This reference is to the 15th annual jobs census report issued by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). The report was completed in November or 2025 and released in early 2026.
Over 80% of new electrical generation capacity added in the previous year was provided by solar energy systems. The report shows over 280,000 direct solar jobs in the United States and the numbers continue to rise. Include indirect jobs and that number is over 360,000.
Most of the job grows has been with commercial and utility scale solar PV systems but residential remains a strong third when energy storage systems are included. Over 60% of those jobs were in development, design and installation. The other three sectors which account for a little over 10% each were wholesale distribution, manufacturing, and operations & maintenance.
The solar industry has seen ups and downs since I joined it 30 years ago, but it is always growing. It is a great industry to be a part of for several reasons: It will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Competition between technology developers and integrators produces impressive new products and modes of implementation. And it is exciting to be in an industry that uses a fuel source that still has billions of years of available free energy.
Our job at the Solairgen School of Solar Technology is to get people started toward a future and career in the solar industry through training courses. And we continue to support their training needs as they advance.
Start with our entry level course, PV201 online. Continue your education with our next level, PV202 Technical Design. If you wish to go further, our Level 2, PV220 series courses will help you become a specialist and professional in the solar PV industry.
Kelly Provence
IREC Certified Master Trainer
Solairgen School of Solar Technology
info@solairgen.com
(706) 867-0678