The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers projected clean power generation employment grew in every state and the District of Columbia last year, including a 19 percent increase in the coal country hub of West Virginia.
In an analysis published Monday, White House economist Heather Boushey projected that overall, the U.S. added 21,000 power generation and supply jobs between January 2021 and March 2023. While the beginning of this period coincided with the lifting of many of the precautionary measures around the COVID pandemic, Boushey wrote that the majority of the job growth has come since August 2022, when President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act into law.
The primary driver of the growth, according to the administration, was increased electricity transmission and distribution employment, which added 11,000 jobs between January 2012 and March 2023. Boushey also attributed much of the growth to jobs in clean electricity generation, including 8,000 solar power generation jobs, 2,000 wind power jobs and 1,000 hydroelectric power jobs. Overall, the analysis projects growth of 7 percent for employment in power generation between January 2021 and March 2023.
The report bolsters one of the Biden administration’s major policy arguments, that efforts to build out renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions will more than offset any jobs lost in the fossil fuel industry. The analysis indicated that in 2022, clean energy employment increased by 19.3 percent in West Virginia, a deep-red state whose senior senator, Sen. Joe Manchin (D), has been a vocal adversary of the administration on energy policy. Both Oklahoma and New Mexico, meanwhile, saw more than 9 percent growth last year, according to Energy Department data.
The administration has sought to improve Biden’s sagging numbers on economic issues ahead of the 2024 election. In particular, the White House has touted job growth and low employment, with less success assuaging voter concerns such as inflation and gas prices.