US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island, a politician who often warns about the dangers of climate change, recently claimed that there are more US jobs in the solar industry than in coal mining. And the best part is he’s right!
According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report from May 2013, coal mining employs 80, 030 jobs. As of November, the solar industry employs 142, 698 Americans, according to the National Solar Jobs Census.
The solar industry has seen significant growthrecently growing by 41 percent in2013. It is now the second-largest source of new US electricity, natural gas being the first. The cost of solar installation also fell by 15 percent compared to 2012 costs.
Companies are also taking advantageof solar potential, particularly the tech sector. Apple, who has committed to a goal of powering the iCloud with 100 percent renewable energy, announced it was building its third solar farm in North Carolina to power its data center there. North Carolina itself is also experiencing growth in solar energythanks to grassroots initiatives like Solarize which is installing solar on residential homes in Charlotte. Currently, a solar system is installed in a US home every four minutes, and that figure is expected to grow.
