Why Renewables
Responsible Renewables
The Northwest Region is rich with natural resources for a brighter and stronger tomorrow. As we transition to utilizing an all-of-the-above renewable energy strategy that relies on domestic resources and a local workforce, our Region will see a drastic increase in overall economic development.
Clean Energy Jobs for the 21st Century
According to the ASCE 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, transmission spending grew from $15.6 billion in 2012 to $21.9 billion in 2017. Utilities are taking proactive steps to strengthen the electric grid through resilience measures. Energy infrastructure in the U.S. is used to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity.
It is time to reshape America’s Energy Future
The 2020 National Solar Jobs Census reported that, while the industry overall lost workers in 2020, the number of women employed in solar increased by nearly 4,800 to more than 69,000. Since 2015, solar industry employment has increased by 39% for women, 92% for Hispanic or Latino workers, 18% for Asian workers, 73% for Black or African American workers, and 19% for veterans. According to the American Jobs Plan from Energy.gov, an investment of $16 billion up-front will put hundreds of thousands to work in good-paying union jobs. While the solar industry is on a trajectory to reach 400,000 solar jobs by 2030, employment will need to exceed 900,000 workers by 2035 to reach the 100% clean electricity goal set by President Biden.
According to the Solar Foundation website, utility-scale installations represented 73% of all solar capacity installed in 2020, a new record. Because utility-scale projects use fewer installation workers per kilowatt deployed, the increase in utility-scale market share allowed for greater deployment with lower labor intensity.
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