Tag Archives: Solar Jobs

America now has more solar energy workers than coal miners

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The Solar Foundation, which has been releasing reports for a few years on the state of the solar industry in the U.S., has just launched a very cool interactive map that breaks the stats down state by state. This allows us to see that there are only 80 solar jobs in Alaska (not too surprising), and over 43,000 in California. Add all 50 states together, and solar employs 119,000 people in the country, a growth of 13.2% in 2012.

Another interesting way to gain perspective is to compare these solar jobs to the number of jobs created by other sectors. Looked at it this way, the Solar Foundation (using stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) found that there were more solar energy workers in Texas than ranchers, that solar workers outnumber actors in California, and that across the whole 50 states, there are more solar workers than coal miners.

 

http://www.kinetaworld.com/photo/solarenergyworkers

Will 2013 Be The Year Of Turnaround For The Solar Supply Chain?

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After a disastrous third quarter of 2012, which was characterized by extremely low factory utilization rates across the entire photovoltaic supply chain, the industry saw a surge in demand for PV modules in the final quarter of the year.

A new PV module shipment record of 11 GW was reached, according to the IHS Solar Integrated Market Tracker from information and analytics provider IHS. But despite this positive sign, the situation of the global PV industry remains critical, and a substantial recovery of the supply-demand balance is not expected to occur before the second half of this year.

The third quarter of 2012 dealt a blow to the global photovoltaic industry, IHS says. After a relatively strong second quarter resulting in global installations of 7.8 GW, markets softened again.

“Installations in the third quarter amounted to just 7.5 GW,” says Stefan de Haan, principal analyst at IHS. “Wholesalers, [contractors] and PV suppliers were forced to carefully control their inventory levels due to falling prices and low shipment levels, and production cuts were the consequence.”

During this quarter, average module capacity utilization fell to 49%, cell capacity utilization fell to 56%, wafer capacity utilization fell to a record-low 55% and polysilicon capacity utilization fell to 63%.

In parallel, prices continued their slide, resulting in module industry revenues of only $6 billion – the lowest value since the second quarter of 2009. These difficult conditions were reflected in an increasing number of suppliers exiting the market.

“In the fourth quarter of 2012, global PV markets rebounded sharply,” de Haan notes. “Very strong demand from Asia, with the surge driven largely by China and Japan, helped to compensate for sluggish demand in Europe.

“IHS estimates that global PV installations were 10.1 GW in the fourth quarter of 2012,” he continues. “In particular, leading Chinese module suppliers benefited from the uptick in demand and shipped much more than previously expected.”

In total, 11 GW of global module shipments are estimated for the fourth quarter of 2012 – a new record for the industry. As anticipated by IHS, average market pricing for crystalline modules declined to $0.65/W at the end of 2012 – down from $0.70/W at the end of September.

Importantly, however, the price decline lost momentum in the course of the fourth quarter, the report adds. Toward the end of the year, some module prices even increased. Record-level shipments paired with stabilizing prices drove a profound recovery of revenues. Fourth-quarter 2012 module revenues grew by a stunning 42% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $8.5 billion.

In the first quarter of 2013, suppliers are predicted to experience the usual seasonal weakness of global solar markets, IHS says. Global PV installations are forecast to drop to 6.7 GW in this quarter. As a result, upstream shipments and revenues will temporarily come under pressure again.

With prices forecast to decrease by another 4% to 5% in the first quarter of 2013 (compared to the fourth quarter of 2012), module revenues will fall back to the critical levels of the third quarter of 2012 – or even below. IHS expects that this development will force more suppliers to review their business models and eventually leave the solar market.

Later this year, after a tough first quarter, a substantial increase in global demand is forecast to drive increasing revenues and stabilizing prices in the second half of 2013. IHS forecasts 35 GW of global installations in 2013, up 10% over 2012.

Although this level of growth is lower than previous years, it will drive a continuous improvement of shipments and revenues in the polysilicon to module supply chain throughout 2013. Recent positive signals from authorities in several key markets, such as China and France, raise hopes for the recovery of the PV industry to happen even faster.

“While it’s too early to give the all-clear for the PV supplier industry, there is increasing indication that the year 2013 will mark the turnaround,” de Haan says.

Source: http://solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.11951

Sustainable Solar Jobs Growing at Faster Rate Than Other Industries

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The Solar Foundation (TSF), an independent nonprofit solar education and research organization, has released the full version of its third annual National Solar Jobs Census at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference. The census found that more than 8,500 installation solar jobs were created in the past year, and continued industry wide growth is expected in 2013.

In early November, TSF announced that the Census found that the U.S. solar industry now employs 119,016 Americans, a figure which represents the addition of 13,872 workers and a 13.2 percent employment growth rate over the previous year. Since 2010, employment in the U.S. solar industry has grown 27 percent, or eight times faster than the overall economy during the same period when employment grew by 3.2 percent.

The complete report analyzes employment in the subsectors that make up the solar industry. Installation remained the largest subsector in terms of employment and added the most new jobs. Installers now employ 57,177 Americans, a 17.5 percent increase over the revised 2011 figure. Sales and distribution jobs experienced a 23.1 percent increase, now employing 16,005 Americans.

Source: http://www.environmental-expert.com/news/sustainable-solar-jobs-growing-at-faster-rate-than-other-industries-332705

Solar’s soaring job growth keep boots on the roof

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The National Solar Jobs Census 2012 published earlier this month revealed that solar companies are hiring faster than the general economy. The Solar Foundation’s review of the US solar workforce found that as of September 2012, the solar industry had grown to 119,016 workers under its definition of those “who spend at least 50% of their time supporting solar-related activities”.

“There are 119,016 solar workers in the United States, up from a revised 105,145 in 2011,” the report said. “In just five years, the industry grew nearly six times in value, with total solar installations in the US estimated to be worth $8.4 billion in 2011.”

Since 2010, when the foundation began tracking jobs, solar industry employment has grown by 27% to a figure that outstrips the 91,611 coal miners in the US, according to Energy Information Administration. It goes without saying that most of that job creation was with installers (48%), rather than manufacturers (25%).

Although numbers of employment establishments contracted by 2,000 to 15,000, solar employment overall is expected to grow by 17.2% over the next 12 months, representing the addition of approximately 20,000 new solar workers.

“A decline in establishments, coupled with increased employment, suggests consolidation and maturation of the industry,” said the report.

“Solar employment is growing nearly six times faster than the national average employment growth rate of 2.3%, and many sectors across the various conventional energy generation industries either grew more slowly or experienced employment declines. For example, over the last year, the fossil fuel electric generation sector lost nearly 4,000 workers, and jobs in coal mining fell by 850.”

Randy Bishop started Verengo Solar from the ashes of a window company in 2008, “right in the heart of the whirlwind”. The company recently celebrated its 5,000th installation. Bishop’s California residential solar installation company employed 400 people last year, and is on track to hire another 400 next year.

“I feel like especially during an election cycle there’s been such a focus on the negatives,” he said during a Vote Solar press call last week. “The reality is that during some really tough times over the past few years, companies like Verengo Solar have been growing and creating a lot of jobs, saving customers money in meaningful ways during a recession.

“A large percent of these are blue collar jobs and even within those construction trade jobs, electricians, roofers … these types of jobs were hit particularly hard in the recession. That has been where the bulk of our growth and hiring has been [also in] call centre and sales jobs that don’t require college education. In today’s economy, these are incredibly valuable jobs because we have a workforce that can’t all compete in the knowledge economy.”

Mike Hall, CEO of Borrego Solar, started his company in 2002 at his parents’ house in San Diego.

Borrego is now delivering small and medium scale utility projects to corporations, cities, counties public schools colleges and university. Its biggest client couldn’t get much bigger: the Department of Defense; Borrego recently completed a 3.4MW installation at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Borrego employs 100 people nationwide and 100 additional sub-contractors annually.

“The most important part of the solar industry story is not being discussed in Washington and it’s hardly a part of the political discourse,” said Hall.

“When I started in the industry 10 years ago, you could fit the entire industry into a large ballroom. The industry employed hundreds of people full time and a few more part time. Now the industry employs more than 100,000 people. Ten years ago a small utility-scale system cost over US$7/watt to construct. Now ten years later the cost is closer to US$2.50/watt – that’s a 65% reduction without taking into account that systems are often more efficient.”

Beyond the lack of recognition for solar’s contribution to employment figures, a further source of frustration for Bishop is the additional cost to solar systems resulting from inefficient local permitting procedures.

Solar customer Bill Gardner described his pleasant experience of having a 40-panel system installed by SunRun: “I was amazed the very first time the power came on from the solar system and I watched the meter stop and start going backwards. I watch my electric power bills drop dramatically. We save around $1,200 a year on what would have been the electric bill.”

But although it took the installation crew only a day and a half to install, they flicked the switch – and promptly shut the system down for over three weeks while PG&E connected the system and the city officials gave the system their “blessing”.

Bishop said that these highly localised permitting requirements are far from standard. One local authority might ask for life-sized blueprint sketches, while others only want a computer design emailed to them.

“That creates lots of trips to permitting agencies and becomes a barrier for firms to really expand because we have to navigate this morass. It adds a lot of unnecessary costs to the system,” he said.

These “soft” permitting and interconnection costs with utilities make installed system prices $2.70/watt more expensive than in Germany, according to a recent report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Adam Browning, Executive Director of Vote Solar, said: “These unnecessary costs…are cumulative and slow down business opportunities, so it points to simple policy fixes in some cases. Local leaders at a local level can help a lot in bringing solar to scale. We don’t need magic new double efficiency solar panels to get a tremendous change in solar’s costs. A lot of this is about getting smarter.”

As new garage-to-riches solar stories are added to America’s entrepreneurial folklore, from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, some of the fixes may be smart, but many will be no-brainers.

Source: http://www.pv-tech.org/editors_blog/solars_soaring_job_growth_keep_boots_on_the_roof

Solar jobs will continue to grow faster than wind, but slower than other green sectors

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Between now and 2020 the green sector could create upwards of 3 million solar jobs in the U.S. That’s according to a new report from CleanEdison. The highest percentage of the job growth will be in HVAC and building control systems and solar energy. While jobs growth in wind energy is expected to continue but occur at a lower rate of increase then solar or HVAC jobs.

“We did this research for our own internal use. We used that data to determine where we invest in terms of curriculum development, where we think there will be demand for training,” said CleanEdison’s Director of Online Marketing Julia Zhou. In creating the report, the company looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Brookings Institute, among other sources.

The report anticipated that from the period of 2010 to 2020, solar energy jobs would grow by 24 percent, from 15,987 jobs in 2010 to 36,618 in 2020. The only faster growing clean energy sector, according to the report is HVAC and Building Control Systems, which it anticipated would grow at a rate of 29 percent for the 2010 to 2020 period, from 73,600 jobs to 94,944 jobs in 2020. Wind it anticipated would grow a rate of 14 percent to 27,695 jobs from 24,294 jobs.

The anticipated growth rates for solar jobs was on the aggregate level, according to Zhou. “We were seeing more growth there than wind,” she said. “Part of it is that solar can be implemented on the residential level at very small scale. Wind requires a much bigger investment institutional or governmental support.”

CleanEdison anticipates growth in solar jobs would occur even if incentive programs aren’t renewed. “In terms of the incentives, we are seeing funding going down, but we’re not seeing much of an impact, in terms of solar and HVAC,” Zhou said. She contended that people are finding that solar and energy efficiency are offering good values even if the incentives go down.

Zhou said the growth would be highest for HVAC and building control systems because a lot of those jobs would include expanding the role of home inspection jobs. Where home inspectors could gain training in the sector and or add services, like retrofitting home or buildings for energy efficiency.

Source: http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-energy-news/solar-jobs-grow-faster-than-wind-103012

Solar future gets a boost

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The future of solar energy in New York has brightened a bit, proponents said  Friday as they announced legislation to extend or create tax incentives and  other inducements to help homeowners, businesses and government agencies tap  into the emerging technology.

Robert  Hallman, Gov. Andrew  Cuomo‘s deputy secretary for energy and the environment, called the  incentives “a major commitment” that should help quadruple the state’s solar  capacity by 2013.

Hallman  and Frank Murray, president of the New  York State Energy and Research Development Authority, joined solar industry  representatives at a news conference in the Capitol’s Blue Room.

They pointed to three bills signed by Cuomo that aim to lower the cost of  going solar.

One measure provides homeowner tax credits worth up to $5,000 for purchasing  or leasing solar equipment, provided they commit to using it for 10 years.

Another bill exempts commercial solar systems from state sales taxes, and  allows municipalities to do the same.

The third measure extends through 2014 a property tax abatement for solar systems in New York City — which is considered an area of great potential due to the concentrated population and number of flat rooftops that make installing the needed equipment easier.

In total, the state is offering about $800 million worth of incentives  through 2015 for this growing industry.

The inducements are needed, especially for residential uses, as solar still  requires considerable up-front expenditures.

Responding to a question about the cost of solar energy compared to  low-priced natural gas, Hallman said gas is a “bridge fuel” to the day when  alternative sources like solar have evolved to the point where they can take  over.

“That’s the way we look at it,” said Hallman.

Murray earlier said there is no “silver bullet” with solar power, but is  instead something that will develop over time.

Murray said that equipping a home for solar electric power can run as high as  $40,000.

But that price can fall to $16,000 after tax breaks, rebates and other  incentives. The interest is there, he said, and his agency gets a steady stream  of calls from people seeking to make use of the incentives.

Companies are also offering to lease solar equipment to homeowners long-term,  which greatly reduces the cost and can lead to net savings on electricity.

Even schools are looking to the sun for savings as well as for some teachable  moments. Schodack School Superintendent Robert  Horan said the district used a NYSERDA grant — $208,000 — to put in three  solar units, two on the roof and one on the ground, to help generate power for  the 1,100-student district.

The installation didn’t cost the district any money. Its leaders plan to use  the system as a real-life tool for science lessons.

The idea, Murray said, is to ensure that New York captures the interest and  business of an evolving and expanding solar industry.

“We want to make sure that we get more than our share of that investment in  New York state,” he said.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Solar-future-gets-a-boost-3797350.php#ixzz246DqqT6r

More Scots turn to solar power in bid to save on energy bills

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SOLAR energy is becoming a more attractive solution for consumers trying to save money on energy bills – and Scotland is
already ahead of the game, according to energy experts.

New research from uSwitch.com shows the average consumer can save more than £1,000 a year on household bills by having solar panels installed.

And soaring energy bills make solar a more attractive proposition than ever – even north of the Border. People who have already fitted solar panels are saving an average of £82.50 a month or £1,000 a year on their household energy bills.

The research from uSwitch shows nine out of ten people who have had solar panels fitted on their property would recommend them to a friend,  eight out of ten say they have switched to solar in order to save money while four out of ten say they represent a good return on investment. Six out of ten say they had solar panels fitted on their property in order to
become more green.

Simon Nicholas White, a photographer from central Edinburgh, said the difference in his household bills had been “massive” since solar panels were fitted to the roof of his old town tenement: “Ours were fitted two years ago and we have really noticed the difference. This year we turned the hot water off in March and it won’t go back on until October November.

“Even with the weather we have been having the solar panels are still generating enough to fill the hot water tank for baths, showers and washing up.”

Kevin Sears, energy efficiency expert at uSwitch.com, says: “With soaring energy prices and the rising cost of living, households are looking for new ways to cut costs. Solar energy provides a real opportunity to save around £80 a month on energy – something that consumers can’t afford to ignore.  With over half of households under the impression that solar power is too expensive, consumers should be aware of all the options available, including
Engensa’s new SolarLoan.”

Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “Our figures show that between 2009 and April 2012 more than £206 million has been invested in the Scottish solar panel industry, creating new solar jobs and opportunities across the country.

“Solar has become increasingly popular way for householders and businesses to power their properties, keeping their energy bills down and for some, even making a profit by selling excess electricity to the grid.

“Renewable energy is quickly becoming a part of our everyday lives and currently meets around 35 per cent of Scotland’s electricity needs.”

Jerry Hamilton, renewable energy director at Rexel, a company which fits energy-saving technology, said: “It’s very exciting to see how ahead of the game Scotland has been in terms of the energy crisis. The country realised very early on that there is an impending energy resource problem that will soon hit the UK and has invested heavily in a renewable alternative.

“Through our business we have seen huge growth in solar installations in Scotland. Despite the lower light conditions experienced in the country, if high- quality products are fitted, solar panels can still provide a good return on investment, as well as protect from the expected energy increases. As the UK becomes more reliant on energy resources from other countries, Scotland will be reaping the cost benefits of investment in solar and other renewable energies.”

Source: http://www.scotsman.com/business/more-scots-turn-to-solar-power-in-bid-to-save-on-energy-bills-1-2462943

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Solar company to create more than 300 jobs in NC

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A designer and manufacturer of solar power mounting systems plans will set up its U.S. headquarters in Shelby, N.C. and create more than 300 solar jobs at a production and distribution facility.

Gov. Beverly Perdue said Monday that Schletter Inc. will create the jobs by the end of 2016 and invest more than $27 million in the facility in Cleveland County.

Since 2008, Schletter has been manufacturing its photovoltaic mounting systems at its only U.S. production facility in Arizona. The company now supplies 25 percent of all solar mounting systems produced and delivered in the U.S.

The average compensation is expected to be almost $41,000 plus benefits. The average annual wage in Cleveland County is almost $33,000.

The project was made possible in part by state grants.

Sainsbury’s UK solar rollout makes it UK’s largest rooftop PV operator

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Sainsbury’s has become the largest operator of rooftop-mounted solar PV across the UK after installing 16MW of capacity on 169 of its stores.

The 69,500 solar modules installed across the supermarket giant’s stores will reduce Sainsbury’s carbon footprint by 6,800 tonnes of CO2 every year as well as significantly slashing the company’s utility bills.

The mass rollout of solar serves as part of Sainsbury’s ambitious corporate target that aims to reduce its operational carbon emissions by 30 percent absolute and 65 percent relative by 2020. The company also holds a wider ambition to cut its carbon footprint in half by 2030.

Justin King, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s said: “We’ve already made real progress towards achieving our environmental commitments detailed in our stretching ‘20 by 20 Sustainability Plan’.  This solar rollout is another big step forward.  It makes sense for us – it’s good for the environment and for our business and we are actively looking to install more panels.

“We already produce far more solar power than most commercial solar farms. We believe the retail sector should take another look at solar energy as a viable way to reduce its impact on the environment.  Supermarkets have the equivalent of football fields on their roofs, many of them underutilised.  It’s a perfect time to turn that space into something positive.

“Big contracts like this support job creation in the renewable energy sector and are essential for our solar industry to thrive.  We believe that we’ll see the cost of solar energy reaching parity with the grid on commercial installations like this in the next two and four years, and that may well herald a new boom in the solar industry.”

The supermarket giant is truly embracing the use of renewables, in addition to the solar rollout, Sainsbury’s has installed over 40 biomass boilers as well as committed to installing geo-thermal heat pumps at 100 of its stores nationwide. Welcoming the news, Friends of the Earth Director of Policy and Campaigns, Craig Bennett, said: “This major solar investment will make Sainsbury’s a greener grocer and gives a significant boost to the UK’s renewable energy sector.

“Firms across the UK are waking up to the business benefits of using clean British energy from the sun, wind and waves to reduce our reliance on increasingly expensive fossil fuels.  It’s little surprise that 85 per cent of the public want us to ditch fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy – this will bring down bills in the long term and create new UK industries and solar jobs.”

In the run up to the controversial August cuts, deployment of commercial scale solar has been disappointing. However, Justin King’s public backing of  large scale solar as good for the environment and business should help instil some confidence to the UK solar market, which has had to endure significant changes to the feed-in tariff scheme in recent days. This year’s upcoming Solar Power UK conference will be addressing how companies can utilise solar to help cut costs today whilst ensuring a saving on fixed costs in the future. The Birmingham-based event will be running a wide range of seminar topics from October 2-4.

Source: http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/sainsburys_uk_solar_rollout_makes_it_europes_largest_pv_operator_2356

WalMart Celebrates 100th California Solar Installation

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Walmart reached a very special renewable energy milestone this week.  The mammoth retail giant revealed San Diego’s College Avenue store as  it’s 100th store in California to use rooftop solar panels. It’s all part of the broad range plan to have 100% of their energy come from renewable sources.

“At Walmart, we believe sustainability is about living better,” said  Kimberly Sentovich, Senior Vice President of the Pacific Division for  Walmart, in a statement

“By using one of California’s greatest resources – sunshine – and  employing renewable technology with our California-based partners, we  will continue developing solutions that are both good for the  environment and good for business,” she said.

On average, 48 contract positions per site have been created through Walmart’s solar commitments.

The retail giant has worked with Californian-based solar company  SolarCity to help create more than 3,000 California contract  construction and solar jobs.

Meanwhile, SolarCity has hired 1,213 new employees since taking on its first Walmart project back in September 2010.

While WalMart’s run of sustainable development in solar energy by  teaming up with SolarCity has been good for job creation, it also has an  extremely positive effect on the environment.

Accordiing to Walmart, its efforts in going towards solar power in  California will create 70 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable  clean power each year. That’s approximately the same as powering more  than 5,400 homes.

It also means 21,700 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year will  be taken out of the atmosphere, or the same as 4,100 cars off the road.

Meanwhile, solar power will give about 10% to 30% of the facilities’ electricity needs.

“Walmart is showing other businesses that you can create jobs and  reduce air pollution by using better energy,” said SolarCity CEO Lyndon  Rive in a statement.

“In Walmart, other businesses seeking efficiency and smart energy policy have a strong example to follow,” she said.

Los Angeles leads the way with 43 stores that have solar technology  installed, followed by the Bay Area with 17 stores, and San Diego with  13.

Local politicians and environmentalists applauded the recent milestone.

“Walmart has demonstrated a real commitment to solar energy systems  here in San Diego and throughout California, and hopefully other  companies will make the move to do the same on their rooftops,” said  Tony Young, San Diego City Council President in a statement.

“This latest renewable energy effort is another step forward in San  Dieo’s clean-energy mission and will help make our city a better, more  sustainable place for current residents and our next generation,” he  said.

“Walmart does not just talk the talk, it walks the walk,” said Mary  D. Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board in the  statement.

“Walmart’s work to expand and accelerate its solar power initiative  program here in California demonstrates its commitment to  sustainability. Walmart has helped create local jobs, reduce costs for  its own operations, and protect the environment. We encourage other  businesses to follow Walmart’s lead,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gwen Ruta, vice president of Environmental Defense Fund’s  Corporate Partnership Program, in the statement praised WalMart’s work  on promoting the green economy with it’s 100th solar installation in California.

“Walmart’s solar power  initiatives shows how companies can help bring cost-effective energy  solutions to scale as part of ‘business-as-usual.”

“This milestone for Walmart’s efforts demonstrates the growing roles for renewables in America’s energy future.”

Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20120802/walmart-celebrates-100th-california-solar-installation.htm