The U.S. Solar Industry has been growing, and will continue to add jobs throughout this year, according to a report by The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit solar advocacy group.
More than 260,000 people were employed by the solar industry in 2016, 60,000 more than the previous year. That’s a 25 percent increase in total jobs year over year. The Foundation predicts a 10 percent continued growth in the solar industry this year.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy reports that more Americans now work in the solar industry than at power plants fired by coal or natural gas.
The job spike was driven mainly by decreasing costs of solar panels, which has rapidly increased the number of installations across the country.
Power generation capacity by the newly installed solar panels in 2016 will reach 14 gigawatts, double the installation growth in 2015, which was 7.5 gigawatts.
RETTEW is involved in several solar projects at utility sites, helping water and wastewater treatment plants generate power for their operations and protect their sites in extreme weather events. With the available financing opportunities, RETTEW’s engineering expertise, and sustainable goals of many utility companies, this trend is growing across many industries.