Net Zero in Texas: The Role of Workforce Development

Chapter 1: Introduction

Texas’ annual GDP was over $2.5 trillion in the 4th quarter of 2023 (Figure 1). This represented a 6 percent year-over-year growth and a 38% growth as compared to the 4th quarter of 2019 (Fig 1). Texas’ economy is second in the U.S. after California. The state’s diverse and strong economy helped its recovery from the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. In May 2024, the unemployment rate was 4% and the state added 42,000 nonagricultural jobs in the month, bringing the total number of jobs in the state to 14.65 million.1

Figure 1. Texas GDP (not seasonally adjusted) between 1997 and 2023, in billion dollars. Data source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis2

The energy industry has an outsized impact on the Texas economy. The state leads the nation in energy production (1/4th of the national) and consumption (1/7th of the national). In 2022, the state accounted for 12% of the nation’s total electricity generation, almost double that of the second-highest electricity-producing state, Florida. Texas was also the largest producer of oil (42%), and natural gas (marketed) (27%), and led the nation in the number of crude oil refineries and refining capacity (about 33% of the nation's refining capacity).3 Texas produced about 26% of all U.S. wind-powered electricity generation in 2021, leading the nation in wind energy for the 17th year in a row. The state’s industrial sector consumes the most total end-use energy (about 60%) and is followed by the transportation sector (about 30%).

According to the U.S. Energy and Employment Jobs Report, the energy industry in the state had 936,476 traditional roles in 2022, representing about 7% of the state’s total jobs, and 11.5% of the nation’s traditional energy jobs.4 Of these, 64,570 jobs were in electric power generation, 302,744 were in fuels, and 203,777 were in transmission, distribution, and storage. Additionally, Texas had 164,470 jobs in energy efficiency which accounted for 7.4% of all U.S. energy efficiency jobs, and 200,916 jobs in motor vehicles which accounted for 7.7% of all U.S. motor vehicle jobs. Between 2021 and 2022, energy jobs in the state increased by 6.3%, or 55,785 jobs (Figure 2).5

Figure 2. Energy employment in Texas by major technology application, 2020-2022. Source: 2023 USEER State Report: Texas

Additionally, in 2022, Texas had nearly 15,000 solar jobs, which represents 4% of all U.S. solar jobs. This share is expected to grow many-fold with a projected 30-fold increase in installed solar capacity in the state by 2030.6 The Solar Energy Industry Association projects that prices have fallen by over 50% in the last 10 years and the state’s current investments in solar of nearly $18 billion, Texas will grow to be the largest solar producer in the nation over the next 5 years.7 The state also supports over 26,000 wind jobs, which accounts for about 21% of all U.S. wind jobs.8