Clean Energy Storage | Energy Efficiency | Other Renewable Energy Industries
Jobs in Battery Storage
In 2023, solar jobs grew alongside employment growth in battery storage, energy efficiency, and other renewable energy technologies. The economic advantages of clean energy, along with momentum from the Inflation Reduction Act, have led to a general expansion in clean energy industries and increased demand for workers.
The Solar Jobs Census draws from the U.S. Department of Energy United States Energy & Employment Report (USEER) survey, which tallies employment trends across all energy sectors. Using these data, we are able to place solar jobs in the context of broader U.S. clean energy job growth.
It’s important to note that many workers divide their time among multiple industries; for example, many workers spend time on solar energy and battery storage as part of the same job. The survey for this report classifies workers based on where they spend the largest amount of their time.1
Clean Energy Storage
There were 89,592 workers employed in clean storage in 2023, an increase of 4.4%, or 3,734 jobs compared to 2022. These trends are in line with last year’s growth of 4.6%. The clean storage category primarily includes battery storage but also other technologies such as pumped hydro storage and electric vehicle battery manufacturing. Clean storage jobs have grown 17% since 2018. In total, there were 454,136 workers who spent at least some of their time in solar energy or clean storage in 2023.
Battery storage accounted for 75,702 (84%) of the clean storage jobs. Battery storage jobs grew 3.8% in 2023, with 2,779 jobs added. Within the total, 67,982 battery storage workers were employed at storage firms that conducted some activities related to the solar industry. Among firms that work primarily in solar, the battery storage jobs totaled 25,761.
Battery storage includes workers in installation, manufacturing, sales, and a variety of related jobs. Of the 75,702 total jobs in battery storage, the largest sector is construction, which includes firms installing the batteries. This sector added 1,318 jobs, with a growth rate of 3.5% compared to 2022. Wholesale trade had the highest rate of growth, at 5.2%, accounting for 424 new jobs in 2023 and totaling 8,521 jobs. Battery manufacturing, including EV batteries, grew by 3.1% and totaled 14,028 jobs.
Most of the battery storage capacity installed in the U.S. is at grid-scale projects, known as “front of the meter.” However, there are more jobs in “behind the meter” battery storage, which includes batteries paired with rooftop solar. About one-third of battery storage jobs (35%) were at behind-the-meter projects, with 8,951 workers. Front-of-the-meter jobs made up 7.2% with a total of 6,519 jobs. Just as is the case in the utility-scale solar industry, the grid-scale market for battery storage requires fewer workers per MW installed. Other battery storage jobs were in vehicles and consumer devices.
The top five states for clean storage jobs remained the same as in 2022: California, Nevada, Texas, Massachusetts, and Michigan. In 2023, most energy storage capacity (56%) was installed in California, followed by Texas and Arizona.2
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency accounts for by far the largest number of U.S. clean energy jobs. This sector added over 74,000 jobs in 2023, totaling 2.3 million workers. Jobs in energy efficiency are wide-ranging and include construction, manufacturing, engineering, administration, sales, and much more.
One area of growth is in weatherization and home energy performance. These workers help residents lower energy costs through improvements such as insulation and new technologies such as heat pumps.
A variety of federal, state, and local initiatives are making it easier for residents to obtain these services. An example is the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps low-income families make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. According to the Department of Energy, the program supports 8,500 jobs at over 700 weatherization provider organizations nationwide and assists around 35,000 homes per year.3
These provider organizations now report that they plan to double or triple their staff to meet growing demand. In the meantime, they are already struggling to find qualified workers.4 There are now plentiful opportunities for job seekers across the country to start a rewarding career in home energy performance. Many organizations are also looking for companies that can contract to complete these energy efficiency tasks.
Job seekers can be hired as a Retrofit Installer Technician to perform energy efficiency upgrades in residential homes. This job does not require a college degree and on-the-job training is typically provided, along with opportunities to obtain professional certification along with paid classroom, lab, and field-based training programs. Another job opportunity is an Energy Auditor, who reviews residential and commercial buildings to identify energy-savings opportunities.5 More information on these positions, including salary ranges and a database of employers that are hiring, is available on IREC’s Green Workforce Connect website.
Other Renewable Energy Industries
Overall, renewable energy generation (not including storage) accounted for 516,471 jobs across solar, wind, low-impact hydropower, and geothermal in 2023. This is an increase of 24,436 jobs, or 5%, compared to 2022.
The wind industry totaled 131,327 jobs in 2023, an increase of 5,747 jobs or 4.6% from 2022. The largest number of wind energy jobs was in Texas, followed by Illinois, California, Colorado, and Indiana.
Footnotes
- For the solar industry, the Solar Jobs Census references two figures: The number of workers spending the majority of their time on solar (279,447) and those spending a plurality of their time on solar. (364,544). For all other industries, the jobs total is based on the number of workers spending a plurality of their time in a specific industry. For example, if a worker spends 30% of their time on solar energy, 20% of the time on battery storage, and 10% of the time on nuclear power, this person would be classified as a solar worker. If the figures are reversed and the worker spends 30% of his or her time on battery storage, this person would be classified as a battery storage worker.
- Andy Colthorpe, US energy storage market ‘shattered’ previous deployment records in Q4 2023, Energy Storage News (March 21, 2024), https://www.energy-storage.news/us-energy-storage-market-shattered-previous-deployment-records-in-q4-2023.
- U.S. Department of Energy Office of State and Community Energy Programs, Weatherization Assistance Program (accessed June 2024), https://www.energy.gov/scep/wap/weatherization-assistance-program.
- Kari Lyderson, With federal funds flowing, weatherization industry prepares to fill the gaps, Energy News Network (Feb. 27, 2024), https://energynews.us/2024/02/27/with-federal-funds-flowing-weatherization-industry-prepares-to-fill-the-gaps.
- Green Workforce Connect, Weatherization: It’s More Than a Job, It’s a Career (accessed June 2024), https://greenworkforceconnect.org/weatherization-its-more-than-a-job-its-a-career.