California to lose 22% of solar jobs by end of year
The California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) shared a new breakdown of recent solar job losses in every part of California.
Just over seven months ago, the Gov. Gavin Newsom-appointed California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) made drast reductions to Net Energy Metering — the program responsible for reducing the costs of going solar by compensating system owners for their energy production — by slashing the value of solar energy shared back to the grid by solar homes and businesses by 70-80% overnight. At the same time, the CPUC and Gov. Newsom promised to provide incentives for energy storage to help soften the blow but these incentives have yet to materialize.
Since the CPUC’s decision, the solar industry is experiencing business closures and depression-level layoffs at a time of unprecedented federal support for solar installation.
A survey of California solar and storage companies found 17,000 jobs have or will be lost by the end of 2023 due the recent net metering changes. The massive job loss represents 22% of all solar jobs in California. CALSSA’s new breakdown of the survey numbers estimate no part of California is spared from the pain of solar job losses.
| Region | Estimated Jobs Lost | Counties |
| Pacific North | 664 | Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Trinity |
| Sierra North | 1,291 | Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo, Yuba |
| Bay Area | 2,705 | Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma |
| Central Valley | 3,167 | Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne |
| Central Coast | 665 | Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz |
| Los Angeles | 3,010 | Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange |
| Inland & Desert | 2,848 | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| San Diego | 2,651 | San Diego, Imperial |
“All over California we are seeing the grim reality of how the CPUC’s cuts to solar are taking livelihoods away from thousands of families,” said CALSSA Executive Director Bernadette Del Chiaro. “No one would expect a supposed climate leader like California to be pulling the plug on green jobs and our fastest and most accessible path to a clean energy future. But that is where we are today. Under the CPUC’s leadership California is responsible for the largest loss of solar jobs in our nation’s history.”
News item from CALSSA
