Want to work in climate? Look to Georgia and the Carolinas
- The Southeast is becoming a hub for solar, electric vehicle, and battery manufacturing plants.
- Companies in five states, including Georgia and South Carolina, could need nearly 40,000 workers.
- Tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act are helping fuel the growth.
Southeastern states like Georgia and the Carolinas are quickly becoming hot spots for climate jobs.
Companies in the region that make solar panels, electric vehicles, and battery storage are building factories that may require some 40,000 workers, according to data compiled by E2 between August 2022 and November 2023. That figure reflects planned projects in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
"The US used to be relegated to buying solar panels and batteries made in China and other parts of Asia," Bob Keefe, the executive director of E2, told Business Insider. "Now we are making them here, and we're making them at scale."
The manufacturing boom is largely driven by the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in August 2022. The law includes hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks for companies that make renewable-energy technology in the US to accelerate the green transition and reduce the country's reliance on China.
Keefe said the Southeast is leading the economic transformation for several reasons. Land is affordable and labor is cheaper, in part because few workers are unionized. States already have a workforce skilled in manufacturing. Keefe pointed to the solar-panel maker Qcells, which recently expanded its factory in Dalton, Georgia, historically a carpet-manufacturing hub. The region is also home to busy airports and seaports like Atlanta and Savannah.
"Southeastern states tend to view economic development as a blood sport," Keefe, who's writing a book about how clean energy is reshaping the US economy, said. He added that attracting new industries is a top priority for Govs. Brian Kemp of Georgia, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, and Henry McMaster of South Carolina.
BMW made Spartanburg, South Carolina, its EV-manufacturing hub, which pushed Kemp to recruit Hyundai to Savannah and Rivian to the Atlanta area, Keefe said. EV manufacturing growth in the region encouraged the South Korean battery maker SK On to build plants in Georgia. Albemarle, which mines lithium, a key component of EV batteries, plans to build processing plants in South Carolina and open new mining operations in North Carolina. There's also a budding battery-storage-manufacturing industry in the region.
The trends underscore how jobs are created across the renewable-energy supply chain, from mining to manufacturing. Mining experts, assembly-line workers, and chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineers are in demand. In Georgia, companies have announced at least 26 projects that they estimate could create 14,881 manufacturing jobs. Companies in South Carolina project nearly 11,500 jobs, while more than 8,200 jobs are estimated in North Carolina.
The biggest challenge is finding enough workers, Keefe said. Some companies are trying to reach students as early as middle school by offering summer science camps.
"We're confronting this workforce shortage because the US has been late the game. China and other parts of the world have been at it for longer, and we fell even more behind under previous political leadership," Keefe said, noting that the 2024 presidential election is pivotal for the clean energy transformation to continue.