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UTAH
SOLAR JOBS
CENSUS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Solar Foundation (TSF) is a national 501(c)
(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to
increase understanding of solar energy through
strategic research and education that transform
markets. In 2010, TSF conducted its first National
Solar Jobs Census report, establishing the first
credible solar jobs baseline and verifying that
the solar industry is having a positive impact
on the U.S. economy. Using the same rigorous,
peer-reviewed methodology, TSF has conducted
an annual Census in each of the last six years to
track changes and analyze trends.
Philip Jordan
Principal and Vice President
BW Research Partnership
508-384-2471; pjordan@bwresearch.com
www.bwresearch.com
Please cite this publication when referencing this material as Utah Solar Jobs Census 2015,
The Solar Foundation, available at: www.TSFcensus.org and SolarStates.org
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. solar industry experienced
yet another record-breaking year
in 2015, with more than 7,400
megawatts (MW) of domestic
photovoltaic (PV) capacity expected
to have been installed an 18.5%
increase over the amount installed
in 2014 bringing total U.S. solar
capacity to nearly 27.5 gigawatts
(GW).1
As the rate of capacity installation has
accelerated, employment across the country
Solar Jobs
200,000
173,807
100,000
6,000
142,698
150,000
93,502
105,145
7,000
5,000
119,016
4,000
3,000
2,000
50,000
250,000
1,000
0
0
2010
2011
2012
PV Capacity Additions
2013
2014
2015E
Solar Jobs
UTAH
SOLAR JOBS
Key Data Points
2,679
Cumulative Installed
Capacity - 2015 (Estimated MW)25
236.2
Projected Solar
Jobs Growth, 2016
665
(24.8%)
Capacity Installed in
2015 (Estimated MW)26
218.6
Detailed employment and demographic data for Utahs legislative districts, counties, and metropolitan statistical areas can
be found in the appendix of this report and on The Solar Foundations interactive jobs map at SolarStates.org.
Installation Jobs
2,013
Manufacturing Jobs
96
Sales & Distribution Jobs
422
WORKFORCE
OVERVIEW
The Utah solar industry employs 2,679 workers
at 930 establishments throughout the state,
is ranked #19 nationally in solar jobs, and
#10 in solar jobs as a share of the states total
employment. Employers expect to add around
664 new solar workers over the course of
2016 a growth rate of 24.8% while the
states workforce as a whole is projected to
grow at 1.9% during the same period.27
Installation firms employ the largest portion
more than 75% of Utahs solar workforce,
followed by sales and distribution firms, at
just under 16%. This contrasts with the solar
industry nationally, in which 57.4% of the
workforce is employed by installation firms, and
only 11.7% of workers are employed by sales &
distribution firms.
84
Other Jobs
63
Utah Solar Jobs Census 2015
UT Solar
U.S. Solar
Workforce Workforce
75.1%
57.4%
15.8%
11.7%
3.6%
3.1%
2.4%
14.5%
10.8%
5.7%
27.3%
Mountain
28.0%
National
51.8%
24.2%
0%
28.0%
51.7%
20%
Not Difficult
40%
Position
Solar Installer
Solar Sales Representative
Solar System Designer
Solar Assembly Worker
24.2%
60%
Somewhat Difficult
22.7%
50.0%
80%
100%
Very Difficult
Mountain Division
Median Wage
$20.00
$21.00
$25.50
$26.92
$33.65
-
$28.85
$18.00
7
Utah Solar
Workforce
Utah Overall
Employment29
U.S. Solar
Workforce
Women
18.2%
42.3%
23.8%
African-American
0.0%
0.0%
5.1%
3.2%
0.0%
8.6%
Latino or Hispanic
1.1%
12.9%
11.3%
23.5%
17.2%
18.6%
Union Members
0.0%
5.5%
3.6%
5.3%
8.1%
The Utah solar workforce is generally less diverse than the states workforce as a whole,
with women (18.2%) and Latino or Hispanic
workers (1.1%) relatively underrepresented.
However, Asian and Pacific Islander workers
are represented at higher rates than in Utahs
overall workforce, and older workers are represented in the state solar workforce at higher
rates than their counterparts in the solar industry nationwide.
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
National
CONCLUSION
In 2015, Utah likely witnessed the installation
of more than nine times the cumulative solar
capacity installed through 2014, led by utilityscale solar growth.31 Federal and state solar
incentives, as well as efficiencies continue to
make solar PV more cost-competitive relative
to traditional generation technologies. This,
coupled with PURPA, is driving rapid solar
deployment across utility scale projects.
Rooftop residential projects are also expanding,
with Utahs homeowners likely to have more
than doubled the states residential solar
market in 2015.32 Net metering is expected to
continue to play a role in new rooftop solar,
although rate adjustments could occur in the
future. Additionally, the sector may be poised to
sustain growth resulting from the expansion of
solar leasing and residential third-party power
purchase agreements.
Utility-scale development will likely continue
to drive the states solar market in 2016. While
large-scale projects often present a more rapid
means of deploying solar, they can have a
muted effect of local solar jobs growth relative
to small-scale distributed generation due to
nature of large-scale solar project development,
which often involves competitive bidding
processes and out-of-state and international
solar companies. Nevertheless, the scale of
Utahs capacity additions is likely to contribute
to solar jobs creation in absolute terms, as
establishments seek to capture the efficiencies
of siting solar value-chain elements in-state.
10
APPENDIX
STATE CENSUS METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES
The Solar Jobs Census methodology is the most
closely aligned with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology for its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) and
Current Employment Statistics (CES). Like BLS,
this study uses survey questionnaires and employer-reported data, though ours are administered by phone and web, as opposed to mail.
Also like BLS, we develop a hierarchy of various categories that represent solar value chain
activities (within their broader NAICS framework), develop representative sample frames,
and use statistical analysis and extrapolation in
a very similar manner to BLS. We also constrain
our universe of establishments by relying on
the most recent data from the BLS or the state
departments of labor, depending on which is
collected most recently. We believe that the categories that we have developed could be readily adopted by BLS should it choose to begin to
quantify solar employment in its QCEW and CES
series.
The results from the overall 2015 Census effort
are based on rigorous survey efforts that include
287,962 telephone calls and over 44,220 emails
to known and potential energy establishments
across the United States, resulting in a total of
2,350 full completions for solar establishments
in the U.S. Unlike economic impact models that
generate employment estimates based on economic data or jobs-per-megawatt (or jobs-perdollar) assumptions, the Solar Jobs Census series provides statistically valid and current data
gathered from actual employers.
The survey was administered to a known universe of energy employers that includes 68,494
establishments and is derived from the Solar
Energy Industry Associations National Solar
Database, as well as other public and private
Utah Solar Jobs Census 2015
sources. Of these establishments, 2,118 identified as solar and completed full or substantially
completed surveys.
The survey was also administered to a stratified, clustered, random sampling from various
industries that are potentially energy-related
(unknown universe) that include a total of approximately 314,000 establishments nationwide. After an extensive cleaning and de-duplication process, a sampling plan was developed
that gathered information on the level of solar
activity (including none) from 12,765 establishments. Of these, 327 establishments qualified
as solar establishments and completed full surveys. The sampling rigor in the known and unknown universes provides a margin of error for
establishment counts at +/-0.85% and employment at +/-1.99% at a 95% confidence interval.
This level of national sampling rigor is mirrored at the state level. In addition to the known
Census, the clustered sampling in the unknown
universe is representative relative to establishment totals by size in each of the 50 states and
the District of Columbia. This ensures that each
states employment estimates are accurate with
a maximum margin of error under +/-5% at a
95% confidence interval.
11
District
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
168
823
334
1,354
31
247
150
61
94
17
25
134
5
87
24
1
87
16
16
34
66
22
69
7
12
4
13
1
1,202
219
83
0
33
15
0
Older
Veterans of
Latino or
Union
Workers
the US Armed
Hispanic
Members
(55+)
Forces
43
14
26
11
9
4
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
475
Asian or
Pacific
Islanders
15
319
194
29
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
22
79
3
1
2
1
1
2
0
112
31
21
0
1
0
1
0
15
5
16
2
38
13
283
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
40
20
0
12
48
17
5
1
3
1
2
1
1
2
0
43
12
District
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
29
District
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
45
11
15
27
32
23
34
11
48
25
62
11
21
0
3
1
0
1
1
1
0
2
1
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
8
5
8
3
11
0
1
6
15
5
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
1
0
1
1
1
0
2
1
2
0
2
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
16
25
19
3
5
3
1
1257
229
14
24
0
18
4
0
0
6
0
2
43
0
10
7
3
4
0
3
1
0
0
1
0
0
8
0
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
6
4
1
40
13
296
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
6
0
4
1
0
0
1
0
1
10
0
0
0
2
1
1
0
45
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
13
District
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
38
34
19
374
68
24
105
31
24
1
0
0
84
20
70
52
0
0
0
0
16
14
0
6
4
0
0
0
15
4
13
9
0
0
0
0
3
3
0
57
10
8
0
30
0
0
0
0
37
15
2
0
0
9
39
0
13
1
0
5
0
0
0
0
7
3
0
0
0
2
7
0
2
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
1
12
1
1
0
0
0
3
1
2
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
25
88
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
6
0
0
0
20
5
17
12
0
0
0
0
4
3
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
7
0
0
0
0
9
3
0
0
0
2
9
0
3
13
4
1
1
0
0
0
3
1
2
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
14
District
62
63
66
10
69
14
70
11
71
19
72
74
75
Metropolitan
Statistical Area
23
Emery
Garfield
Asian or
Latino
Older
Veterans of
Union
Pacific
or
Workers
the US Armed
Members
Islanders Hispanic
(55+)
Forces
1,373
250
44
124
23
23
985
180
46
UT NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
Duchesne
128
St. George, UT
Davis
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Carbon
Provo-Orem, UT
Cache
Ogden-Clearfield,
UT
Box Elder
Logan, UT-ID
Beaver
11
73
12
68
67
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
65
Union
Members
42
8
64
County
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
14
23
8
15
2
1
323
49
29
232
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
11
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
3
5
19
35
1
0
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Union
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Members
Islanders
(55+)
0
15
30
82
12
UTAH COUNTIES
10
0
3
31
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
1
3
1
1
1
3
0
0
0
15
County
Grand
Iron
Juab
Kane
Millard
Morgan
Piute
Rich
Salt Lake
San Juan
Sanpete
Sevier
Summit
Tooele
Uintah
Utah
Wasatch
Washington
Wayne
Weber
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Union
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Members
Islanders
(55+)
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
16
1
8
1
0
1
3
0
1
0
0
0
938
171
5
8
31
13
19
1
1
6
2
3
1,372
250
47
46
1
9
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
2
0
0
0
30
10
221
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
7
3
4
44
15
323
0
1
1
0
0
0
11
11
1
0
0
0
0
0
33
0
0
1
0
1
49
0
2
2
16
ENDNOTES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
ENDNOTES
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
PacifiCorp. (2016, January). PacifiCorp Generation Interconnection Queue. Capacity values converted from
AC to DC using rough, standard conversion MW(DC)=MW(AC)*1.2 based on SEIAs data treatment guidance.
Other capacity data outlets and project developers sometimes use a conversion factor of 1.3, which may reflect
conversions based on actual hardware.
Id.
SEIA/GTM Research Solar Market Insight Q3 2015
SEIA/GTM Research Solar Market Insight Q3 2015; and PacifiCorp. (2016, January). PacifiCorp Generation
Interconnection Queue. Capacity values converted from AC to DC using rough, standard conversion
MW(DC)=MW(AC)*1.2 based on SEIAs data treatment guidance. Other capacity data outlets and project
developers sometimes use a conversion factor of 1.3, which may reflect conversions based on actual
hardware.This estimate was derived by adding SEIA data for cumulative capacity through 2014 (17.6 MW),
SEIA data for residential capacity additions in 2015 (18 MW), and PacifiCorp data for large installations in 2015
(200.6 MW).
SEIA/GTM Research Solar Market Insight Q3 2015; and PacifiCorp. (2016, January). PacifiCorp Generation
Interconnection Queue. Capacity values converted from AC to DC using rough, standard conversion
MW(DC)=MW(AC)*1.2 based on SEIAs data treatment guidance. Other capacity data outlets and project
developers sometimes use a conversion factor of 1.3, which may reflect conversions based on actual
hardware.This estimate was derived by adding SEIA data for residential capacity additions in 2015 (18 MW), and
PacifiCorp data for large installations in 2015 (200.6 MW).
JobsEQ 2015Q3
U.S Census Bureau, Geographic Terms and Concepts - Census Divisions and Census Regions. Found at: https://
www.census.gov/geo/reference/gtc/gtc_census_divreg.html
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by state -- 2014
Annual Averages and Employment status of veterans 18 years and over by state 2014 Annual Averages.
Found at: http://www.bls.gov/
See, U.S. Department of Energy Solar Ready Vets. Available at: http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/solar-readyvets
SEIA/GTM Research Solar Market Insight Q3 2015
Id.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Unless otherwise noted, all design, text, graphics, and the selection and arrangement thereof are Copyright February 2016 by The Solar Foundation
and BW Research Partnership. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any use of materials in this report, including reproduction, modification, distribution, or
republication, without the prior written consent of The Solar Foundation and BW Research Partnership, is strictly prohibited.
For questions about this report, please contact Andrea Luecke at The Solar Foundation, aluecke@solarfound.org.
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