Originally posted by KEYE CBS Austin
As this heatwave continues and tests our power grid, solar energy has been key in keeping up with demand.
Solar is soaring and its growth is creating more jobs.
A new report from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council shows that the Lone Star State is ranked 4th in the nation for solar jobs.
More jobs mean more people turning to solar, which means less stress on the grid.
IREC’s National Solar Job Census shows Texas added more than 900 solar energy jobs in 2022, with jobs growing nearly 9%. Those added jobs mean there are more than 11,000 solar workers in the state.
“It’s been growing a lot over the last five years,” said IREC senior director Ed Gilliand. “It had a 27% growth in solar jobs in Texas, so there’s been a lot of activity taking place in the state.”
IREC says Texas saw record growth in solar development in 2021, but that was mostly in the utility-scale sector, and that dropped off the following year.
However, Gilliand says solar residential growth is happening both nationwide and in Texas.
“There is more interest, obviously, by citizens, as the cost of solar has dropped,” he said. “The cost of battery storage is dropping, as well, so we’re also seeing more solar systems being paired with battery storage.”
Solar energy company Freedom Solar says they’ve noticed more homeowners turning to solar.
The company says last year, business increased by more than 50%.
In 2021, it grew by 90%, and in 2020, by 94%.
CEO Bret Biggart says more people are switching to solar because of the benefits – it’s better for the environment, more affordable and it’s more reliable.
“The sun is the infinite source of power,” Biggart said. “You got panels on your roof that are producing power, which reduce the kilowatt hours that you have to pull from the grid, which make things more reliable. Then, if you have a battery system, you can also provide backup power in a situation where the power went down.”
Biggart says solar and wind together are providing more than 40% of the power on today’s grid, and not having to pull from fossil fuels and other energy sources is a huge help in stabilizing the grid.
IREC says it only expects the solar market to continue to soar, especially now that there are more incentives in play and supply chain kinks brought on by COVID have now more or less been worked out.