Texas is among the leaders in clean energy jobs

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas is seeing some of the highest growth in clean energy jobs in the country, according to a new report by the Department of Energy. The number of jobs in wind, solar and other clean energy technologies in Texas increased 6% last year, behind only Idaho, which saw a 7.7% increase. Overall, the U.S. clean energy sector added 142,000 jobs last year, a 4.2% increase, more than double the growth rate for the larger economy. A nascent industry just a decade ago, clean energy now represents 42% of the jobs in the larger energy sector, according to the report. National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi heralded the report as a sign the Biden administration’s effort to expand the clean energy sector to replace manufacturing jobs lost to lower wage nations overseas was paying dividends.

“This isn’t just about steel in the ground but steel in the spine of the American middle class,” he said in a call with reporters Tuesday. Within the U.S. clean energy sector, electric vehicle jobs grew 11.4%, wind employment increased 4.6% and the solar jobs grew 5.3%. Through legislation including the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure law, President Joe Biden and Democrats have created hundreds of billions of dollars in tax incentives and low-interest loans to spur the rapid buildout of the country’s wind, solar, electric vehicle and battery industries. Among the notable additions, more than 15 gigawatts of power supply have been added to the Texas grid since last year, including 1.7 gigawatts of wind, 8.8 gigawatts of solar and 4.8 gigawatts of battery storage capacity. At the same time, jobs in fossil fuels are holding steady. Employment in the U.S. petroleum sector, a mainstay of the Texas economy, grew by 1.2% to more than 520,000 jobs last year. And the natural gas sector grew by 2% to more than 260,000 jobs.