Jobs are blazing bright in solar: the industry added jobs at a rate nearly 20 times faster than the national average in 2014 according to a recent report released by The Solar Foundation.

"Third-party financing that allows homeowners to lease solar systems, a stabilizing manufacturing sector and utility-scale solar developers scrambling to finish projects before the federal investment tax credit drops from 30 percent to 10 percent on Jan. 1, 2017 has helped drive growth," said Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of The Solar Foundation.

Highlights of the Solar Foundation report include:

• More than 31,000 new solar jobs were created in the U.S. in 2014 bringing the total to 173,807
• This is the second consecutive year that solar jobs have increased by at least 20 percent.
• There are now a total of 173,807 people in the U.S. with jobs related to solar power, a number that’s increased by 87 percent over the last five years.
• Solar added 50 percent more jobs in 2014 than the oil and gas pipeline construction industry (10,529) and the crude petroleum and natural gas extraction industry (8,688) did combined, according to the Solar Foundation.
• Diversity is expanding: in the solar field about twenty-two percent of solar workers in 2014 were female, up from about 19 percent in 2013. About 16 percent were Hispanic and about 6 percent were African-American.
  

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law August 17 requiring power utilities to get 6 percent of their energy from solar in 2015 and every year thereafter.

Solar Racers Defy Overcast Skies on Grand Prix Race Day

Hundreds of middle school and high school students raced solar cars in a Solar Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif., April 10. The cars were model-sized; most finished the race despite overcast skies. In January, participants were given a small solar panel and a motor; they had to incorporate those pieces into their car design.