8 Renewable Energy Projects Creating Jobs In The USA

Over the last decade, the renewable energy market has grown substantially, creating thousands of engineering job opportunities throughout the sector. With many federal incentives such as the Investment Tax Credit, which offsets upfront costs by 10- 26%, as well as state incentives such as tax credits, grants, and rebates in place, it’s no surprise that 37 states already have renewable goals in place.

But even without direct incentive, states, businesses, and utilities across America are announcing decarbonization plans and investments despite the global pandemic creating an economic recession. The demand for clean energy, declining costs and rising energy capacity enabled the industry to be resilient throughout the pandemic and it’s estimated that in 2020 over 3.3 million Americans were employed in the industry. This figure is only expected to rise as further states across the USA commit to clean energy targets.

If you’re an engineer looking for your next role in renewable energy, here are 8 projects in the USA you should know about.

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Traverse Windfarm (Preliminarily Engineered - Invenergy LLC)

Oklahoma

$1,200,000,000

Traverse Wind Energy Centre consists of a 999MW wind farm in Custer and Blaine Counties, Oklahoma and is the largest single-phase wind farm ever built in the U.S., overtaking Oregon's Shepherds Flat project.

Chicago-based power plant operator Invenergy LLC expect to begin building its 999-MW wind farm in late 2021 and it’s expected to be operational by December 2023. This project is part of a larger renewables development in Oklahoma named the North Central Energy Facility, which also features the 199-MW Sundance and the 288-MW Maverick Wind Energy Centre.

As a direct result of this project, approximately $2 billion will be invested in Oklahoma’s economy, creating jobs in construction, operations, and maintenance.

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FPL Manatee Energy Storage Centre (BESS) (Planned - Florida Power & Light Company)

Florida

$759,500,000

FPL Manatee Energy Storage Centre is the world’s biggest solar-charged battery storage project.

Work began in 2020 on the 409MW/900MWh project and it’s expected to be up and running by the end of the year. The battery energy storage system (BESS) is co-located with FPL’s existing Manatee Solar Energy Centre ground-mounted solar PV plant. It’s predicted that this project will save approximately US$100 million over its lifetime by offsetting fuel costs and running on solar power.

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Maverick Creek Windfarm (Under Construction - Liberty Power)

Texas

$700,000,000

​The Maverick Creek Wind project, currently under construction, is expected to power up to 200,000 homes with 127 wind turbines. The 50,000-acre site is expected to generate 492 MW of power and create hundreds of temporary and permanent engineering jobs.

The project is also expected to generate over $3 million a year in tax revenue with $1.4 million going to schools, $1.3 million to the county and $400,000 to a local health care facility.

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​Aktina PV Solar Plant (Under Construction - Tokyo Gas America Limited)

Texas

$650,000,000

The Aktina PV Solar Plant was natural gas supplier Tokyo Gas Co’s first entrance into the US Solar market and is currently under construction. It’s also the companies first global solar project in which they have been involved from construction to commercial operation. It’s expected to come online in phases starting from Q3 of 2021 and will generate 514 MW.

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Isabella Windfarm (Under Construction - Apex Clean Energy Incorporated)

Michigan

$640,000,000

​Isabella Wind is a 400 MW renewable wind project in northern Isabella County, which is currently under construction.

Apex Clean Energy first approached the Isabella County community in 2016 with a vision to develop a wind energy project across several of the county’s northern townships. The proposal was approved with the caveat that the project should provide benefits to the citizens such as a pooled lease agreement that emphasizes landowner rights, agricultural production, and economic opportunity.

At present, Isabella Wind covers nearly 60,000 acres and its predicted that over its 30-year life the project will generate more than $30 million in tax revenues for the county and local townships, and more than $100 million in direct landowner payments. These revenues will stay in Isabella County to support the schools and local businesses.

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Athos PV Solar Plant (Under Construction - IP Athos II LLC)

California

$615,000,000

​The Athos PV Solar Plant, currently under construction, is a solar photovoltaic electric generating facility with a capacity of 500MW. It covers approximately 3,400 acres of land in Riverside County (California).

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High Prairie Windfarm (Under Construction - TG High Prairie, LLC)

Missouri

$600,000,000

​The High Prairie Windfarm is a 400MW project in rural northeast Missouri. It’s currently under construction, but when complete, it’ll have 175 wind turbines and generate enough power for 120,000 homes within two years.

​This project is also estimated to generate $32 million in property, income and sales taxes, over a 25-year time frame for the area.

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The Samson Solar Energy Center (Under Construction – Invenergy)

Texas

$100,600,000

​Located in Franklin, Lamar and Red River Counties in Northeast Texas, the Samson Solar Energy Center began construction in July 2020. The complete project will generate 1310 megawatts of sustainable energy, enough electricity to power 300,000 American homes.

​Over the life of the project, Samson will directly invest $450 million in the local economy through new tax revenues and lease payments to participating landowners. The project will also support up to 600 jobs during the 36-month construction phase and create 12 permanent operations and maintenance jobs.

​The project will not only generate an unprecedented amount of clean, sustainable energy, it will also support local economic development in Invenergy’s communities hosting the project.

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Find your next job in America’s growing wind energy industry

NES Fircroft is the global leader in sourcing leading talent for the renewable energy industry.

If you’re looking for skilled personnel for your wind project our discipline-specific consultants can support all stages of your renewable project life cycle, from the funding, design and installation phases’ right through to project management and grid installations.

We work on some of the most exciting Renewables projects in the USA, meaning we have plenty of renewable job opportunities for engineers looking to enhance their energy careers.