The number of energy efficiency jobs in Maryland tops 70,000 – and represents more than half of the overall energy sector workforce in the state.
That’s according to a study of the U.S. energy efficiency workforce released Monday morning by two industry groups. The release was timed to coincide with the annual meeting of the National Association of State Energy Officials this week in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Nationwide, employment in the sector – defined as jobs involved in the delivery of goods and services that lower energy use by improving technologies, appliances, buildings, and energy systems – has increased significantly in recent years.
“While politicians argue over the direction of our energy transition, the economic benefits of improving energy efficiency continue to unite America’s business and environmental interests,” said Pat Stanton, director of policy at E4TheFuture, an industry group. “Not only is expanding America’s energy efficiency key to solving multiple climate policy goals, it is now integral to businesses’ expansion plans – saving money and creating local jobs that cannot be outsourced.”
In Maryland, the number of people working in the energy efficiency sector hit 70,530 in 2018 – up from 67,061 two years earlier. That represents 54 percent of all energy jobs in the state.
Energy efficiency jobs also represented 32 percent of all construction jobs in the state. Seven percent of Marylanders who work in the energy efficiency sector are military veterans.
Maryland had 7,106 energy efficiency businesses in 2018. Sixty-eight percent of those firms were characterized as small, with 19 workers or less.
The study shows where the jobs are throughout the state – broken down by metropolitan areas, congressional districts and legislative districts.
Overall, 2.3 million Americans are employed in the energy efficiency sector. All 50 states saw an uptick in employment in the sector, led by New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Jersey.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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