The Department of Energy released its 2017 U.S. Energy and Jobs Report giving a more thorough insight into energy employment across the country.
Within Tennessee, the report lists 53,501 Traditional Energy workers statewide. 7,062 of these workers are in the Fuels sector, 34,704 work in the Transmission, Wholesale Distribution, and Storage, and 11,285 workers are employed in Electric Power Generation.
Tennessee has an additional 50,451 jobs in Energy Efficiency and 97,056 in motor vehicles.
Electric Power Generation Employment
Within the Electric Power Generation sector, 11,285 workers are employed in Tennessee with an overwhelming majority being in renewables.
Traditional hydroelectric generation makes up the largest segment with 5,274 jobs, followed by solar at 5,085 jobs.
The report says utilities are responsible for most of the employment in Electric Power Generation with 73.4% of jobs.
Fuels Employment
As for the Fuels sector, there is a total of 7,062 jobs in Tennessee. While petroleum and other fossil fuels represent the largest segment of this employment at 3,332 jobs, alternative fuels such as corn ethanol, woody biomass, and other ethanol sources combined make up 2,013 jobs in the Volunteer state.
Energy Efficiency Employment
The largest number of the 50,451 energy efficiency jobs in Tennessee work in high efficiency HVAC and renewable heating and cooling firms, followed by ENERGY STAR and efficient lighting. Energy efficiency employment is found in the construction industry.
Related: Energy efficiency jobs: Where does Tennessee stand?
Transmission, Distribution and Storage Employment
Out of the 34,704 people employed in the Transmission, Distribution and Storage sector, 6,754 work on the state’s smart grids, 1,008 focus on energy storage, and 6,349 monitor micro grids.
