Energy Efficiency Jobs in Massachusetts

Yet even with these large employment numbers, energy efficiency seems to be underappreciated compared with other clean energy technologies. I hear much more discussion about jobs related to solar, wind, and electric vehicles than I do about energy efficiency. This post explores the dimensions of energy efficiency jobs in Massachusetts to help better understand the vital role it has in providing accessible employment in the clean energy economy.

The broad heading of “energy efficiency” incorporates a great deal of technologies and types of interventions. In its simplest definition, efficiency is measured by the amount of input energy required to produce a useful product or service. Thus, energy efficiency improvements reduce the amount of input energy needed to produce light, heating, cooling, or other services.

Unfortunately, there is no universal definition of what types of jobs should be classified as energy efficiency. Some assessments group energy efficiency jobs together with demand management and clean heating/cooling. Other surveys of efficiency jobs use categories for efficient lighting, traditional HVAC, renewable heating/cooling, advanced materials, and efficient appliances. These different definitions lead to different final counts for jobs in efficiency, which makes it difficult to compare the numbers of efficiency jobs over time.

Massachusetts is a good example of the divergent results that emerge from different definitions. In December 2016 and January 2017, three different reports were released with numbers of efficiency jobs in the commonwealth:

I have not yet determined why the numbers included in these three surveys are so divergent. The difference in lighting job numbers is particularly high. Perhaps the studies use different methods for attributing jobs in professional services, such as legal or accounting support. In a future post, I plan to explore these sub-technology numbers further by looking at specific employment numbers for the construction and building contractor industries.

Unlike many technology jobs in Massachusetts, much employment in energy efficiency is accessible to residents with a high school diploma or less education. Jobs in energy efficiency also pay relatively well. According to the MassCEC 2016 Clean Energy Industry Report, entry-level pay for an energy efficiency construction worker in 2016 was $37,000. Wages rise for workers with experience, with an average of $68,000 for longer-term workers.

The graphic below shows statistics about education and pay for the 52,656 jobs classified as “electrical efficiency” by the MassCEC in 2016. 52% of these jobs went to workers with only a high school degree, and 59% of these jobs made more than $50,000 each year. Unfortunately, the data included in the MassCEC report does not allow for me to associate specific levels of education with final pay. But it seems likely that a good portion of workers with just a high school diploma fall within the $50,000 — $75,000 salary range.

The 2016 MassCEC report separately classifies 20,714 efficiency jobs as “clean heating and cooling.” These jobs focus on the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) building systems rather than on lighting needs or other electrical loads. The statistics for clean heating and cooling jobs are very similar to the statistics for jobs in electrical efficiency. As shown below, 46% of clean heating/cooling jobs went to workers with only a high school degree, and 59% of all clean heating/cooling jobs paid more than $50,000.

Energy efficiency jobs provide relatively good pay for tens of thousands of Massachusetts workers who have not obtained a bachelor’s degree. Given that Massachusetts needs much more efficiency improvements to meet its climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, the energy efficiency sector also appears poised continued job growth. These new efficiency jobs could be used to advance social equity by providing employment to historically marginalized communities. In my next post, I will look at current efficiency employment of women and minorities and what changes might be made to increase these employment numbers.

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