPSHIRETotal Solar Jobs, 2015

731Solar Jobs

Rank

#36Total Solar

Companies**

73



14 0


25/176


Though a relatively small solar market, NewHampshire has seen rapid growth in installedcapacity since 2014, a trend that is expected tocontinue within the conines of current state

policies impacting solar development. As of Oc-tober 2015, New Hampshire had 14 megawatts(MW) of cumulative operating solar photovoltaic(PV) capacity, with nearly half of this total (6.5MW) coming online in the irst three quarters ofthe year.40

Such rapid growth has been a strong driver forsolar employment. As of November 2015, theNew Hampshire solar industry employed 731solar workers at 73 companies across the state.

The states solar growth has been supported byrebate programs offered statewide and to cus-tomers of certain utilities. Throughout much of2015, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Com-mission offered rebates for both residential and

New Hampshire

non-residential solar customers.41, 42In Q4 2015,the residential rebate was reduced from $0.75per watt to $0.50 per watt up to the lesser of$2,500 or 30% of project cost.43In addition, NewHampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) offered

its own solar rebates through 2015.44

Aided by such incentives, New Hampshire is onthe cusp of reaching its 50 MW net metering cap.Of the four major utilities in the state, NHEC andLiberty Utilities have already met their alloca-tion of the statewide limit.45, 46 Eversource andUnitil are within only a few megawatts each ofreaching their own caps.47, 48The utility responseto reaching these caps has varied. NHEC contin-ues to offer its customers net metering (albeit at

a reduction in the value of exported electricity)while Liberty Utilities has ceased offering netmetering to its customers altogether.49, 50

Perhaps as a result of this policy uncertainty,New Hampshire solar employers anticipate pal-try employment growth over the next twelvemonths. By late 2016, the state solar workforceis expected to increase by only 1.8%.51

Sector

NH

Solar

Jobs

% NH

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project

Development 24 3.3% 10.8%

Other 12 1.7% 5.7%

Demographic

% NH

Solar

Jobs

% NH

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 17.6% 48.2% 23.8%

African-

American8.2% 1.3% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

- 2.4% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic11.5% 2.8% 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

23.9% 25.8% 18.6%

Union

Members- - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

8.0% 8.3% 8.1%


26/176


138(14.6%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#11

RHODE ISLANDTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

941Solar Jobs

Rank

#34Total Solar

Companies**

26



17 2


27/176


As of Q3 2015, just over 17 megawatts (MW)of solar photovoltaic capacity were installedthroughout Rhode Island, with 3.2 MW (nearly20% of the states total capacity) coming online

in the irst three quarters of the year.52This in-ternal capacity growth, as well as the statessmall size and proximity to Connecticut andMassachusetts the two largest solar marketsin the region has given rise to a strong solarworkforce. As of November 2015, the Rhode Is-land solar industry supported 941 solar work-ers at 26 companies across the state.

Solar in Rhode Island continues to beneit from anumber of supportive state policies. The states

Renewable Energy Standard requires that 14.5%of retail electricity sales be supplied from re-newable resources by the end of 2019.53RhodeIsland also has net metering and interconnec-tion policies favorable to solar development, re-

Rhode Island

ceiving a grade of B for each policy from Free-ing the Grid.54 In addition to these policies, theCommerce Corporation Renewable Energy Fund(REF) has served as a signiicant driver of newsolar development.55

The near future holds both opportunities and po-tential challenges for solar. In the spring of 2015,National Grid announced its Renewable EnergyGrowth Small Scale Solar initiative, a perfor-mance-based incentive program which aims tobring 12 MW of small-scale solar online over thenext four years and potentially more signiicantquantities of medium- and large-scale systems.56In 2015, the Public Utilities Commission beganinvestigating the impacts of net metering and

distributed energy resources in a revenue neu-tral rate design proceeding.57However, Nation-al Grid withdrew the rate proposal iled underthis process, ending the proceeding without anychanges to rate design.58New dockets on rate de-sign are expected in early 2016.

Nearly 140 new solar workers are expected bythe end of 2016, nearly 15% growth from 2015.59

Sector

RI

Solar

Jobs

% RI

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 30 3.2% 5.7%

Demographic

% RI

Solar

Jobs

% RI

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 23.5% 48.9% 23.8%

African-

American6.7% 5.9% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

- 4.3% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic3.3% 10.6% 11.3%

OlderWorkers

(55+)

11.1% 24.7% 18.6%

Union

Members- - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

3.9% 6.3% 8.1%


28/176


178(13.0%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#3

VERMONTTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

1,367Solar Jobs

Rank

#31Total Solar

Companies**

77



104.4Read the fullVermontSolar Jobs Census 2015for more information.
http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/VT-2015/http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/VT-2015/


29/176


The Vermont solar industry has grown quicklyover the last few years, reaching a cumulative in-stalled solar capacity of just over 100 megawatts(MW) by Q3 2015.60This rapid increase, along

with the growth of several Vermont-based solarmanufacturers, has been a strong driver of so-lar employment. As of November 2015, the statesolar industry employed 1,367 solar workers, at77 companies across the state.

Vermonts solar success can be seen as the prod-uct of supportive and stable state policies. InJune 2015, the state enacted a Renewable En-ergy Standard (RES) that requires all utilities toderive 55% of annual retail sales from renew-

able resources by the beginning of 2017. This re-quirement increases through 2032, when it capsoff at 75%. The RES also includes a carve-out fordistributed renewable generation (including so-lar) of 1% by 2017, increasing to 10% by 2032,

Vermont

for approximately 25 MW per year.61

Growth has also been driven by a strong net me-tering policy. Statewide, for systems under 15kilowatts (kW) in size, solar customers receive

an additional solar adder of $0.20 minus theutilitys retail rate ($0.19 less retail for largersystems) for all metered gross kilowatt-hours(kWh) their system produces for 10 years.62However, changes to the statewide net meteringrules are currently pending at the PSB.63

Vermont stands out as one of only a handful ofstates that have taken steps to address certainsolar soft costs or non-hardware balance ofsystem costs (e.g., local administrative or busi-

ness process costs) through its adoption ofa statewide expedited permitting process forsmall-scale solar energy systems.64

Vermont solar employers anticipate strong em-ployment growth over the next twelve months.By late 2016, the state solar workforce is expect-ed to increase by 178 solar workers, a igure thatrepresents 13% growth over the 2015 employ-ment total.65

Sector

VT

Solar

Jobs

%

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 153 11.2% 5.7%

Demographic

% VT

Solar

Jobs

% VT

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 25.9% 48.6% 23.8%

African-

American- - 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

0.9% - 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic- - 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

27.2% 29.4% 18.6%

Union

Members8.1% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

8.1% 6.6% 8.1%


30/176


DIVISION 2

MIDDLE ATLANTICThe Middle Atlantic Division is comprised ofPennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The

average utility rate in this region is 13.22 centsper kWh, which is higher than the national aver-age of 10.51 cents per kWh.66While this regionis not typically associated with a strong solar re-source, a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systeminstalled in New York City, New York, producesover 87% of the electricity on an annual basis asa comparable system operating in Miami,Florida.67

In terms of jobs, New York is ranked seventh

in the nation in jobs per capita and has experi-enced rapid growth, resulting in numerous in-stallation sector jobs. New York has the highestnumber of solar workers in the Middle AtlanticDivision and New Jersey leads the Division ininstalled capacity, ranking third nationally. NewYork ranks seventh in installed capacity as a re-sult of the states continued investment in solarenergy.

In 2015, New York Governor Andrew Cuomoannounced that the state will lead a 10-year, $1

billion program which will result in 3,000 MWof PV installations by 2022.68 In July 2015, aNew York utility iled a petition with the NewYork Public Services Commission (NYPSC) re-questing an exemption from interconnectingadditional net metering systems, noting that itwould soon hit the 6% renewable energy cap.69In October 2015, NYPSC suspended caps on re-tail rate net metering for rooftop systems.70

During 2015, there were several large installa-

tions around New Jersey. New Jersey Resourc-es Clean Energy Ventures completed a 9.9 MWgrid-connected solar farm in Howell and a 6.1MW system in North Hanover.71The Public Ser-vice Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), whichserves approximately three-quarters of NewJersey residents, constructed two new solarfarms on previous landills in Bordentown andDeptford.72In December 2015, PSE&G complet-

oto Credit: Aeon Solar, NY


31/176


*through Q3 2015

Solar Jobs Solar Capacity

State JobsNational

Rank

Jobs Per

Capita

Rank

2016

Projected

Growth

Cumilative

Installed

Capacity (MW)

National

Rank

New Jersey 7,071 5 12 10.3% 1,573.8 3

New York 8,250 4 21 11.6% 569.8 7

Pennsylvania 2,498 20 40 19.9% 250.4 14

ed its 27th solar farm on the former L&D Land-ill in Burlington County73The 12.9 MW project

will provide enough energy for approximately2,000 New Jersey homes.74

In April 2015, Pennsylvanias Public Utility Com-mission (PUC) voted to adopt a proposed inalrule and to receive public comments on the pro-posed changes, which would increase the cap onnet energy metering from 110% to 200% of aresidents annual power usage.75The proposedinal rule will undergo an 18-month review byPennsylvanias legislature before it goes into ef-

fect in September 2016.76

Most jobs within the Division are in the instal-lation sector. New Jersey and New York employa greater percentage of installers than othersectors and are above the national average forinstallation sector workers (57.4%). Conversely,Pennsylvania employs fewer installers (40.1%)than the national average. Solar irms in Penn-sylvania employ signiicantly more AfricanAmericans (17.9%) compared to irms nation-

ally (5.2%). Pennsylvania and New York employmore women than irms nationally, while irmsin New Jersey employ fewer women.

Middle Atlantic Division hiring requirementsvaried considerably from those nationally. Di-vision irms placed greater emphasis on previ-ous work experience and education than irms

reported nationwide. Middle Atlantic Divisionhiring dificulty and median wages also varied

from national indings. Division irms experi-enced more dificulty in hiring with 32% re-porting hiring as very dificult compared to24% reporting so nationally. The Division salesrepresentative median wage is $26.44 per hour,which is slightly lower than the national medianof $28.85 per hour.

Many of the Middle Atlantic Division states havestrong policy incentives for solar power. NewJersey, New York, and Pennsylvania received an

A for net metering and a B for interconnection.77, 78, 79 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo di-rected the New York Public Utility Commissionto establish a new Clean Energy Standard to pro-vide 50% of the states energy from renewablesources by 2030.80The RPS targets for New Yorkand New Jersey will likely stimulate solar in theDivision. While Pennsylvania does have a RPS,the Commonwealths target (8.0% by 2021), isless than half the target for New Jersey (17.880%by 2021).81, 82In addition, the solar carve out in

Pennsylvania (0.5% by 2021) is substantiallylower than neighboring New Jersey (3.47% by2021).83, 84Despite the lower renewable energytargets, Pennsylvanias solar market is expectedto grow by nearly 20% in 2016, nearly doublingthe projected market growth of the other statesin the Middle Atlantic Division.


32/176


Middle Atlantic

DivisionNational

Hiring Requirements




Hiring Diiculty




Median Wages

Installer $20.80 $21.00

Sales Representative $26.44 $28.85Designer $24.52 $26.00


Policy Grades Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)

State NetMeter.

Intercon-nection

RPSTarget

RPS TargetDeadline

RPS Notes Relevant RPSCarve Out Target %

NJ A B 20.38% 202117.88% Class I energy

sources, including solarPV

4.1% Solar

NY A B 29% 2015

RPS extended until Feb.2016. Governor issued

mandate that state derive50% of states energy

from renewable sources

by 2030

-

PA A B 8% 20218% Tier I energy sourc-es, including solar PV, by

20210.5% Solar


33/176

29State Solar Jobs Compendium 2015Photo courtesy of the National Renewable Energy Lab


34/176


727(10.3%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#12

NEW JERSEYTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

7,071Solar Jobs

Rank

#5Total Solar

Companies**

528



1,573.8Read the fullNew JeresySolar Jobs Census 2015for more information.
http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/NJ-2015/http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/NJ-2015/


35/176


Through Q3 2015, approximately 122.6 mega-watts (MW) of PV capacity were installed inNew Jersey, and the state is on track to equal orexceed the 239.8 MW installed in the previous

year.85The state reached a cumulative installedPV capacity of approximately 1,574 MW by Q32015.86As of November 2015, there were 7,071solar workers employed in New Jersey.

In August 2015, New Jersey Governor ChrisChristie signed legislation that authorized thestates Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to capaggregate net metering at 2.9% of total annualkilowatt-hours (kWh) sold in the state duringthe previous 12-month period.87 Prior to this

legislation, state regulators capped net meteringat 2.5% of peak demand, although historical-ly the BPU permitted net metering beyond thislimit.88 During 2015, there were several largeinstallations around the state. New Jersey Re-

New Jersey

sources Clean Energy Ventures completed a 9.9MW grid-connected solar farm in Howell and a6.1 MW system in North Hanover.89Public Ser-vice Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), whichserves approximately three-quarters of New Jer-

sey residents, constructed two new solar farmson previous landills in Bordentown, NJ, andDeptford, NJ, in December 2014.90In December2015, PSE&G completed its 27th solar farm onthe former L&D Landill in Burlington County,NJ.91The 12.9 MW project will provide enoughenergy for approximately 2,000 homes.92

The residential market is expected to remainstrong and continues to be driven in part bythird-party ownership. In 2016, residential PV

installations are expected to outpace non-resi-dential PV for the irst time.93The non-residen-tial market is expected to struggle in 2016 asa result of the over-supply of SRECs.94 In 2016,New Jerseys year-over-year installed capacityis expected to grow substantially and the statessolar market is projected to add 728 solar work-ers.

Sector

NJ

Solar

Jobs

% NJ

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 570 8.1% 5.7%

Demographic

% NJ

Solar

Jobs

% NJ

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 16.2% 46.4% 23.8%

African-

American3.5% 13.3% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

0.7% 9.4% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic10.9% 18.8% 11.3%

OlderWorkers

(55+)

12.5% 24.9% 18.6%

Union

Members0.7% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

7.4% 3.6% 8.1%


36/176


957(11.6%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#21

NEW YORKTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

8,250Solar Jobs

Rank

#4Total Solar

Companies**

631



569.8Read the fullNew YorkSolar Jobs Census 2015for more information.
http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/NY-2015/http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/NY-2015/


37/176


Through Q3 2015, 174 megawatts (MW) of PVcapacity were installed in New York, a roughly17% increase in the states 2014 installed capac-ity.95Cumulative PV capacity in New York equals

approximately 570 MW.96As of November 2015,there were 8,250 solar jobs throughout the solarmarket in New York.

The Public Service Commission (NYPSC) adopt-ed the new, Reforming the Energy Vision, planwhich will alter the rate structure for utilitiesoperating within the state.97The February 2015Order set a framework for utilities to function asDistributed System Platform (DSP) providers.98In April 2015, the NYPSC issued an order as part

of the Transition Plan which changed remote netmetering from monetary to volumetric credit-ing.99In July 2015 state staff proposed a new ratestructure and utility business model to promotethe use of distributed energy resources.100Also

New York

in that month, the NYPSC adopted a frameworkfor shared remewable energy with the irst phasebeginning on October 19, 2015.101New York Gov-ernor Andrew Cuomo announced that the statewill lead a 10-year, $1 billion program which will

lead to 3,000 MW of PV installations by 2022.102Governor Cuomo also announced that the StateUniversity of New York (SUNY) public univer-sity system will install solar energy systems atall of the 64 SUNY campuses by 2020. 103In July2015, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. iled apetition requesting an exemption from intercon-necting additional net metering systems, notingthat based on applications it would soon hit the6% renewable energy cap.104 In October 2015,

NYPSC suspended caps on retail rate net meter-ing for rooftop systems.105

The outlook for the residential PV market re-mains strong, especially with NYSERDAs MWBlock program driving installations.106 Jobs arepredicted to increase by 11.6%, or 957 jobs, in2016 and the states installed capacity is expect-ed to more than double from 2015.

Sector

NY

Solar

Jobs

% NY

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 322 3.9% 5.7%

Demographic

% NY

Solar

Jobs

% NY

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 26.9% 47.6% 23.8%

African-

American4.0% 15.9% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

9.9% 9.0% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic7.4% 15.7% 11.3%

OlderWorkers

(55+)

13.5% 22.7% 18.6%

Union

Members18.8% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

6.7% 4.1% 8.1%


38/176


496(19.9%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#40

PENNSYLVANIATotal Solar Jobs, 2015

2,498Solar Jobs

Rank

#20Total Solar

Companies**

493



250 4


39/176


In 2015, 5.6 megawatts (MW) of PV capacitywere installed in Pennsylvania, a decrease fromapproximately 10 MW installed in the previousyear.107The Commonwealths cumulative photo-

voltaic (PV) installed capacity through Q3 2015was approximately 250.4 MW.108As of November2015, there were 2,498 solar workers employedat 493 companies throughout Pennsylvania.

In 2015, Pennsylvanias Alternative Energy Port-folio Standard (Standard), now in its eleventhyear, required utilities to derive 5.0% of thestates energy from Tier I sources, which in-clude renewable sources such as solar PV.109TheStandard includes a 0.144% solar carve-out for

2015, which is set to increase gradually to 0.5%by 2021.110In 2015, the price of Tier I alternativeenergy credits doubled to $20 from 2014, whilesolar credits have decreased from $325 in 2010to an average of approximately $30 in 2015.111,

Pennsylvania

112In April 2015, the states Public Utility Com-mission (PUC) proposed a inal rule which wouldincrease the cap on net electric metering from110% to 200% of a residents annual power us-age.113The inal rule will undergo an 18-month

review by the state legislature before it goesinto effect in September 2016.114Governor TomWolfs proposed budget included $50 million torestore the solar rebate program which endedin 2013 when the $100 million of funding wasexhausted.115 At the time of writing, however,no budget for 2016 had been approved.116 InApril 2015, the PUC reached a settlement withFirstEnergy and approved ixed charge increasesfor the companys four Pennsylvania subsidiar-

ies.117

The PUC also reached a settlement withPECO and PPL which permitted PECO to increasemonthly ixed charges by 18.5%, while the ixedrate for PPL would remain unchanged. 118, 119

Pennsylvania is projected to add approximately497 jobs in 2016 and the Commonwealths year-over-year installed capacity total is grow manytimes over.

Sector

PA

Solar

Jobs

% PA

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project

Development182 7.3% 10.8%

Other 213 8.5% 5.7%

Demographic

% PA

Solar

Jobs

% PA

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 31.8% 47.8% 23.8%

African-

American17.9% 9.1% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

6.4% 3.2% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic10.2% 5.9% 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

18.5% 24.3% 18.6%

Union

Members- - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

7.8% 6.5% 8.1%


40/176


DIVISION 3

EAST NORTH CENTRALThe East North Central Division includes Illi-

nois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.The Division sits slightly below average for utili-ty rates - 9.87 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) forthe region, compared to 10.51 cents per kWhnationally - making it somewhat dificult for so-lar to compete.120Yet, even while the area is notknown for its solar output, a rooftop solar pho-tovoltaic (PV) system installed in Indianapolis,Indiana produces 75% of the electricity on anannual basis as a comparable system operatingin Phoenix, Arizona.121Furthermore, with majordevelopments like Duke Energys 24 megawatt(MW) facility in Indiana set to come online in2016, optimism for solar in the Division contin-ues to grow.122

Ohio leads the Division in solar employmentand its 107 MW capacity ranks it 20th in the na-tion for installed capacity. Recent policy chang-es have put the future of solar in question until

2017, as Ohio implemented a two year freeze

on its renewable portfolio standard (RPS).123Despite policy uncertainty regarding the statesRPS, solar employers across the state remainoptimistic about growth. It is expected that over970 solar workers will be added to the stateworkforce by the end of 2016, representing20% growth over the current igure.

Michigan currently maintains the lowest lev-els of installed capacity in the Division, thoughnon-residential capacity additions more than

doubled over the previous year due to the in-troduction of the states irst community solarprograms.1242016 promises a dramatic acceler-ation of this shift to larger projects, all of whichshould largely be unaffected by proposed chang-es to the states net metering policy current-ly under discussion by the state legislature. 125Despite the successful culmination of the statesexisting RPS at the end of 2015, and the fact that

Photo Credit


41/176


Solar Jobs Solar Capacity*

State 2015Jobs NationalRank

Jobs Per

CapitaRank

2016

ProjectedGrowth

Cumulative

InstalledCapacity (MW)

NationalRank

Illinois 3,483 14 33 13.20% 57.0 26

Indiana 1,567 30 36 11.70% 119.7 19

Michigan 2,779 18 32 14.30% 17.9 33

Ohio 4,811 11 22 20.20% 106.9 20

Wisconsin 1,941 26 27 7.60% 21.9 30

the future of Michigan energy policy remainsthe subject of ongoing debate in Lansing, the lo-cal solar industry is optimistic, with projectionsof a dramatic ramp-up throughout 2016.126

Indiana experienced a signiicant lull in solarcapacity additions through Q3 2015- Approxi-mately 7.3 MW of solar capacity were installed,signiicantly less than the 58.5 MW in 2014. Il-linois and Wisconsin followed the same trend,

though not as dramatically. However, IllinoisRPS includes a modest carve-out percentage,which should positively impact its solar indus-try until 2023.

Similar to the national trend, the majority of so-lar workers in the Division are in the installationsector. With the exception of Wisconsin (52.1%)and Illinois (46.8%), the Division exceeds thenational average (57.4%) of solar workers em-ployed in the installation sector. All states in the

Division employ manufacturing workers nearor above the national average (14.5%), with theexception of Indiana, which has a substantiallysmaller share of manufacturing workers (3.7%).Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio employ a lower

proportion of sales & distribution workers thanthe national average (11.7%). In Wisconsin, theproject development sector represents a largerpercentage of the solar workforce than the na-tional average (10.8%. The same trend followsfor the Other category of workers in all EastNorth Central states with the exception of Illi-nois (5.7% nationwide).

Requirements for previous work experience

mirror those observed at the national level,though East North Central solar employersseem to place less emphasis on post-secondaryeducation when recruiting new talent. The Di-vision follows the national trend in hiring dif-iculty, with approximately 77% of employersreporting at least some dificulty in hiring newworkers (compared with nearly 76% at the na-tional level). Wages paid to solar installers, so-lar designers, and sales representatives in the

Division are all higher than the national medi-an wages for these workers. Solar designers inthe Division receive nearly ive dollars more perhour than those nationally; sales representa-tives in the Division receive roughly two dollarsmore per hour.

*through Q3 2015


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East North

Central DivisionNational

Hiring Requirements




Hiring Diiculty




Median Wages

Installer $24.50 $21.00

Sales Representative $31.25 $28.85

Designer $31.25 $26.00


The majority of the East North Central Divisionstates have strong policy incentives for solarpower. Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio received a Bor higher grade for net metering and intercon-nection.127Ohio Governor John Kasich directeda freeze on clean energy standards until 2017,at which point a 1% annual RPS in-crease willcommence.128The RPS target of at least 10% forevery state will likely stimulate solar in the Divi-sion. Unfortunately, Illinois is the only state with

a moderately robust RPS (25% by 2023). Addi-tionally, Indiana and Ohio are the only states inthe Division with solar carve-outs, at 0.5% So-lar and 1.5% Solar PV, respectively.129 Despitethe freeze on clean-energy standards, Ohiossolar market is expected to grow by over 20%in 2016, nearly 6% more than any of the otherstates in the East North Central Division.


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Policy Grades Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)

StateNet

Meter.

Intercon-

nection

RPS

Target

RPS Target

DeadlineRPS Notes

Relevant RPS

Carve Out Target %

IL B A 25% 2023 - 1.5% Solar PV, 0.25%Distributed Generation

IN B B 10% 2025 - -

MI B C 10% 2015 - -

OH A A 10% 2026Frozen until 2017, beforeresuming 1% annual in-

crease to 2026

0.5% Solar

WI D D 10% 2015 - -

Photo Credit: True South Solar


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458(13.2%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#33

ILLINOISTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

3,483Solar Jobs

Rank

#14Total Solar

Companies**

274



57 0


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Approximately 3 megawatts (MW) of solar ca-pacity was installed in Illinois by Q3 2015, sig-niicantly less than the 6.3 MW the previousyear - bringing the states cumulative installed

capacity to 57 MW.130 As of November 2015,the Illinois solar industry employed 3,483 solarworkers (the second most in the region) at 274companies across the state.

As state solar rebates and grants expired in De-cember 2015, a bill was passed by the legislatureto extend the Department of Commerce and Eco-nomic Opportunity (DCEO) Solar and Wind En-ergy Rebate and Grant program through 2020.131According to the Illinois Environmental Coun-

cil (IEC) a supplemental solar procurement,approved in January 2015, has the capacity todouble the total solar installed on rooftops in thestate. The Illinois Power Agency plans to spend,roughly, $30 million dollars on the new rooftop

Illinois

installations.132Currently, the Illinois RenewablePortfolio Standard (RPS) calls for 25% of the to-tal energy produced in the state to be from re-newables by 2025.

A Clean Jobs Bill was also proposed last year,which set out to increase energy produced by re-newables to 35% by 2030.133Though the solarinstallation numbers for 2015 are not as signii-cant as those from the previous year, there is rea-son to believe demand for solar will continue toincrease. For instance, in Springield, City Water,Light and Power (CWLP) provides rebates up to$500 per kilowatt (kW) to all its customers whoinstall solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, up to amaximum of $2,500 per household and $5,000

per business.134Customers can receiver this re-bate if their systems fall in the range of 0.5 kWto 25 kW.

Employers are optimistic about continued solarworkforce growth. By the end of 2016, the stateis expected to add nearly 460 solar workers, at agrowth rate of 13.2%.135

Sector

IL

Solar

Jobs

% IL

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 126 3.6% 5.7%

Demographic

% IL

Solar

Jobs

% IL

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 36.2% 47.9% 23.8%

African-

American14.4% 11.8% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

8.8% 5.2% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic10.6% 14.1% 11.3%

OlderWorkers

(55+)

18.1% 21.5% 18.6%

Union

Members5.9% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

8.7% 5.3% 8.1%


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183(11.7%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#36

INDIANATotal Solar Jobs, 2015

1,567Solar Jobs

Rank

#30Total Solar

Companies**

72



119 7


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Indianas solar industry, as of November 2015,primarily accounted for 1,567 employment op-portunities throughout the state. Through Q32015, approximately 7.3 megawatts (MW) of so-

lar capacity were installed for the year, signii-cantly less than the 58.5 MW in 2014 - bringingthe states cumulative installed capacity to 119.7MW.136

The 119.7 MW of solar energy currently pres-ent in Indiana ranks them, nationally, in the top20 for installed solar capacity. In late December2015, two solar sites, utilizing over 40,000 solarpanels, came online in Southwest Indiana (Vigoand Clay counties). The sites are expected to pro-

duce enough energy to power 500 homes.137TheIndiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) builta 16-acre solar farm in the town of Pendleton.Though the energy generated does not directlyfeed into the Pendleton area, the energy will re-

Indiana

duce rate spikes for customers during the winterand summer months, when electricity use typi-cally increases.138

Duke Energy has partnered with the Depart-

ment of the Navy to install a 24 MW facility atNaval Support Activity (NSA) Crane, Indiana.Over 75,000 solar panels will be involved inthe project that spans 145 acres which wouldmake this one of the largest solar arrays in Indi-ana.139 Duke and NSA Crane plan to begin con-struction in early 2016. Indiana Michigan Power(I&M), based in Ft. Wayne, has also invested insolar power. I&Ms irst solar facility, located inMarion, is capable of producing electricity for350 homes.140I&M has future plans for solar at

three more sites, all of which will be up and run-ning by the end of 2016. Indiana Michigan Powerestimates the four sites together will represent atotal 15 MW of solar capacity.

Solar employment is expected to increase by11.7% in 2016, representing the addition of 183solar workers.

Sector

IN

Solar

Jobs

% IN

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 81 5.2% 5.7%

Demographic

% IN

Solar

Jobs

% IN

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 20.0% 47.3% 23.8%

African-

American18.7% 7.2% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

1.1% 1.7% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic6.4% 6.4% 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

24.2% 21.5% 18.6%

Union

Members2.6% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

9.2% 8.0% 8.1%


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397(14.3%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#32

MICHIGANTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

2,779Solar Jobs

Rank

#18Total Solar

Companies**

202



17.9Read the fullMichiganSolar Jobs Census 2015for more information.
http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/MI-2015/http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/MI-2015/


49/176


As of September 2015, approximately 3.5 mega-watts (MW) of solar capacity has been installedin Michigan, already surpassing that installedthe previous year and nearly doubling that in-

stalled in 2013, bringing cumulative installedcapacity in the state near the 20 MW mark amilestone likely reached by years end.141Hiringby the local solar industry has kept pace, and asof November 2015 there are 2,779 solar work-ers employed throughout the solar value chainacross the state.

In recent years, individual consumer demandhas driven the lions share of Michigans solar ac-tivity, with residential installations comprising

nearly 50% of all installed capacity in the statesince 2011.142 However, 2015 saw this patternbegin to change. Non-residential capacity morethan doubled over the previous year a trendlikely to continue in light of the recent intro-

Michigan

duction of the states irst community solar pro-grams.143The state also witnessed its irst-everutility-scale solar development during the year a 1.1 MW installation just outside of Ann Arborlaying claim to the title of Michigans largest.144

The coming year promises a dramatic accelera-tion of this shift to larger projects, all of whichwould largely be unaffected by proposed chang-es to the states net metering policy currently un-der discussion by the state legislature.145

Despite the successful culmination of the statesexisting renewable portfolio standard at the endof 2015, and the ongoing debate over future ofMichigan energy policy in Lansing, the local solarindustry projects a dramatic ramp-up in 2016.

Residential, non-residential, and utility-scalemarket segments all expected to experience sig-niicant growth, and employers in the state havebegun hiring accordingly.146 Likewise, hiring inthe state is expected to continue, with employersprojecting the addition of nearly 380 new solarworkers in 2016, expanding the Michigan solarworkforce by more than 14% over the course ofthe year.147

Sector

MI

Solar

Jobs

% MI

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 200 7.2% 5.7%

Demographic

% MI

Solar

Jobs

% MI

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 20.5% 47.9% 23.8%

African-

American6.8% 11.5% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

6.8% 4.1% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic2.3% 4.6% 11.3%

OlderWorkers

(55+)

18.4% 22.3% 18.6%

Union

Members2.3% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

4.2% 6.2% 8.1%


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972(20.2%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#22

OHIOTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

4,811Solar Jobs

Rank

#11Total Solar

Companies**

235



106 9


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Approximately 4.4 megawatts (MW) of solar ca-pacity were installed in Ohio through Q3 2015,bringing the states cumulative installed capaci-ty to nearly 107 MW.148The local solar industry,

as of November 2015, accounted for 4,811 solarworkers at 235 companies throughout the Buck-eye state.

The 107 MW of solar energy currently present inOhio ranks them in the top 15 nationally for in-stalled solar capacity which is enough solar topower over 12,000 homes. In 2014, investmentsin Ohio solar capped the $36 million mark.149InJune 2015, Gov. John Kasich signed Senate Bill310, which implemented a two year freeze on

benchmarks for renewable energy and energyeficiency in Ohio - resulting in a decrease in so-lar renewable energy credits (SRECs) that lowerthe total cost of solar.150However, another bill toplace an indeinite freeze on Ohios clean energy

Ohio

standards was deemed unacceptable by Kasich,adding that future plans include a mix of low costenergy sources.151

Ever since Ohio set goals for clean-energy pro-

grams in 2008, there has been a conscious effortfor utility companies to increase their invest-ments in these particular programs. Though thefuture of solar in Ohio is still undecided at thestate-level, some communities and the utilitiesserving them are taking their own steps to pur-sue more solar. As an example, a recent agree-ment between the Sierra Club and AmericanElectric Power (AEP) could help the communityof Athens quadruple solar capacity in the nextive years.152

Despite policy uncertainty regarding the staterenewable portfolio standard, solar employersacross the state remain optimistic about growth.It is expected that over 970 solar workers will beadded to the state workforce by the end of 2016,representing 20% growth over the current ig-ure.

Sector

OH

Solar

Jobs

% OH

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 334 6.9% 5.7%

Demographic

% OH

Solar

Jobs

% OH

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 19.6% 48.4% 23.8%

African-

American- 10.1% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

1.0% 1.9% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic- 2.9% 11.3%

Older

Workers

(55+)

21.6% 23.2% 18.6%

Union

Members8.8% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

8.3% 7.1 8.1%


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147(7.6%)

Solar Jobs

Per Capita Rank

#27

WISCONSINTotal Solar Jobs, 2015

1,941Solar Jobs

Rank

#26Total Solar

Companies**

175



21 9


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Wisconsins solar capacity increased slightly in2015, as approximately 2.1 megawatts (MW) ofsolar capacity were installed through Septem-ber. This activity brings the states cumulative

installed capacity to 21.9 MW.153As of November2015, the Wisconsin solar industry accountedfor 1,941 solar workers at 175 companies.

The states cumulative solar energy capacityputs it inside the top 30 states for total installedsolar capacity. Wisconsins Renewable PortfolioStandard (RPS) required every electric providerin the state to derive 10% of their energy salesfrom renewables by the end of 2015.154The de-partment store Kohls, one of the nations top ive

corporate users of solar, has systems on threeof its Wisconsin stores that together generatearound 500 kilowatts (kW) of energy.155, 156

In October 2015, an appeal of the WE Energies

Wisconsin

rate case iled by The Alliance for Solar Choice(TASC) and Renew Wisconsin was accepted bya Dane County Circuit Court Judge. The appealended fees on customer-owned generation withthe court deciding that WE Energies did not pro-

vide suficient justiication for the charges.157InSeptember, Alliant Energy planned a 20-acre so-lar project that would include 7,600 panels on aretired coal-ash landill near Beloit. Total capac-ity for the solar array is estimated to be nearly 2MW.158

The number of community solar projects acrossthe state continued to grow in 2015, with twonew solar gardens, in New Richmond and RiverFalls, starting construction last year. At the end

of 2015, there were 13 shared solar projects ei-ther completed or under construction in Wis-consin.159

Solar employment is expected to increase overthe next twelve months, with companies acrossthe state anticipating the addition of 148 solarworkers by the end of 2016. This igure rep-resents 7.6% growth over 2015 employment.

Sector

WI

Solar

Jobs

% WI

Solar

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs



Sales &


Project


Other 151 7.8% 5.7%

Demographic

% WI

Solar

Jobs

% WI

Overall

Jobs

% U.S.

Solar

Jobs

Women 34.6% 47.5% 23.8%

African-

American16.7% 4.4% 5.1%

Asian or

Paciic

Islander

19.8% 2.2% 8.6%

Latino or

Hispanic11.9% 4.6% 11.3%

OlderWorkers

(55+)

17.7% 22.9% 18.6%

Union

Members0.4% - 5.5%

Veterans of

the U.S.

Armed Forces

4.6% 6.9% 8.1%


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DIVISION 4

WEST NORTH CENTRAL

Photo Credit:

The West North Central Division is comprised

of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,North Dakota and South Dakota. With abundantnatural and agricultural resources, the averageutility rate in this division is 9.43 cents per kWh,which is below the national average of 10.52cents per kWh.160Solar radiation in these statesis fair ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 kwh/m2/daymaking it suitable for solar PV development.161A number of these states have tapped into otherclean energy sources such as wind and biofuels.In ethanol production, Iowa, Nebraska and Min-nesota rank at the top in the region as well asnationally.162 Iowa leads the division and rankssecond in the nation in wind production. Kan-sas, Minnesota, and North Dakota are also topwind producing states regionally as well as na-tionally.163

While Minnesota has the highest number of so-

lar workers at 1,995, Missouri leads the divisionin cumulative installed capacity with 128.9 MWof solar PV installed. Missouri will experiencethe highest solar jobs growth rate, followed byMinnesota, and Missouri currently has an ac-tive Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) witha solar carve-out of 2%.164 Minnesota, on theother hand, has implemented an RPS with a so-lar carve-out called the Solar Energy Standard,which requires its large utilities to get 1.5% ofits energy through

TSF State Solar Jobs Census Compendium

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