The Wind Technologies Market Report found that there were 88,000 jobs in wind energy last year, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported. A press release by the American Wind Energy Association noted that the number of workers in 2015 was up 20 percent from the year previous. It also mentioned that 41 percent of all new generating capacity came from wind, ranking it above solar and natural gas, which came in at 28.5 percent and 28.1 percent, respectively.
Along with wind, the solar energy industry is also seeing rising employment figures. Throughout 2015, job growth in solar was 12 times faster than it was in the rest of the economy overall, Clean Technica reported. Solar also added more jobs than the oil and gas extraction and pipeline sectors did combined.
Some 35,052 solar jobs were gained during the year, compared to 23,600 jobs in 2013, and contributed to a total industry workforce of 208,859 people, the source noted.