Andrea Luecke's blog

Andrea Luecke, Executive Director of The Solar Foundation

April 18th, 2013

Through our National Solar Jobs Census series and other labor market research efforts, we have been working hard to raise public awareness of the employment value of the solar industry. 

To this end, we are very proud to announce that our State Solar Jobs Map (www.solarstates.org) went live this morning. This interactive map provides the first-ever count of solar workers in each of the 50 states and includes individual state profiles containing figures on jobs as well as solar subsector ranks by employment, key solar policies, homes powered by solar, and a handful of other useful facts. Visitors can show their support for solar in their home state by sharing these profiles through social media and email.

Since I feel our map does such a great job telling each state’s story, I don’t want to reproduce the information it contains. What I would like to do in today’s blog post, however, is provide a little bit of analysis.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director of The Solar Foundation

November 14th, 2012 - Cross-posted at Renewable Energy World

After being bombarded with political ads for the past few months, most of us are relieved we no longer encounter them everywhere we turn. But imagine if you heard one like this:

I’m the candidate who can take credit for adding nearly 14,000 American workers in the past year and supporting an industry that has experienced an astounding 27 percent job growth since 2010. I’m creating highly skilled, domestic jobs that pay well. I’m the U.S. solar industry and I approve this message.

After a grueling and largely negative campaign season, this is the kind of positive message Americans want to hear. And it is backed by fact, not spin.

Today, my organization, The Solar Foundation, released its third annual National Solar Jobs Census, which found that the U.S. solar industry now employs 119,016 Americans. That’s an increase of 13,872 workers and a 13.2 percent employment growth rate over the previous year’s total. That’s a job creation record any candidate would love to run on.

Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

November 1, 2012

In today’s economy, many people are asking, “Where are all the jobs?” The solar industry, however, could soon be asking a question of a different tune: “Where are all the workers?”

Ironically, one of the solar industry’s chief problems – insufficient workforce training – is a direct consequence of its success. The solar industry continues along its upward trend, outpacing nearly all other industries and creating thousands of new jobs per year as companies expand their workforce to respond to increased solar demand. However, there is, at present, a dearth of trained workers with the requisite qualifications and experience, and many companies will have to rely on poorly trained entrants, whose substandard quality of work will invariably drive up installation costs and cut down on sales.

by Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

September 21, 2012

Mark Twain once declared, “If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.” Those of us who follow solar in mainstream media have inevitably encountered both success stories and failures alike.  Unfortunately, the stories of bankruptcies and layoffs have in many ways obscured the terrific achievements and inroads the solar industry has made both recently and over the past couple years.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

February 3, 2012 

In a time characterized by a lack of support for federal clean energy legislation, heavy Congressional scrutiny over renewable energy loan guarantees, and an international solar trade dispute that holds as many as 60,000 American jobs in the balance, it may be difficult for some to maintain a sunny disposition regarding the state of the domestic clean energy economy. However, a U.S. District Court ruling from last fall has breathed new life into a powerful financing program that has been in limbo for the last year and a half.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

January 23, 2012 - Reposted from National Journal

The Keystone XL Final Assessment, prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Policy and International Affairs by the consulting firm EnSys Energy, suggests President Obama’s denial of TransCanada’s permit for the pipeline will have almost no impact on U.S imports of Canadian crude oil.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

December 5, 2011 - Reposted from National Journal

Right now, there are 26 million Americans unemployed, underemployed or discouraged. This is an unprecedented number and over the last two years the unemployment rate has hovered between 9 and 10%. Allowing the Section 1603 Treasury Program, a proven jobs creator, to lapse will place unnecessary cost burdens of solar companies (large and small) and stunt their ability to hire new workers.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

November 2, 2011

Americans love a good challenge. Our ability to rise to and surmount challenges of a profound and global scale has been demonstrated time and again over the last one hundred years. From the World Wars of the early 20th century to the Space Race, Americans have shown we have what it takes to tackle the great problems of our time.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

October 25, 2011, Reposted from National Journal

There are a number of ways to look at evaluating America’s success in solar versus that of other countries. One key indicator is job growth. American solar companies continue to add jobs. How do we know? We asked them.

By Andrea Luecke, Executive Director, The Solar Foundation

October 1, 2011, Reposted from National Journal

Solar energy is a smart investment. It is clean, reliable energy that creates jobs. It is creating jobs at an impressive clip, according to The Solar Foundation’s National Jobs Census 2011.