COVID-19 Resources

 Claudette Ayanaba

Our new COVID-19 Resources allows for more relevant and more frequent updates. You can access the original, archived resource page at any time.

We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Contact us anytime at [email protected].

Highlights

  • The U.S. lost over 429,000 clean energy jobs from March to December, finishing 2020 with the fewest number of workers in the industry since 2015 It also marked the first year clean energy saw a decline in jobs over the previous year.
  • Nationally, job losses in the clean energy and energy efficiency sectors increased 12% since the pre-pandemic era.
  • 16,900 jobs were added nationally in December.
  • Clean vehicles experienced ongoing job loss of 31,468 and recovered about 400 jobs.
  • “Black and Hispanic workers continue to suffer from disproportionately high levels of unemployment overall, and Hispanic workers suffered increased unemployment rates in December. Women – particularly women of color – lost jobs in December overall while men gained jobs.”
  • In December, the states with the largest gains, Texas, New York, North Carolina, and Florida secured more than 800 clean energy jobs
  • “Over 40 states continue to suffer double digit job losses in clean energy with four states facing 20 percent or greater unemployment and one state, Georgia, facing 30 percent unemployment in the sector.”
  • “The counties that suffered hardest as a percent of their workforce are Fulton County, GA; DeKalb County, GA; and Kern County, CA.”

Workforce Losses by Month (March – December 2020)

Workforce Losses by State (March – December 2020)

Source: Clean Energy Employment Initial Impacts from the COVID-19 Economic Crisis, September 2020, E4 the Future

  • EIA estimates in its Annual Energy Outlook 2021, that it will take 10 years for energy consumption from all energy sources to return to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy reports in the annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook that although energy use dropped 3.8% overall, residential electricity use increased.
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Highlights

  • All eleven of the states in SEEA’s territory have resumed utility disconnections. Some commissions have restored winter disconnection moratoria to alleviate mounting customer arrearages.
  • Customer arrearages or energy debt adds to a household’s energy insecurity. Energy insecurity is a key metric for understanding the inequitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of the energy sector to residents of the Southeast. Learn more about energy insecurity in our recent blog post, report, and storymap.
  • NARUC has a new tracker following state responses to utility disconnections.
  • NEADA tracks dates for COVID19 disconnection moratoria along side annual winter disconnection moratoria.
Source: Energy Insecurity in the Southeast, SEEA & TEPRI