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Cite as Citation reference for the source document. Edward P. Louie and Joshua M. Pearce. Retraining Investment for U.S. Transition from Coal to Solar Photovoltaic Employment. Energy Economics. 57,295–302 (2016). doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2016.05.016 free open access pre-print.

Although coal remains the largest source of electricity in the U.S., a combination of factors is driving a decrease in profitability and employment in the coal-sector. Meanwhile, the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry is growing rapidly in the U.S. and generating many jobs that represent employment opportunities for laid off coal workers. In order to determine the viability of a smooth transition from coal to PV-related employment, this paper provides an analysis of the cost to retrain current coal workers for solar photovoltaic industry employment in the U.S. The current coal industry positions are determined, the skill set evaluated and the salaries tabulated. For each type of coal position, the closest equivalent PV position is determined and then the re-training time and investment are quantified. These values are applied on a state-by-state basis for coal producing states employing the bulk of coal workers as a function of time using a reverse seniority retirement program for the current American fleet of coal-powered plants. The results show that a relatively minor investment in retraining would allow the vast majority of coal workers to switch to PV-related positions even in the event of the elimination of the coal industry.

Highlights[edit | edit source]

  • Many factors driving decrease in profitability and employment in coal industry
  • Solar photovoltaic (PV) industry is growing rapidly in U.S. creating many jobs
  • PV represents employment opportunities for laid off coal workers.
  • An analysis presented on cost to retrain current coal workers for solar PV industry.
  • To cover these costs four policy scenarios are considered and their impacts discussed

Keywords[edit | edit source]

employment; energy industry; solar photovoltaic; coal; jobs; green jobs

See also[edit | edit source]

Jobs[edit | edit source]

The Solar Jobs Census 2016 found that solar employment increased by over 51,000 workers, a 25 percent increase over 2015. Overall, the Solar Jobs Census found there were 260,077 solar workers in 2016. Solar industry employment has nearly tripled since the first National Solar Jobs Census was released in 2010.[1]

Solar Photovoltaic Specific jobs[edit | edit source]

Look for top companies by category at http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/

Other resources[edit | edit source]

In the News[edit | edit source]

Third round[edit | edit source]

  • An alternative to propping up coal power plants: Retrain workers for solar -

The Conversation 3k,

SF Gate 1039 Phys.org 5.7k San Francisco Chronicle 7.3k, Houston Chronicle 20.5k Connecticut Post 65.3k Idaho Press 183k MENAFN 186k Midland Reporter Telegram 202k Long Room News 206k Los Angeles Post 218k Beaumont Enterprise 218k DeSmog Blog 234k Plain View 243k Industrial Equipment News 243k Edwardsville Intelligencer 282k Resilience Today The Daily Reporter Brewminate Daily Yonder Vincennes Sun-Commercial Skeptical Science

Second round[edit | edit source]

First round[edit | edit source]

International Press[edit | edit source]

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Authors Joshua M. Pearce
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 8 pages link here
Impact 261 page views (more)
Created June 12, 2016 by Joshua M. Pearce
Last modified April 16, 2024 by Felipe Schenone
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