Zirpoli: Coal Doomed by Economics of Clean Energy, Not Regulation

Jobs related to solar energy alone employ more people than the coal industry. According to SourceWatch, “There are approximately 174,000 blue-collar, full-time, permanent jobs related to coal in the U.S.: mining (83,000), transportation (31,000), and power plant employment (60,000).” Bloomberg Business reports that “solar energy accounted for more than twice as many jobs, about 350,000 workers.” Wind energy, they found, accounted for just over 100,000 jobs. And while coal jobs are disappearing, the number of clean energy jobs is rapidly increasing.