A commentary in Energy News Network covered the impact of COVID-19 on veteran employment in the advanced energy industry referencing AEE's survey findings. Read excerpts below and the entire Energy News Network piece here.
At the beginning of the year, wind and solar energy were poised to have record breaking growth in 2020 with an additional 32 GW of capacity from the declining levelized cost of electricity, sunsetting government tax incentives, and increased investments from private industry to combat climate change. This growth represents a nearly 20% increase in existing capacity, creating an increasing number of clean energy jobs. However, the global spread of the novel coronavirus is challenging these projections. The research and consultancy group Wood MacKenzie suggests that clean energy investment is likely to take a hit: “all discretionary spend will be under review — that includes additional budget allocated for carbon mitigation. And companies that haven’t yet engaged in carbon reduction strategies are likely to put the issue on the back burner...”