Energy-state lawmakers tend to grouse about high-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry being lost to solar and wind power. But new research shows that most alternative-energy jobs, which have tripled U.S.-wide in just two decades, are concentrated in the states where the traditional energy sector long employed residents and juiced the broader local economy. With additional training, and a willingness to shift roles, the renewable energy job market appears healthy enough to scoop up workers who may feel displaced by what many are calling the new, green Industrial Revolution.
What’s more, wind and solar jobs tend to offer higher pay than many industries, and these jobs — like those drilling and processing oil and gas, or maintaining rigs — pay competitively without necessarily requiring a college degree. The research making these claims was issued Monday by E. Mark Curtis, an economics professor at Wake Forest University, and Ioana Marinescu, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice. Their report was shared by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Overall, our results suggest that the renewable energy boom will create high-paying job opportunities, especially for low-skilled workers and workers who live in areas with a high share of employment in the oil
C …