For the first time in history, there are more jobs in green energy than in the oil and gas industry in the U.S.
A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency showed that the U.S. solar energy workforce increased 12 times faster than the rate of overall job growth, according to Bloomberg. Green energy jobs overtook those in oil and gas last year, rising 6 percent to reach nearly 222,000 positions.
“The continued job growth in the renewable energy sector is significant because it stands in contrast to trends across the energy sector,” director-general of IRENA, Adnan Amin, said.
The agency attributed the job growth in the green energy sector to state and federal incentive programs and financing initiatives.
The growing alternative energy workforce in the U.S. also reflects a worldwide trend, with the global workforce increasing by 5 percent in 2015 alone, the Financial Times reported. Some 8.1 million people worked in solar, wind and related renewable sectors last year. The agency predicts that there will be more than 24 million clean energy jobs worldwide by 2030.
Solar energy was the sector with the most employees, supporting 2.8 million jobs last year, up 11 percent from the previous year.
