The clean energy sector has been one of the fastest growing industries in the United States for the last ten years, employing 3.4 million farmers, electricians, manufacturers, scientific personnel, and more — serving a wide variety of industries throughout supply chains in all 50 states.
Until last month, the sector had been a prodigious job creator not only in industrial regions, but also in rural America where those most vulnerable to economic shock and crumbling infrastructure live.
However, according to a new report released by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) the industry is among the hardest hit groups in the energy sector, losing roughly 106,000 jobs in the weeks immediately following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conversations about the fourth economic stimulus package, which will focus on energy and infrastructure, strike an encouraging tone for renewable energy.
Read more: For hard-hit renewable sector, conversations in Congress show an encouraging trend