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MINNESOTA
SOLAR JOBS
CENSUS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Solar Foundation (TSF) is a national 501(c)
(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to
increase understanding of solar energy through
strategic research and education that transform
markets. In 2010, TSF conducted its first National
Solar Jobs Census report, establishing the first
credible solar jobs baseline and verifying that
the solar industry is having a positive impact
on the U.S. economy. Using the same rigorous,
peer-reviewed methodology, TSF has conducted
an annual Census in each of the last six years to
track changes and analyze trends.
This Minnesota Solar Jobs Census 2015 report is
an offshoot of TSFs National Solar Jobs Census
2015 effort. Research partners for the Census
2015 effort include the State of Minnesota
Department of Commerce for providing
editorial guidance and peer review, the George
Washington University Solar Institute for
providing assistance and support in reviewing
and validating report results and analysis; the
Philip Jordan
Principal and Vice President
BW Research Partnership
508-384-2471; pjordan@bwresearch.com
www.bwresearch.com
Please cite this publication when referencing this material as Minnesota Solar Jobs Census 2015,
The Solar Foundation, available at: www.TSFcensus.org and SolarStates.org
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. solar industry experienced
yet another record-breaking year
in 2015, with more than 7,400
megawatts (MW) of domestic
photovoltaic (PV) capacity expected
to have been installed an 18.5%
increase over the amount installed
in 2014 bringing total U.S. solar
capacity to nearly 27.5 gigawatts
(GW).1
As the rate of capacity installation has
accelerated, employers across the country have
Solar Jobs
200,000
173,807
100,000
6,000
142,698
150,000
93,502
105,145
7,000
5,000
119,016
4,000
3,000
2,000
50,000
250,000
1,000
0
0
2010
2011
2012
PV Capacity Additions
2013
2014
2015E
Solar Jobs
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2010
2011
Residential
2012
2013
Non-Residential
2014
2015E
Utility
MINNESOTA
SOLAR JOBS
Key Data Points
1,995
Cumulative Installed
Capacity thru Q3 2015 (MW)11
26.6
Projected Solar
Jobs Growth, 2016
410
(20.5%)
Capacity Installed in
2015 thru Q3 (MW)12
6.5
Detailed employment and demographic data for Minnesotas legislative districts, counties, and metropolitan statistical areas can be found in the appendix of this report and on The Solar Foundations interactive jobs map at SolarStates.org.
WORKFORCE
OVERVIEW
Installation Jobs
347
Manufacturing Jobs
348
Sales & Distribution Jobs
949
Project Development Jobs
230
Sector
Installation
Other Jobs
120
Minnesota Solar Jobs Census 2015
Manufacturing
Sales &
Distribution
Project
Development
Other
MN Solar
U.S. Solar
Workforce Workforce
17.4%
57.4%
47.6%
11.7%
17.4%
11.5%
6.0%
14.5%
10.8%
5.7%
Minnesota
41.7%
50.0%
31.9%
National
44.4%
24.2%
0%
Not Difficult
40%
24.2%
60%
Somewhat Difficult
Solar Installer
23.6%
51.7%
20%
Position
8.3%
80%
100%
Very Difficult
Wages paid by firms in the Minnesota solar industry do not differ in a significant way from
those paid by solar employers across the West
North Central Division. Solar installers and system designers working in Minnesota and its
neighboring states are generally paid better
than their counterparts in any other region of
the country.
$25.00
$21.00
$31.25
$26.92
$28.85
$18.00
6
Minnesota Solar
Workforce
Minnesota Overall
Employment15
U.S. Solar
Workforce
Women
15.4%
47.7%
23.8%
African-American
4.6%
4.6%
5.1%
5.1%
3.5%
8.6%
Latino or Hispanic
26.3%
4.4%
11.3%
24.5%
21.6%
18.6%
Union Members
24.8%
5.5%
9.8%
5.9%
8.1%
10.00%
Minnesota
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
National
CONCLUSION
While only 6.5 MW of new solar capacity
were installed in Minnesota during the first
nine months of 2015, the industry projects a
dramatic ramp-up throughout 2016, with the
residential, non-residential, and utility-scale
market segments all experiencing significant
growth. Employers in the state have begun
hiring accordingly. At 1,995 workers, the
states solar workforce is the 22nd largest in
the country, ahead of its Midwestern neighbors
Iowa (349), Missouri (1,854), and Wisconsin
(1,941), but lagging behind the larger regional
standouts, Michigan (2,779) and Illinois (3,483).
The workforce is expected to grow larger
still in 2016, with payrolls expanding by
more than 400 positions, or approximately
20.5%, during the year more than twenty
times the growth expected for the states
workforce economy-wide and significantly
higher than the 14.7% growth expected for
the U.S. solar industry at large.
Employers in the state perceive both federal
and state policies to be generally beneficial to
their firms success, though they tend to focus
their attention more on state policies than their
peers nationally. For instance, while Minnesota
firms agree with the industry nationally that
the federal ITC has contributed to their overall
success, their expectations for the impact of the
Clean Power Plan are considerably less rosy,
with only 15.4% anticipating it will considerably
increase their business prospects, compared to
24.2% nationally. And 42.3% expect it to have
no impact at all.
This is perhaps unsurprising given the solarfriendly nature of Minnesota state policies,
including the states Renewable Energy
Standard, which is among the most aggressive
in the country. More than 70% of the states
solar firms credit this policy with substantively
increasing their business prospects. Similarly,
Minnesota Solar Jobs Census 2015
APPENDIX
STATE CENSUS METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES
The Solar Jobs Census methodology is the most
closely aligned with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology for its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) and
Current Employment Statistics (CES). Like BLS,
this study uses survey questionnaires and employer-reported data, though ours are administered by phone and web, as opposed to mail.
Also like BLS, we develop a hierarchy of various categories that represent solar value chain
activities (within their broader NAICS framework), develop representative sample frames,
and use statistical analysis and extrapolation in
a very similar manner to BLS. We also constrain
our universe of establishments by relying on
the most recent data from the BLS or the state
departments of labor, depending on which is
collected most recently. We believe that the categories that we have developed could be readily adopted by BLS should it choose to begin to
quantify solar employment in its QCEW and CES
series.
The results from the overall 2015 Census effort
are based on rigorous survey efforts that include
287,962 telephone calls and over 44,220 emails
to known and potential energy establishments
across the United States, resulting in a total of
2,350 full completions for solar establishments
in the U.S. Unlike economic impact models that
generate employment estimates based on economic data or jobs-per-megawatt (or jobs-perdollar) assumptions, the Solar Jobs Census series provides statistically valid and current data
gathered from actual employers.
The survey was administered to a known universe of energy employers that includes 68,494
establishments and is derived from the Solar
Energy Industry Associations National Solar
Database, as well as other public and private
Minnesota Solar Jobs Census 2015
sources. Of these establishments, 2,118 identified as solar and completed full or substantially
completed surveys.
The survey was also administered to a stratified, clustered, random sampling from various
industries that are potentially energy-related
(unknown universe) that include a total of approximately 314,000 establishments nationwide. After an extensive cleaning and de-duplication process, a sampling plan was developed
that gathered information on the level of solar
activity (including none) from 12,765 establishments. Of these, 327 establishments qualified
as solar establishments and completed full surveys. The sampling rigor in the known and unknown universes provides a margin of error for
establishment counts at +/-0.85% and employment at +/-1.99% at a 95% confidence interval.
This level of national sampling rigor is mirrored at the state level. In addition to the known
Census, the clustered sampling in the unknown
universe is representative relative to establishment totals by size in each of the 50 states and
the District of Columbia. This ensures that each
states employment estimates are accurate with
a maximum margin of error under +/-5% at a
95% confidence interval.
10
District
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Pacific
Islanders
Older
Veterans of
Latino or
Union
Workers
the US Armed
Hispanic
Members
(55+)
Forces
417
64
19
21
110
97
103
41
228
35
11
12
60
59
57
22
156
346
168
137
336
206
24
54
26
21
52
32
16
8
6
16
10
18
9
7
17
10
41
91
44
36
88
54
40
89
43
35
78
48
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
39
86
42
34
83
51
15
34
17
13
33
20
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
49
13
11
12
24
51
50
24
17
22
43
42
23
20
47
50
8
8
4
3
3
7
7
3
3
7
8
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
3
3
1
1
1
13
13
6
5
6
12
12
6
4
5
13
12
6
4
5
11
10
11
2
1
2
3
11
6
12
13
10
5
11
12
10
6
12
12
5
5
2
2
2
4
4
2
2
5
5
11
District
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
40
29
62
34
35
55
4
9
5
5
8
64
10
17
46
43
49
28
33
7
7
8
4
5
90
14
43
21
8
8
47
16
6
16
25
24
25
19
33
28
7
3
1
1
7
3
1
2
4
4
4
3
5
4
1
94
15
13
16
29
1
3
4
76
12
24
15
34
9
2
5
1
1
3
2
2
3
3
2
2
1
2
1
2
4
1
0
2
0
2
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
0
4
0
1
1
1
4
1
2
1
0
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
10
16
14
15
11
9
9
8
14
13
14
11
10
11
3
2
1
2
1
2
17
12
4
13
7
9
15
11
4
11
6
8
16
11
4
12
7
8
24
21
22
11
11
11
1
0
0
2
0
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
0
6
2
2
12
2
4
7
6
7
5
9
7
2
5
2
2
12
1
4
6
6
6
5
9
7
2
5
2
2
12
1
4
6
6
6
5
8
7
2
25
24
23
0
1
1
2
4
8
2
4
7
2
4
7
20
20
19
1
2
0
4
9
2
4
9
2
4
8
2
3
6
3
3
5
6
5
4
2
5
3
3
9
2
1
4
1
5
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
1
9
1
2
1
3
7
1
3
2
1
12
District
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
19
16
4
1
2
1
0
74
12
25
26
2
65
20
4
4
0
10
3
1
0
0
3
1
1
0
0
3
1
1
0
0
4
1
0
4
1
0
4
1
0
20
19
18
1
1
0
3
1
7
7
1
17
5
6
7
1
17
5
6
7
1
16
5
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
2
0
0
7
2
3
0
0
6
2
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
26
24
23
27
21
29
10
13
6
17
13
4
18
4
19
24
30
13
8
14
7
14
32
4
4
3
4
2
2
1
3
2
1
3
1
3
4
5
2
1
2
1
2
5
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
2
6
7
6
8
3
4
2
5
4
1
5
1
5
6
8
3
2
4
2
4
8
5
6
5
7
2
3
1
4
3
1
4
1
5
6
7
3
2
3
2
3
7
6
7
5
7
2
3
2
4
3
1
4
1
5
6
7
3
2
3
2
3
8
2
3
2
3
1
1
1
2
1
0
2
0
2
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
3
13
District
12B
13A
13B
14A
14B
15A
15B
16A
16B
17A
17B
18A
18B
19A
19B
20A
20B
21A
21B
22A
22B
23A
23B
24A
24B
25A
25B
26A
26B
27A
27B
28A
28B
29A
29B
30A
30B
31A
31B
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
15
15
36
14
0
17
29
33
25
15
12
22
35
6
2
3
5
5
4
2
2
3
5
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
10
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
2
1
Union
Members
4
4
8
9
7
4
3
6
9
8
3
4
7
8
6
3
3
5
8
9
3
4
7
8
6
4
3
5
9
4
1
2
3
3
3
1
1
2
3
29
29
21
35
27
19
25
19
12
4
49
5
3
5
4
3
4
3
2
1
8
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
74
11
16
13
2
2
0
3
1
1
0
4
3
1
5
6
5
3
1
26
12
11
13
20
1
0
5
7
2
5
6
2
2
2
2
1
0
5
18
17
4
19
4
4
1
4
3
2
1
1
7
2
1
1
22
21
1
3
0
1
0
1
2
5
2
5
2
5
1
2
14
District
32A
32B
33A
33B
34A
34B
35A
35B
36A
36B
37A
37B
38A
38B
39A
39B
40A
40B
41A
41B
42A
42B
43A
43B
44A
44B
45A
45B
46A
46B
47A
47B
48A
48B
49A
49B
50A
50B
51A
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
39
15
1
1
6
2
0
0
2
1
0
1
1
1
1
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
10
10
10
2
4
2
4
0
4
1
0
6
9
20
5
20
4
10
15
8
11
27
6
1
1
3
1
3
1
2
2
1
2
4
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
2
2
5
1
5
1
3
4
2
3
7
2
1
2
5
1
5
1
3
4
2
3
7
2
1
2
5
1
5
1
3
4
2
3
1
1
2
0
2
0
1
1
1
1
3
1
28
5
24
4
1
4
70
11
11
4
5
5
13
1
1
1
2
1
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
7
1
6
7
1
6
7
1
6
18
18
17
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
3
3
0
2
7
0
0
1
1
1
55
15
14
14
29
0
21
15
0
34
3
2
1
1
1
1
2
6
4
9
5
4
9
5
4
8
2
1
3
15
District
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
52A
52B
53A
53B
54A
54B
55A
55B
56A
56B
57A
57B
58A
58B
59A
59B
60A
60B
61A
61B
62A
62B
63A
63B
64A
64B
65A
65B
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Islanders
(55+)
Union
Members
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
17
16
19
73
11
20
0
1
19
5
19
18
7
2
19
4
0
1
1
62
10
16
16
15
15
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Latino
Older
Veterans of
Union
Pacific
or
Workers
the US Armed
Members
Islanders Hispanic
(55+)
Forces
87
13
23
20
21
16
16
79
44
12
7
1
4
2
1
4
2
21
12
18
10
19
11
2
8
4
16
Metropolitan
Statistical Area
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
MinneapolisSt. PaulBloomington,
MN-WI
MN NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
Rochester, MN
968
151
45
49
256
250
240
95
624
96
29
31
164
145
154
61
67
10
18
16
17
94
St. Cloud, MN
County
Aitkin
Anoka
Becker
Beltrami
Benton
Big Stone
Blue Earth
Brown
Carlton
Carver
Cass
Chippewa
Chisago
Clay
Clearwater
Cook
Cottonwood
Crow Wing
Dakota
Dodge
Douglas
Faribault
Fillmore
Freeborn
Goodhue
Grant
Hennepin
Houston
14
10
10
17
3
34
16
13
26
9
6
6
16
6
3
7
29
2
0
5
2
2
4
1
1
1
2
1
0
1
4
102
16
11
16
15
15
22
6
471
25
22
1
2
2
2
3
1
73
12
3
1
0
0
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
22
4
23
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Union
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Members
Islanders
(55+)
67
12
MINNESOTA COUNTIES
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
79
Asian or
Latino
Older
Veterans of
Union
Pacific
or
Workers
the US Armed
Members
Islanders Hispanic
(55+)
Forces
18
17
17
0
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
5
1
9
4
4
7
2
2
2
4
1
1
2
8
3
4
1
8
4
3
7
2
1
1
4
1
1
2
7
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
3
1
3
1
8
4
3
6
2
2
1
4
1
1
2
7
7
1
1
0
3
2
1
3
1
1
1
2
1
0
1
3
27
26
25
10
0
1
1
1
1
0
24
4
1
4
4
4
6
1
124
21
1
4
4
3
5
1
122
18
1
4
4
4
5
1
117
19
0
2
1
1
2
1
46
8
17
County
Hubbard
Isanti
Itasca
Jackson
Kanabec
Kandiyohi
Kittson
Koochiching
Lac Qui
Parle
Lake
Lake of the
Woods
Le Sueur
Lincoln
Lyon
Mahnomen
Marshall
Martin
McLeod
Meeker
Mille Lacs
Morrison
Mower
Murray
Nicollet
Nobles
Norman
Olmsted
Otter Tail
Pennington
Pine
Pipestone
Polk
Pope
Ramsey
Red Lake
Redwood
Renville
Rice
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Union
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Members
Islanders
(55+)
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
17
6
17
5
4
5
2
2
12
4
11
2
8
11
17
12
12
10
16
6
10
11
5
1
3
1
3
1
1
1
0
0
2
1
2
0
1
2
3
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
79
12
29
7
7
16
7
4
1
1
2
1
167
26
11
11
22
0
2
3
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
4
1
0
0
0
1
0
8
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
2
4
1
5
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
3
0
2
3
4
3
3
3
4
2
3
3
1
2
4
1
4
1
1
1
1
0
3
1
2
0
2
3
4
3
3
2
4
1
2
3
1
2
4
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
3
0
2
3
4
3
3
2
4
1
3
3
1
21
18
20
1
0
0
1
0
8
2
2
4
2
7
2
2
4
2
7
2
2
4
2
1
2
1
2
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
8
3
1
1
1
2
1
44
43
41
16
0
1
1
1
3
6
1
2
5
1
3
5
0
1
2
18
County
Rock
Roseau
Scott
Sherburne
Sibley
St Louis
Stearns
Steele
Stevens
Swift
Todd
Traverse
Wabasha
Wadena
Waseca
Washington
Watonwan
Wilkin
Winona
Wright
Yellow
Medicine
Total
AfricanWomen
Employment
American
Asian or
Older
Latino or
Union
Pacific
Workers
Hispanic
Members
Islanders
(55+)
Veterans of
the US Armed
Forces
21
26
8
1
4
1
73
11
55
15
8
6
2
10
7
8
2
1
1
0
2
1
0
1
0
3
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
3
1
0
0
0
1
0
17
25
8
1
3
0
1
18
17
19
54
15
4
2
2
1
3
2
13
3
2
1
1
2
2
14
4
2
1
1
3
2
5
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
13
14
1
14
2
1
2
19
ENDNOTES
1.
2.
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4.
5.
6.
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8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
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