Will the u.s. workforce top 300 million workers by 2050?

How to Use: Click the arrows on the left/right to navigate between 2030 and 2050 job projections.

As the world is slowly moving towards a carbon-free future, job prospects within the renewable energy industry will see a boom in the coming years. Ranging from environmental scientists to renewable energy generation technicians and engineers, clean energy jobs are growing.

Between the shuttering of coal plants and companies making efforts to use renewable sources of energy, the United States on its own could see the creation of 5 million net new jobs within the energy-supply sector, driven by clean energy.

These jobs offer a more sustainable and high-paying alternative for the current and new workforce, especially in some of the country’s highly fossil-fuel-dependent states.

Based on analysis presented by Princeton University, the above infographic visualizes the forecasted change in energy-supply jobs in every state from 2019 to 2030 and up until 2050, in a net-zero scenario.

Shift in Energy Supply Jobs by 2030: Texas on the Forefront

Between 2020 and 2021, jobs in the oil and gas sector saw a 9% decline in Texas, a reduction of more than 55,000 in the state. Despite this, Texas is still one of the largest oil and natural gas producers, employing the highest number of people.

A rapid rise in employment in the clean energy industry will compensate for this decline in fossil fuel sector jobs. Texas fossil fuel unions have also signed onto the climate action plan and vowed to create more jobs in the clean energy sector.

In the process, Texas will see nearly 135,000 net new energy-supply jobs by 2030, more than any other state.

Here’s a look at the number of forecasted net new energy-supply jobs in the rest of the country:

Note: Negative values indicate a decline in energy-supply jobs by 2030.

Shift in Energy Supply Jobs by 2050: Wisconsin Advances

Wisconsin has stated its desire to transition to 100% clean energy by 2050, growing the state’s economy by more than $21 billion.

According to Princeton, Wisconsin could also introduce more than 46,000 net new energy-supply jobs by 2050, a tremendous leap over the state’s 863 new jobs forecasted through 2030.

Note: Negative values indicate a decline in energy-supply jobs by 2050.

The state of Wyoming has the second-highest change in energy supply jobs, going from 2,400 jobs by 2030 to nearly 62,000 by 2050. Meanwhile, California, Florida, and Texas will continue their commitment to being leaders and introducing more clean energy-supply jobs by 2050.

The only states that will see a decline in clean energy jobs between their 2030 and 2050 totals are the northeastern states of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

Most states have taken measures to create more sustainable and high-paying jobs without leaving the current workforce in the lurch. On average, U.S. states will see an increase of 105,000 energy-supply jobs by 2050.

As the states and the country make this transition and federal and private investment in the renewable energy industry increases, it’ll be interesting to keep track of how new clean energy jobs impact the economy.

As European gas prices soar, countries are introducing policies to try and curb the energy crisis.

Europe is scrambling to cut its reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

As European gas prices soar eight times their 10-year average, countries are introducing policies to curb the impact of rising prices on households and businesses. These include everything from the cost of living subsidies to wholesale price regulation. Overall, funding for such initiatives has reached $276 billion as of August.

With the continent thrown into uncertainty, the above chart shows allocated funding by country in response to the energy crisis.

The Energy Crisis, In Numbers

Using data from Bruegel, the below table reflects spending on national policies, regulation, and subsidies in response to the energy crisis for select European countries between September 2021 and July 2022. All figures in U.S. dollars.

Source: Bruegel, IMF. Euro and pound sterling exchange rates to U.S. dollar as of August 25, 2022.

Germany is spending over $60 billion to combat rising energy prices. Key measures include a $300 one-off energy allowance for workers, in addition to $147 million in funding for low-income families. Still, energy costs are forecasted to increase by an additional $500 this year for households.

In Italy, workers and pensioners will receive a $200 cost of living bonus. Additional measures, such as tax credits for industries with high energy usage were introduced, including a $800 million fund for the automotive sector.

With energy bills predicted to increase three-fold over the winter, households in the U.K. will receive a $477 subsidy in the winter to help cover electricity costs.

Meanwhile, many Eastern European countries—whose households spend a higher percentage of their income on energy costs— are spending more on the energy crisis as a percentage of GDP. Greece is spending the highest, at 3.7% of GDP.

Utility Bailouts

Energy crisis spending is also extending to massive utility bailouts.

Uniper, a German utility firm, received $15 billion in support, with the government acquiring a 30% stake in the company. It is one of the largest bailouts in the country’s history. Since the initial bailout, Uniper has requested an additional $4 billion in funding.

Not only that, Wien Energie, Austria’s largest energy company, received a €2 billion line of credit as electricity prices have skyrocketed.

Deepening Crisis

Is this the tip of the iceberg? To offset the impact of high gas prices, European ministers are discussing even more tools in early September in response to a threatening energy crisis.

To reign in the impact of high gas prices on the price of power, European leaders are considering a price ceiling on Russian gas imports and temporary price caps on gas used for generating electricity, among others.

Price caps on renewables and nuclear were also suggested.

Given the depth of the situation, the chief executive of Shell said that the energy crisis in Europe would extend beyond this winter, if not for several years.

The supply chain is key for the renewable energy revolution, and this chart visualizes where the world’s solar panels are manufactured.

Many governments are investing in renewable energy sources like solar power, but who controls the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels?

As it turns out, China owns the vast majority of the world’s solar panel supply chain, controlling at least 75% of every single key stage of solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing and processing.

This visualization shows the shares held by different countries and regions of the key stages of solar panel manufacturing, using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Solar Panel Manufacturing, by Country and Stage

From polysilicon production to soldering finished solar cells and modules onto panels, China has the largest share in every stage of solar panel manufacturing.

Even back in 2010, the country made the majority of the world’s solar panels, but over the past 12 years, its average share of the solar panel supply chain has gone from 55% to 84%.

China also continues to lead in terms of investment, making up almost two-thirds of global large-scale solar investment. In the first half of 2022, the country invested $41 billion, a 173% increase from the year before.

Source: IEA
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

After China, the next leading nation in solar panel manufacturing is India, which makes up almost 3% of solar module manufacturing and 1% of cell manufacturing. To help meet the country’s goal of 280 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity by 2030 (currently 57.9 GW), in 2022 the Indian government allocated an additional $2.6 billion to its production-linked incentive scheme that supports domestic solar PV panel manufacturing.

Alongside China and India, the Asia-Pacific region also makes up significant amounts of solar panel manufacturing, especially modules and cells at 15.4% and 12.4% respectively.

While Europe and North America make up more than one-third of the global demand for solar panels, both regions make up an average of just under 3% each across all stages of actually manufacturing solar panels.

Too Little Too Late to Diversify?

China’s dominance of solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing is not the only stranglehold the country has on renewable energy infrastructure and materials.

When it comes to wind, in 2021 China built more offshore wind turbines than all other countries combined over the past five years, and the country is also the leading producer and processor of the rare earth minerals essential for the magnets that power turbine generators.

In its full report on solar panel manufacturing, the IEA emphasized the importance of distributing global solar panel manufacturing capacity. Recent unexpected manufacturing halts in China have resulted in the price of polysilicon rising to 10-year highs, revealing the world’s dependence on China for the supply of key materials.

As the world builds out its solar and wind energy capacity, will it manage to avoid repeating Europe’s mistakes of energy import overdependence when it comes to the materials and manufacturing of renewable energy infrastructure?