--- title: Solar Power Industry Jobs Spiked Last Year, Report Says description: The number of jobs in the U.S. solar industry grew by 25% last year as the energy sector continued its march away from fossil fuels canonical: https://time.com/4662221/solar-jobs-growth/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-07T15:17:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:10:36.468Z article:section: Science og:title: The Solar Power Industry Keeps Adding Jobs og:description: The number of jobs in the industry has grown 17-fold since 2010 og:url: https://time.com/4662221/solar-jobs-growth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95810e185e319888/6988b911bc6cfcba9c3e0140/solar-jobs-power-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3764 og:image:height: 2117 og:image:alt: solar jobs power california og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Solar Power Industry Keeps Adding Jobs twitter:description: The number of jobs in the industry has grown 17-fold since 2010 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95810e185e319888/6988b911bc6cfcba9c3e0140/solar-jobs-power-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Solar Power Industry Keeps Adding Jobs > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 7, 2017 3:17 PM UTC  Solar Farm in Palm Springs, Calif. Solar Farm in Palm Springs, Calif.Connie J. Spinard—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 7, 2017 3:17 PM UTC The number of jobs in the U.S. solar industry grew by 25% last year as the energy sector continued its march away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, according to a new [report](http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/national/?mc%5Fcid=eaf6332238&mc%5Feid=%5BUNIQID%5D). More than 260,000 people now work in the solar industry, according to the report, published by the non-profit Solar Foundation. The workforce employed in the industry has increased 17-fold since 2010\. The figures in the report are consistent with numbers from the Department of Energy. “The solar industry is an American success story that has created hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs,” said Solar Foundation President Andrea Luecke in a statement. “Solar energy is a low-cost, reliable, super-abundant American energy source that is driving economic growth.” **Read More:** [This Solar Power Plant Can Run All Night](http://time.com/4291347/crescent-dunes-solar-power-plant/) The rapid growth in the solar industry is largely due to rapid technological advances that have made the energy source cost competitive with natural gas in many places. Solar power plants accounted for a larger share of new power plant capacity than any other energy source last year, according to a [report](http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=25172) from the Energy Information Administration. **Read More:** [Power from Natural Gas Expected to Reach a Record High Despite Climate Concerns](http://time.com/4406405/natural-gas-climate-change-energy/) Industry analysts expect solar to continue grow despite considerable policy uncertainty in Washington. Tax credits for renewable energy have received [bipartisan support](https://morningconsult.com/2016/03/07/political-calculus-changes-on-wind-solar-tax-credits/) in the past, but many in the industry are unsure what to expect from President Trump, whose views on some key energy issues remain unknown. Supporters of solar energy argue that regardless of Trump it will continue to compete on cost and will receive support from many state and local governments—at least in part because of the jobs. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4662221/solar-jobs-growth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4662221/solar-jobs-growth/"},"headline":"The Solar Power Industry Keeps Adding Jobs","datePublished":"2017-02-07T15:17:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:10:36.468Z","description":"The number of jobs in the industry has grown 17-fold since 2010","url":"https://time.com/4662221/solar-jobs-growth/","keywords":["energy","Environment","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95810e185e319888/6988b911bc6cfcba9c3e0140/solar-jobs-power-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95810e185e319888/6988b911bc6cfcba9c3e0140/solar-jobs-power-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"solar jobs power california","caption":"solar jobs power california","creditText":"Connie J. 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