Clean Power, Strong Communities: The Jobs and Economic Impacts of Community Solar
By Solar Landscape
Did you know that community solar doesn’t just deliver clean energy and lower bills? It also creates local jobs and strengthens the economy.
The Coalition for Community Solar Access, a national trade association, estimates that for every megawatt (MW) of community solar that is built, $2.8 million is invested and 19 jobs are created.
Put into perspective, Solar Landscape’s 500 MW portfolio of community solar projects equates to about $1.4 billion in economic impact and over 9,000 local jobs.
Read on to learn how community solar fuels economic growth right where people live.
Community Solar Projects Create More Jobs
When people think of solar jobs, they often picture work happening on massive projects that cover acres of land. But the smaller‑scale systems that define community solar – many located locally on large flat business rooftops – create far more jobs for similarly sized projects. And that’s not an accident.
How Jobs Are Created
Community solar projects are smaller, local, and numerous – meaning each one requires its own dedicated team and project management. Rather than one large construction site, community solar relies on many individual rooftops, each requiring:
- Site engineering
- Roof preparation
- Electrical work and panel installation
- Interconnection with the electric grid
- Inspections and compliance checks
- Ongoing maintenance
In addition to each project requiring multiple steps, they also must be completed on‑site – ensuring the creation of in-state jobs. And despite the rise of AI, these jobs cannot be automated, so local workers benefit from roles that pay family-sustaining wages.
Why Community Solar Requires More Jobs
Large-scale, ground-mounted solar projects don’t have many customer-facing obligations. But community solar – especially rooftop projects – creates multiple layers of jobs:
🧑🏼🔧More Construction Activity: Each community solar project creates its own interconnection point with dozens or hundreds of electrical tie‑ins, rather than one. They also increase local grid activity and utility coordination, creating jobs in engineering, utility operations, and system inspections.1
📋Compliance and Customer Operations Jobs: Each state’s community solar program has unique requirements that generate jobs in areas like customer operations, compliance, and data management.
🏘️More Consumer-Facing Work: Community solar has a community-facing aspect that requires:
- Educating residents and helping them enroll
- Getting permits from local government offices
- Working with organizations like churches, nonprofits, housing providers, and schools
This expands the sector’s job mix into marketing, outreach, customer service, and community development.
All told, community solar’s people-centered design means more jobs, skill diversity, and local impact.
Community Solar Driving Workforce Development
Community solar not only creates jobs – many companies in the industry also support local job training programs that create a pathway to real employment.
To understand how this happens, we can look at STEP‑UP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit solar workforce organization that aims to increase access to quality careers in clean energy through job training and education programs. The award‑winning program has trained nearly 2,500 workers, showing how rooftop community solar grows a strong, skilled clean‑energy workforce.
Here are the elements of the STEP-UP program that help someone graduate from the training program to landing a job in the industry.
Access and Awareness
Most trainees hear about STEP-UP through community partners, colleges, technical training schools, high schools, and education nonprofits. Trainings are designed to be accessible; they’re free, and no prior experience is required.
Hands-On, Job-Ready Training
In a STEP-UP workshop participants receive comprehensive training that sets them up for success in a career in the solar industry. They learn basic electrical concepts, safety standards, racking and module installation, and tool use and material handling.
Training occurs on mock roofs or real rooftops, mirroring real job conditions.
Employer Engagement & Job Placement
STEP-UP brings solar employers to meet trainees during the program and helps with job placement after the training concludes. A developer like Solar Landscape visits training sessions, observes trainees’ skills firsthand, and conducts informal meet-and-greets. This eliminates the common gap between training and employment.
Because of this early involvement, employers already know the trainees, understand their strengths, and have projects ready for staffing. This helps shorten the pipeline between classroom and a first paycheck.
Advancement and Stability
From there, graduates can grow their careers over time, advancing into roles such as:
- Lead installer
- Crew lead
- Foreman
- Site supervisor
- Project manager
- Electrical apprenticeship paths
By providing a springboard into a well-paying career and a runway toward career advancement, community solar supports the fabric of a strong local economy long-term.
Real-World Leadership in Workforce Development
STEP-UP Solar has a national partnership with YouthBuild Global – a youth development nonprofit – and launched the first STEP-UP and YouthBuild solar training in 2024 with YouthBuild Lake County in Illinois. As part of the training, Solar Landscape invited recruiters from an electrical contracting company to present to students about job opportunities.
Juan Carillo is a graduate of the training who landed a full-time position with the contractor. He reflected in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that the rewards are more than financial. “I know solar energy is important for the world, in a positive way,” Carillo said. “Solar is a big step that will help the world in the years to come.”
The Bottom Line
Community solar isn’t only an energy solution – it’s a workforce engine.
Because these projects are local and community-facing, they require more labor, more coordination, and more customer engagement than other forms of solar. Combined with strong training programs, community solar projects promote high-growth, family-sustaining clean energy careers.
That’s the hidden power of community solar. When you sign up, you’re supporting local, affordable, renewable energy as well as your community’s economic future.
1 Waechter, Katy, Eric O’Shaughnessy, Sudha Kannan and Robin Burton. 2024. Technical Potential and Meaningful Benefits of Community Solar in the United States. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-6A20-87524.
