The move to install more clean energy systems in the United States requires investment in both infrastructure and people. The infrastructure part is straightforward enough — it mainly takes money and planning. Finding enough people to build and maintain the systems is the tricky part.
According to estimates from the American Clean Power Association (ACP), as many as 1 million clean energy jobs might need to be filled over the next several years to meet demand. The challenge is recruiting workers with the right combination of training, skills, and technical expertise. One solution is to tap into the pool of U.S. military veterans who have left the armed forces and are now searching for work in the private sector.
As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) noted, growth in solar and other renewable energy sectors coincides with U.S. military downsizing. Nearly 200,000 veterans exit the military every year, providing a ready workforce of skilled job candidates.
To attract these veterans, the Solar Energy Technologies Office created the Solar Ready Vets program in partnership with SkillBridge, a Department of Defense initiative. The program provides veterans with solar industry training and a chance to interview with some of the nation’s leading companies.
Hiring veterans into solar and other clean energy jobs is “dually beneficial,” according to the DOE. It not only helps vets find employment that will support the U.S. economy, but it also helps rapidly expanding photovoltaic companies fill their payrolls with “competent, motivated workers.”
Photo Courtesy Department of Energy
Jobs in clean energy offer opportunities in various fields, including construction, manufacturing, operations, technology, and maintenance. The challenge is getting enough workers trained and added to the workforce quickly.
According to the ACP, U.S. veterans “can play a key role” in filling these jobs as they look to transition into civilian life following time on active duty.
As of 2021, about 34,000 U.S. veterans worked in the country’s wind, solar, storage, and transmission jobs. They are hired at much higher rates than in other industries. In its report, the DOE laid out several reasons veterans make ideal candidates for solar and other clean energy positions:
- Vets are trained to lead and are given responsibility early in their military service.
- They are mission-focused and trained to do “what it takes” to complete the job correctly and on time.
- They are team players, completing their work and supporting their colleagues while reaching the goal at hand.
- They have strong work ethics, having been accustomed to working long hours in non-traditional environments.
One veteran who has found a career in clean energy is Troy Van Beek, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who, in 2009, founded Ideal Energy, a Fairfield, Iowa-based provider of services for solar and energy storage systems. Ideal Energy recently partnered with Iowa State University and Alliant Energy to design and develop the Midwest’s first-ever agrivoltaics solar farm.
Photo Courtesy Ideal Energy Solar
In a Nov. 8, 2023, column for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Van Beek wrote that the research farm “merges solar power generation with agriculture, where scientists can study how to optimize land use while providing the best community benefits.”
Van Beek credits his experience in the military with giving him the skills and expertise to make a successful move into renewable energy. He encourages other renewable energy companies to hire veterans as well.
“With over 20,000 veterans like me employed nationally in the solar industry alone, clean energy jobs make it easy for veterans to apply their technical skills from the service to clean energy projects,” he wrote.
