Where the jobs are

The DOE’s energy jobs report breaks professions down by technology categories. Each one has grown incrementally each year, including fossil fuels. 

Solar & wind energy

Generating electric power requires professionals who work in construction; production and manufacturing; maintenance of utilities and infrastructure; and business services. Solar jobs and wind energy development account for most of the positions in this power generation category. According to U.S. News and World Reports, wind turbine technicians made a median annual wage of nearly $57,000 a year in 2022. Solar panel installers made more than $45,000. (The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzes how those job categories will grow; the agency updated its most recent 10-year projection in 2020.) 

Transmission, distribution & storage

Battery storage, smart grid technologies, clean fuels storage, and electric vehicle charging all fall within this category. EV charging alone increased by 25 percent in 2023 to nearly 2,800 jobs, with workers responsible for everything from building charging stations to maintaining software and making repairs. The International Council on Clean Transportation estimates that the industry’s growth will result in 160,000 more jobs in the United States by 2032. Construction jobs are the most prevalent within this technology sector, and most of those are in grid modernization. 

Work in battery storage is also growing significantly, as the industry scales up research and development to meet the needs of both the burgeoning EV sector and our evolving grid. The USEER report explains that a person with one job in battery storage can work across industries. Both construction and utilities, for example, employ workers who can perform installations and repairs. 

Energy efficiency

Jobs in the production, trade, installation, and repair of products and services that increase energy efficiency fall into this category, including contractors who specialize in Energy Star certified appliances, efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) products like heat pumps, as well as work on recycled building materials. Many people in this field are weatherization specialists concentrating on multifamily housing upgrades that help reduce energy bills for low-income households. Companies focused on energy efficiency added more jobs than any other technology, and most of those jobs are in construction. HVAC mechanics and installers received a median pay of $57,300 a year in 2023.

Clean cars & trucks

Companies offering jobs in this category manufacture, ship, design, and repair clean vehicles—which encompass hybrid EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen/fuel-cell vehicles, in addition to EVs. There’s been a surge of job opportunities in EVs alone, from design and development to battery manufacturing to charging network development and maintenance. And the battery electric vehicle sector’s rate of growth, compared to the growth of jobs in diesel and gas powered vehicles, is eye opening—12.9 percent compared to 2 percent, respectively.