Retraining investment for U.S. transition from coal to solar photovoltaic employment

Abstract

a b s t r a c t JEL classification: Q42 Q43 J21 M53 M50 I28Although coal remains the largest source of electricity in the U.S., a combination of factors is driving a decrease in profitability and employment in the coal-sector. Meanwhile, the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry is growing rapidly in the U.S. and generating many jobs that represent employment opportunities for laid off coal workers. In order to determine the viability of a smooth transition from coal to PV-related employment, this paper provides an analysis of the cost to retrain current coal workers for solar photovoltaic industry employment in the U.S. The current coal industry positions are determined, the skill sets are evaluated and the salaries are tabulated. For each type of coal position, the closest equivalent PV position is determined and then the re-training time and investment are quantified. These values are applied on a state-by-state basis for coal producing states employing the bulk of coal workers as a function of time using a reverse seniority retirement program for the current American fleet of coal-powered plants. The results show that a relatively minor investment in retraining would allow the vast majority of coal workers to switch to PV-related positions even in the event of the elimination of the coal industry.

Does climate action destroy jobs? An assessment of the employment implications of the 2‐degree goal

“…In contrast to studies that focus solely on the move away from fossil fuels and identify negative effects in certain economies (e.g. Louie and Pearce, 2016;Mercure et al, 2018), we find that these negative effects are offset by the employment creation associated with the promotion of energy efficiency (see also Garrett-Peltier, 2017).…”

Solar has greater techno-economic resource suitability than wind for replacing coal mining jobs

“…Prior studies on job options for coal miners have either focused on issues like retraining (Louie andPearce's 2016, Pollin andCallaci 2018) or comparing the current number of coal jobs with projections for future RE jobs (ILO 2018, IRENA 2018a, 2018b. While these studies make important contributions to the literature, they do not explore whether RE jobs can be created locally for coal miners.…”

“…Solar and wind power includes permanent (O&M) jobs (IRENA 2018a), similar to the permanent nature of coal mining jobs (Pai and Carr-Wilson 2018). Additionally, although more country specific evidence is required, at least for the US, scholars Louie and Pearce (2016) state that all coal miners can transition to PV jobs either directly or with some retraining.…”

“…Some scholars argue that just transition plans should include retraining fossil fuel workers such as coal miners for alternate jobs (Kammen et al 2004, Miller et al 2013, Louie and Pearce 2016, Abraham 2017, Johnstone and Hielscher 2017. These alternate job options for coal miners may vary across a wide range of economic sectors, such as manufacturing or services, and are not limited to only renewable energy (RE) jobs.…”

“…Recently, scholarly articles on just transitions, reports by inter-governmental organizations, and numerous media reports highlight that coal miners could be retrained in order to specifically switch to jobs in the growing RE industries (Hancock 2016, Louie and Pearce 2016, Collins 2018, European Commission 2018, Pollin and Callaci 2018. For example, Louie and Pearce's (2016, p 301) paper, focusing on US coal workers (mine and power plant), concludes that, 'Ka relatively minor investment in retraining would allow the vast majority of coal workers to switch to PV-related positions even in the event of the elimination of the coal industry.'…”