Employers expected strong 5% growth for advanced energy in 2020 before COVID-19 health crisis hit
HARRISBURG, September 17, 2020 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) reported the latest employment data in a new fact sheet showing that Pennsylvania had 104,600 people working in advanced energy in 2019. This represents more workers than those in Fabricated Metal Manufacturing (82,468) and more than twice those in Hotels & Motels (51,234). Nationwide, there were 3.6 million advanced energy workers.
Pennsylvania advanced energy employment grew 2% last year, more than double the state’s overall 0.8% jobs growth rate. Also, employers expected a strong 5% increase in advanced energy jobs for 2020 when surveyed late last year, before the COVID-19 heath crisis hit.
The largest jobs segment by far was Energy Efficiency with 71,400 workers (68%), which also grew at a 4% rate in 2019. Advanced Grid and Energy Storage employment also grew 4% last year, reaching 3,700 jobs total in Pennsylvania.
“With over 100,000 advanced energy workers in the Keystone State, more than those in metal fabrication, and double those in hotels & motels, advanced energy is now a significant segment our workforce and economy,” said Daniel Bloom, Policy Principal at AEE. “With a track record of job growth faster than the state overall, this is an industry of the future for Pennsylvania.”
Key 2019 Pennsylvania employment data are summarized in a fact sheet include:
Pennsylvania advanced energy employment grew 2% last year, more than double the state’s overall 0.8% jobs growth rate. Also, employers expected a strong 5% increase in advanced energy jobs for 2020 when surveyed late last year, before the COVID-19 heath crisis hit.
The largest jobs segment by far was Energy Efficiency with 71,400 workers (68%), which also grew at a 4% rate in 2019. Advanced Grid and Energy Storage employment also grew 4% last year, reaching 3,700 jobs total in Pennsylvania.
“With over 100,000 advanced energy workers in the Keystone State, more than those in metal fabrication, and double those in hotels & motels, advanced energy is now a significant segment our workforce and economy,” said Daniel Bloom, Policy Principal at AEE. “With a track record of job growth faster than the state overall, this is an industry of the future for Pennsylvania.”
Key 2019 Pennsylvania employment data are summarized in a fact sheet include:
- Energy efficiency led with more than 71,400 jobs, or 68% of total advanced energy employment in the state, growing 4% last year.
- Advanced electricity generation supported 16,500 jobs, or 16% of total in 2019. Solar Energy jobs grew 7% to 5,200, and Wind Energy grew 4%, to 2,900 jobs. Advanced (Combined Cycle) Natural Gas Generation employment grew 31%, to 1,900 jobs.
- Advanced vehicles provided employment for 7,500 workers (7% of total); decline of 3% in 2019 followed a stunning 15% increase in 2018.
- Advanced grid & storage employ 3,700 workers, up 4% overall, with growth led by microgrids (9%), smart grid (7%), and energy storage (5%) last year.
- Advanced Fuels employ 5,400 workers, down 21% from 2018.
- Top 5 counties were: Allegheny (14,400); Philadelphia (9,900); Montgomery (9,500); Lehigh (7,900); and Bucks (5,400).
- Strong 5% jobs growth was expected for 2020 when employers were surveyed in late 2019.
A report released by AEE in May found that more than 350 Pennsylvania firms, many of them in industries and geographies that have seen declines in recent years, could easily transition to serving the supply chain for electric vehicles, which is expected to grow at a rapid rate in the coming years.
The 2019 data for the Pennsylvania employment fact sheet was derived from the 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in association with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership, as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 2019 data for the Pennsylvania employment fact sheet was derived from the 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in association with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership, as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
About Advanced Energy Economy:
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. Engaged at the federal level and in more than a dozen states around the country, including Pennsylvania, AEE represents more than 100 companies in the $238 billion U.S. advanced energy industry, which employs 3.6 million U.S. workers. Learn more at www.aee.net, track the latest news @AEEnet.
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. Engaged at the federal level and in more than a dozen states around the country, including Pennsylvania, AEE represents more than 100 companies in the $238 billion U.S. advanced energy industry, which employs 3.6 million U.S. workers. Learn more at www.aee.net, track the latest news @AEEnet.