California leads the country by a wide margin with more than 80,000 solar jobs, according to the 2023 National Solar Jobs Census.
But three states in the Mountain West also ranked in the top 10, including seventh-ranked Nevada (8,591), eighth-ranked Colorado (8,177), and 10th-ranked Utah (7,635). Rounding out the region were New Mexico (2,099), Idaho (728), and Wyoming (177).
“Growth in solar jobs in the last year was largely fueled by growth in large-scale, utility-scale solar installations,” said Larry Sherwood, CEO of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, which produced the report.
All told, solar jobs increased in 47 states, with some of the highest growth in Arizona (17%), Florida (15%) and Nevada (14%).
Sherwood said federal policies related to renewable energy, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, gave large-scale solar projects a big boost in 2023. This came on the heels of stagnant growth in 2022 due to supply chain disruptions. In all, large-scale solar added 1,888 jobs last year, a 6.8% increase.
But jobs in residential solar slowed down a year ago. The segment grew only 6.3%, a significant dip from its 11% jump in 2022. Sherwood said many homeowners have not been installing solar panels due to high interest rates.
But that could change. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced it’s cutting rates for the first time in four years. The central bank lowered its benchmark rate by half a percentage point to a range between 4.75% and 5%.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
