Solar, battery storage, nuclear, data centers and AI are all seeking workers with a common skillset.
The U.S. solar industry now supports over 280,000 workers, yet the industry struggles to find an adequate number of qualified personnel to keep up with accelerated project timelines, according to the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER) and the IREC National Solar Jobs Census. The study finds that the industry will require approximately 355,000 workers by late 2026 to support installation targets of 60 GW to 70 GW, leaving a projected near-term gap of 53,000 positions.
While the solar industry looks to fill this gap with skilled workers, other sectors are recruiting from the solar workers have the technical skills needed in other power sectors. According to the United States Energy & Employment Report (USEER), the electric power generator (EPG) sector employed 933,800 workers in 2024 with close to 40% of them in solar.
According to the USEER report, most solar EPG employees were found in the construction industry, which accounted for 181,700 workers (49.0%), followed by professional and business services, including engineering, financial and investment services, permitting and compliance, and consulting, with 58,500 workers (15.8%).
