Brenda Cargin, brenda.cargin@sierraclub.org
Stephanie Steinbrecher, stephanie.steinbrecher@sierraclub.org
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta metropolitan area created more than 500 new jobs in the state’s growing solar industry last year, according to a report released by The Solar Foundation. The Atlanta area is now home to 2,910 of solar jobs, an increase of 21% from 2016. The Atlanta metro area saw some of the top solar job growth across the country, and Georgia had a 10% overall job growth statewide. These figures highlight the enormous jobs potential and Atlanta’s growing clean energy sector.
In May 2017, Atlanta committed to transition to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2035. The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience will soon release the 100% Clean Energy Plan, which will detail how the city will accomplish this goal. Atlanta is the largest city in the South to make this commitment, and it will be the first major city to lay out steps for achieving a just transition entirely to clean energy.
Across the country, 63 cities are committed to powering themselves using 100% renewable sources, like solar and wind.
“Last year, Atlanta demonstrated its commitment to creating a clean energy economy by committing to 100% clean energy. Achieving an equitable transition to clean energy will be essential to ensuring local economic growth, clean air, and affordable energy are accessible to all Atlantans,” said Ted Terry, director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “These job figures demonstrate how far we’ve come in making clean energy a solution for everyone that calls Atlanta home. As our city moves towards being completely powered by 100% clean energy, solar job opportunities will only continue to grow.”
Solar jobs listed in the report include both installation jobs and non-installation jobs, including manufacturing, sales and distribution, project development, and other occupations that support the solar industry.
Earlier this year, The Solar Foundation released its 2017 National Solar Jobs Census, which found that the US solar industry employed 250,271 workers. While the total number of national solar jobs decreased since 2016, the solar workforce increased by 168% in the past seven years, pointing to the long-term trend of growth in solar jobs across the US. Georgia is one of 29 states that saw solar job growth in 2017.
The emerging market for solar energy in Atlanta is reflected in both increasing job opportunities and other community initiatives across the city, including the Solarize Atlanta campaign. Solarize is a community-based solar program that seeks to deliver cost-saving benefits to neighborhoods across Atlanta. The initiative will launch at an event on April 12.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.