States Set for Solar Cash Infusion Aim to Build Worker Pipeline

States set to receive slices of $7 billion to bring solar power to low-income communities are confronting the construction industry’s nationwide skilled labor shortage.

The Environmental Protection Agency in late April selected 60 applicants, many of them state energy departments, to deliver residential solar to disadvantaged populations. The money is expected to be delivered this summer, though states will have a planning period that extends farther out.

The Solar for All program, part of the EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, is billed as an environmental justice measure to tackle climate change in communities excluded from the energy transition.

But awardees are facing a 500,000-person-and-growing skilled labor shortage in the construction industry fueled by early retirements and recruiting problems, said Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor, and state affairs at the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

“There is already a skilled labor shortage, and now because of the incentives and discussions in the grants, it’s curious and unclear whether a lot of non-union workers and contractors will be pursuing this type of work,” he said.

Ninety-seven percent of construction employers surveyed in the Department of Energy’s 2023 US Energy and Employment Report reported difficulty finding qualified solar workers, with 52% saying it was “very difficult.”

The Solar for All’s notice of funding opportunity language entices recipients to require project labor agreements, which discourages non-union contractors from pursuing the projects, Brubeck said. About 11% of solar energy workers are represented by a union or covered under a project labor or collective bargaining agreement, according to the DOE report.

When there’s a lack of skilled workers, safe and high-quality infrastructure is at risk, Brubeck said.

Labor and Wages

Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, classifies the problem as more to do with wages than worker numbers.

The solar industry has grown since 2022’s federal climate law was passed, he said. Plus, labor requirements like the ones outlined in Solar for All ensure that the existing pool of skilled contractors are paid a wage that more closely resembles their normal one when installing solar, which could entice workers.

But the lack of inclusion of solar in recent plans to overhaul apprenticeship programs could also be a culprit for labor shortages. Some construction sectors have government-registered apprenticeship programs to strengthen the workforce, while solar doesn’t.

ABC advocated for a solar-specific program in March comments to the US Department of Labor regarding a proposed apprenticeship rule. “The proposed rule will cause more specialized workers like solar installers to receive no apprenticeship training at all,” the comments said.

The Department of Labor said in a statement that its apprenticeship office wasn’t able to conclude that solar panel installation occupations are distinctive occupations because the processes involved in those jobs often replicate those of other existing “apprenticeable occupations,” like electricians and carpenters.

For its part, the EPA said workforce development is integral to Solar for All’s success.

“Many applications included proposed partnerships with key stakeholders in the workforce development ecosystem needed to execute on this vision for a robust and inclusive clean energy workforce,” the agency said in a statement.

State Plans

Those stakeholders include Solar for All awardees like Colorado, Washington, Michigan, and New York, who are using some of their planning period to find out how to grow the pool of workers who can install solar panels and wiring.

In Michigan, Solar for All has the potential to be “catalytic” for the broader solar market, said Cory Connolly, Michigan’s chief climate officer. But first, the state is going to need more people to install the panels and support related industries, he said.

Michigan is considering partnerships with community colleges and labor organizations to satisfy the expected surge in installer demand that could come with the state’s $156 million award, Connolly said.

Colorado, whose solar industry ranks 12th nationally, already has a broad solar workforce, said Ida Mae Isaac, federal funds recovery officer at Colorado’s Energy Office. But the state must figure out how to distribute that labor equally in rural and urban areas, she said.

“The word ‘workforce’ is going to be in everything we say for the next couple of years,” said Dominique Gómez, the energy office’s deputy director.

To build the worker pipeline, Washington, which is set to receive $156 million, is planning to require each solar installation project to have an apprentice on board.

On the East Coast, the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) sees Solar for All pairing with the state’s previous clean energy jobs investments, the authority said in a statement.

“The federal Solar for All funding will help us not only enhance NYSERDA’s highly successful and effective solar deployment and technical assistance programs, but also workforce development programs,” according to a department spokesperson.