Clean Energy Investment and Non-College Workers

Investment is Accelerating Across the Country

Across the US, there is a trend of strong growth in clean energy investment.  These investments are spurring growth in clean energy and the technologies needed to expand the industries of the future and, at the same time, reduce carbon emissions. The Rhodium Group and MIT recently created a new database to track clean energy investment.¹ Investments are tracked by type—manufacturing, energy and industry deployment, as well as consumer purchases of durable clean energy goods like heat pumps and electric vehicles.

We have been analyzing these data and are very excited about what we are seeing across the country.  We often read about an investment here and there, but there is a massive upward trend in investment in clean energy industries. This map shows all clean energy investments since 2021. Each circle represents an investment, along with a callout box showing the company and investment details.

Also encouraging is the fact that this surge in investment is being driven by the private sector.  Since the private sector is nearly 90% of GDP, this “crowding in” of private investment increases the odds of sustainable, long-term growth resulting from these investments. Strong growth in private investment increases the pace of commercialization of these technologies. During the period since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, federal investment in clean energy was $78 billion. Private investment was $415 billion.² This means that $5-6 of private investment is being crowded in for every $1 of federal investment—a huge win for everyone.

In 2019-2020, there was little if any hope that the US would be a manufacturing hub for battery cells. At the time, the US was expected to produce, at best, 300 GW of battery cells by 2030, enough to make 4 million electric vehicles. Fast forward to today: the investments that are being made will grow battery cell manufacturing to over 1 TW of capacity by the end of the decade, tripling previous estimates.³

Focal Point: Non-College Workers

Third Way’s Economic Program has made a strong case that to grow the middle class you need to think about helping workers without a 4-year degree. The median income of non-college households is $61,000—less than half of the $127,000 college-educated households take in. While typical household wealth for non-college Americans is roughly $125,000, median wealth for college-educated households is triple that at $450,000. Non-college households are four times more likely to be in the bottom 20% of earners. And three times as many non-college individuals are unemployed or out of the labor force.⁴

When policy is strategic and provides incentives for strong investment over several years, it is much more likely to create good paying middle class jobs. Many non-college workers are regaining a presence in the middle class. This and other positive impacts are happening for the US economy, stemming from the Biden-Harris Administration policies that are benefiting non-college workers.

The surge in the construction of manufacturing facilities is a good example. As of July 2024, construction spending on manufacturing plants reached $237 billion, the highest ever and up over 20% compared with a year ago. Building plants creates construction jobs for non-college workers—and it also sets the stage for the progression toward growth in manufacturing jobs once those plants are up and running.

One of the goals the Biden-Harris Administration had for clean energy investments spurred on by the recently passed legislation is to broaden out opportunities for those trying to climb up to the middle class, which particularly affects workers who do not have a college degree. To understand how much opportunity is actually being created, we overlapped county-level investment data with government data on non-college workers.

We wanted to know if, first and foremost, investments were being located in communities with lots of non-college workers. We know that, of course, these workers can move to different locations to seek out employment. However, growing opportunities where they live likely will bear more fruit than if they must pick up their roots and relocate for, say, a skilled trade job.

What we found is very encouraging. Across the entire country:

1. There are 82 million non-college workers in the labor force (25-64 age). Over 60% live in a county where there has been at least one clean energy investment—with the average investment amount over $460 million.
2. Over 40% of total clean energy investment since 2o21 has gone to counties with above average non-college unemployment.
3. Since 2021, counties with above average non-college unemployment rates received a total of $220 billion.

A Closer Look at Michigan

In order to get a fuller picture of the employment opportunities that these clean energy investments create for non-college workers, we zoomed in on Michigan. Here are the toplines:

• A total of $20 billion in clean energy investment went to Michigan during the first 3.5 years of the Biden-Harris Administration, over triple the pace of the 2018-2020 period.
• Nearly half (49%) of this investment went to communities where non-college unemployment rates are higher than average.
• Of the $20 billion invested in clean energy in Michigan, $13 billion went to clean energy manufacturing, with a sizable portion of that going specifically to battery manufacturing.
• Roughly $6 billion of battery manufacturing investment has been made in Michigan counties facing above-average rates of non-college unemployment.

What kinds of opportunities will battery cell manufacturing investments offer non-college Michiganders?

With nearly one-third of Michigan’s clean energy investment going into the soon-to-be iconic battery industry, these new manufacturing plants are poised to give non-college workers a great career. Michigan battery manufacturing jobs grew 60% from 2020 to 2023. As the US continues its transition toward EVs, the job growth and wage gains for Michigan non-college workers will be substantial and abundant.

Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data for Michigan battery cell manufacturing, we found the following statistics that give us optimism based on the growth in investment now taking place.

Skill requirements for battery cell manufacturing fit non-college workers like a glove:⁵

• 23% of these jobs have no education requirement.
• Two-thirds require a GED.
• 90% of these jobs require a GED or less.
• 98% of these jobs do not require any certifications/credentials to be hired.
• Average hire has one year of work experience.
• 50% of battery manufacturing jobs do not require previous work experience.

Wages for battery cell manufacturing are high and growing:⁶

• US battery manufacturing wages reached $84,000 in 2023.
• US wages overall grew nearly 7% in 2023.
• From 2020 to 2023, battery manufacturing wages in Michigan grew a staggering 44% to $107,000.

Conclusion

It takes thoughtful industrial strategy to create the conditions for middle class prosperity. Recent landmark legislation appears to be creating those conditions by unleashing private sector investment in clean energy industries that generate opportunities for non-college workers in the very communities where those people live.

The strategy being executed by the Biden-Harris Administration has launched a huge wave of clean energy investment—with enormous payoffs for the economy and especially non-college workers. And it’s just getting started. More jobs with higher wages will be paying dividends for generations to come.