Chart: Which clean energy sector is creating the most new jobs?

Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format.

Since the Inflation Reduction Act passed into law last August, both domestic and foreign companies have rushed to set up shop or expand operations in the U.S. to take advantage of new tax credits — and that means new clean energy jobs are coming. According to a report from Climate Power, clean energy projects announced since the law’s passage are expected to produce more than 211,000 direct jobs across 45 states and Puerto Rico.

More than half of these jobs — over 100,000 — are expected to be in battery manufacturing, mostly for electric vehicles. The battery jobs will be spread across 31 states, with the highest concentration in the emerging Battery Belt.

Electric vehicle manufacturing is forecast to be the second-largest employment generator, with over 38,000 new jobs announced across 95 EV projects. Solar employment is expected to be close behind with just over 34,000 new jobs. And new wind power jobs could top 14,000 (though trouble in the offshore wind sector might dent those numbers).

More than 20,000 jobs are anticipated in the ​“clean technologies” sector as defined by Climate Power; it includes everything from sustainable aviation fuel to home energy-efficiency tools to semiconductor manufacturing, which ​“provides key inputs for EVs and renewable energy.” Jobs in clean hydrogen are expected to reach almost 9,000, Climate Power says (a figure that could increase once plans are fleshed out for new clean hydrogen hubs around the country). And nearly 7,000 jobs are projected at new grid and transmission projects, including operations expanding the production of transformers and utility poles.

The report found that a majority of these new jobs — more than 120,000 — would be in congressional districts represented by Republican members of the House, despite the fact that not a single Republican in Congress voted in favor of the IRA.

Canary Media recently reported on a different employment analysis by nonprofit E2 that forecasts more than 400,000 jobs will result from projects spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act — a significantly higher number because it includes indirect jobs, such as those at companies supplying goods and services to the new clean energy facilities, and ​“induced” jobs that result from workers’ increased spending in their local communities.