The solar sector is expanding rapidly and is in an awkward place where it can boast of some vast numbers but also tiny ones. Mother Jones reports that the amount of solar energy produced within the U.S. in the past decade has ” leaped 139,000 percent.” This is even though in 2013, the solar power sector only comprised 0.2 percent of all energy used by the U.S. In contrast, coal generated 39 percent of the point, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
To Vox, Brad Plumer reports on a different number that is huge. The not-for-profit Solar Foundation says 174,000 people are employed in the solar sector. According to him, the solar industry has created many jobs, ranging from manufacturing solar panels to installing and maintenance, and it employs about the same number of people as coal.
The analysis of Plumer compares Solar Foundation’s numbers against the 80,000 people working at coal mines, the number of workers involved in coal transport, and the power generation facilities that use coal. He points out that These numbers were calculated based on the 2006 estimates, and more workers may employ solar power since most coal power plants that were in operation before 2006 have shut down.
This could appear to be an advantage for solar power advocates. However, Plumer says that the study reveals the labor-intensive nature of solar power when compared against other forms of energy. He writes, “If this planet would like to stop the rapid increase in global warming, it is necessary to substitute dirty sources of energy like coal, with more clean sources such as solar and wind, nuclear for instance — and quickly. Also, the cost of solar is an actual barrier to this.”
However, the coal industry is a source of numerous indirect costs–health and environmental effects, which aren’t usually included in the analyses. “These costs don’t show up on electricity bills. Instead, they’re dumped on the broader public, in the former of shorter lives or higher hospital bills,” the author writes.
The job number could cause debates on politics, as well. It’s been reported that the Solar Foundation says that the small solar sector has created 1.3 percent of all new jobs in the U.S. since the 2013 census. This isn’t a huge number, but it could mean that solar power is growing at the same rate as its part in energy production.