Nat Bullard: Solar Expert to Energy Thought Leader
Nathaniel Bullard has spent 20+ years working in the energy sector, with an early focus on solar energy in his time at BloombergNEF (Bloomberg New Energy Finance). This was back in the early 2010s, well before it was abundantly clear that solar energy was going to become a dominant energy source in the 21st century. Bullard has become a prominent thought leader in the space, and recently published an incredibly comprehensive presentation on state of global decarbonization.
The deck contains 200 slides of organized, eye-opening insights and statistics about how the world is continuing its energy transformation. We’ve highlighted some of the key takeaways for the solar industry in the context of the broader energy space and what you need to know as you explore solar career opportunities.
Global Energy Market Context
2023 was the warmest year on record in over 125,000 years. What’s concerning is how quickly temperatures have increased since the 1970s and the amount of damage done from extreme weather events (hurricanes, wildfires…). Nat’s chart shows how dramatic this increase has been. Last year, there were 30 $1B+ natural disasters in the US alone.
Renewable energy sources will be critical to mitigating the increase in global temperatures, and there has never been more urgency in the market to move us towards clean energy sources.
What is often forgotten in the discussion of fossil fuels vs. renewables is how dramatically the world subsidizes fossil fuels today, and even more shockingly, how implicit subsidies continue to increase. Across gasoline, diesel, gas, and coal, the world’s fossil fuel subsidies surpass $7 Trillion dollars. Yes, that’s right, trillion! Despite these subsidies, in the vast majority of the world, solar, or wind, are still by far the cheapest forms of electricity.
The Rise of Solar Energy
Solar is also growing faster than any other significant energy source from the past decades, well surpassing wind. This is because the math just works.., solar is cheaper than other energy sources and as we’ve ramped up production of solar models, we’re making it even cheaper.
Solar and Wind Energy now account for 12%+ of global electricity, and are growing at exponential rates.
Globally, solar had an off-the-charts year, installing 440 GW, 200 GW more than in 2022, which was already a record year with exponential growth.
Solar Jobs: Riding the Wave of Investment and Technological Progress
An unprecedented $1.8 trillion was invested in the energy sector in 2023. For job seekers, this signals a burgeoning field ripe with opportunities. Jobs will lag investment trends, and as you can see, since 2020, investment has skyrocketed in the energy sector.
While we often highlight how quickly the solar industry is growing, it’s important to note that renewables and the energy transition are skyrocketing as well. Starting your career or developing expertise in solar will only open up more doors for you. While skill sets and job requirements vary between opportunities, jobs in energy storage or wind power have clear adjacencies to solar.
Efficiency and Affordability Driving Solar Growth
The cost of solar energy has plummeted, with solar efficiency increasing and the price per watt dropping to $0.12. Innovations in battery technology and energy storage are making solar installations more efficient and affordable, further bolstering the job market. Notably, the introduction of policies like NEM 3.0 has significantly increased battery attach rates, indicating a robust demand for skilled professionals in solar installation and energy storage solutions.
Solar + Battery Storage Growth in response to NEM 3.0
We highlighted earlier this month how the past year has seen a dramatic uptick in battery storage. Part of this is due to much improved efficiency and reduced costs in batteries (just like PV modules), but the major driver has been California’s NEM 3.0 policy. California now has a 25% battery attach rate to residential solar installations, up from less than 10% for prior years.
Solar Demand will translate to Solar Jobs
First Solar, one of the leading solar panel manufacturers and utility-scale power providers has seen a dramatic increase in their order book measured by gigawatts of power. Most of this is in North America with over 60 Gigawatts of orders in the last quarter of 2023. First Solar is hiring today and their order book is a clear sign solar installers are going to have a busy 2024.
Fun Solar Statistics!
Nat also does a fantastic job at contextualizing the differences between energy sources and how that translates into everyday usage. You may occasionally see criticisms that “PVs only are 15% efficient” in converting energy, which is true, but you have to look at the end-to-end efficiency. In the slide below, Nat shows the straightforward math illustrating that a solar-powered EV is more than 300 times as efficient as a corn ethanol combustion burning care!
Another critique of Solar is how it “ruins natural landscapes.” The chart below is a great reference point, showing that cotton farms in the US take up 23 times more land than utility-scale PV today. Golf courses take up 10 times more land than solar farms. No one is suggesting we replace golf course with solar farms (there are some cool golf courses using solar to save money like this one in Florida), but in the United States, we are fortunate to have abundance of land to afford a few millions of acres for solar! In the US, we have 2.4 billion acres of land (including Alaska).
Key Takeaways for Solar Job Seekers
Key trends for you to consider as you explore your solar careerbeyond just the fun stats you’ll remember in your next job interview:
Lots of Growth Opportunities: The solar industry's rapid expansion in 2023 will offer a wealth of job opportunities and career options as we continue our energy transformation
Continue Learning New Skills: Staying abreast of technological advancements and obtaining relevant certifications will be important. Solar and storage will continue to evolve as new technologies emerge making energy cheap and more efficient
Invest in your career now: We are at the beginning of the hockey stick in renewables transition. Investing your time and energy to make a career transition will compound your rewards in the future.
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