RALEIGH – Entering 2020, North Carolina’s clean energy workforce had grown to nearly 113,000 workers – or nearly 2.5 percent of overall state employment.

Then COVID-19 struck, and its workforce got slashed.

According to figures released today by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA), 21,200 clean tech energy workers still remain unemployed — nearly 19 percent of the state’s clean energy workforce.

In total, more than 511,000 clean energy workers across all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, remain out of work since March.

The Old North State is among those hit hardest, ranking No. 6 on the list compiled in the report. California took the top spot with 89,158 job losses.

North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) report

 

North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) report

However, the NCSEA said there is reason to be optimistic.

“As history shows, with the right policies, clean energy can produce jobs quickly in the aftermath of economic downturn,” the group said.

“Through the prolonged economic downturn of the Great Recession and tight credit markets, employment in North Carolina’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industries increased 6 percent from 2008-2009. This signals the resiliency of the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.”

That becomes even more clear, it added, considering more than 200,000 jobs — or roughly 5 percent — of North Carolina jobs were lost between July 2008 to July 2009.

Clean jobs ‘year-in-review’

Certainly, the report’s “year-in-review” section offers a more favorably picture.

North Carolina’s clean energy economy added over 1,800 jobs in 2019, driven primarily by growth in grid modernization and energy storage (7.5 percent) and renewable energy generation (2.1 percent).

The state saw growth in 18 of 21 subsectors. Clean Vehicles was the only sector to see an overall decline in employment (175 jobs) after growing 20 percent in 2018 (part of a nationwide trend), and the decline in jobs was limited to the plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles subsectors. Hybrid electric vehicles (3.4 percent), natural gas vehicles (4.0 percent), and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (11.2 percent) all saw above average growth.

Swelling to nearly 113,000 workers statewide, North Carolina’s clean energy workforce at the end of 2019 was employed primarily by small businesses ranging from agriculture to manufacturing.

Other key findings pre-COVID-19: North Carolina was home to 3.4 percent of the nation’s clean energy jobs – ninth among all 50 states.

The state also saw 5.2 percent job growth since 2017, 40 percent faster than overall statewide employment.

Meanwhile, clean energy employed 10 times more workers than fossil fuels in 2019.

Despite this recent downturn, NCSEA warned state lawmakers not to take this burgeoning industry for granted.

“Now is not the time to give up on clean energy,” it said in the report. “Now is the time to dive in and count on clean energy to do what we know it can do: create jobs, economic opportunities, and affordable energy for all North Carolinians.