Call for Skilled Workforce Continues at ACP CLEANPOWER 2026
GWO recently travelled to Texas to connect with industry stakeholders about how to tackle the energy workforce challenge.
GWO recently returned to the US for the ACP-led CLEANPOWER 2026 in Houston, Texas – a US state where solar is set to surpass coal by the end of the year. This year's theme was “Powering the Energy Future”, and with more than 8,000 attendees and over 500 exhibitors, the event explored the complexities of wind, solar and storage transmission, as the energy and technology landscape shifts and the need for the workforce to power it grows.
Navigating Unprecedented Grid Load Growth
As the home of Big Tech, the US market’s AI and data centres are set to consume significant amounts of electricity demand between now and 2030, making up for half of the total global demand, according to DNV’s Global Energy Transition Outlook 2025. This AI-driven growth is not only transforming the design of AI data centres; it also puts pressure on the entire power value chain, which will require a range of technologies to be in play to meet future energy demand.
A Greater Need for Energy Workforce
At this year’s CLEANPOWER event, experts discussed the importance of renewable energy sources as a reliable answer to surging power generation needs.
As national energy demand increases, and with wind and solar making up a greater share of electricity generation in the US, the expected workforce demand is also on the rise. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, out of the ten fastest growing industries projected from 2024-2034, jobs associated with solar and wind power generation occupy the top two spots and are set to grow by 180.2% and 81.4% respectively.
Scaling the Energy Workforce to Meet Demand
Since the establishment of the ACP Entry-Level Wind Technician Guidelines in 2023, created in collaboration between ACP and GWO, ensuring industry-validated pathways for new entrants in wind remains a cornerstone of preparing the workforce. With wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic installers projected as the fastest growing occupations up to 2034, directing individuals and employers towards wind and solar job roles and enabling new talent to train within competency-driven, standardised frameworks will be a key factor in ensuring the US workforce can meet growing energy demand.
Reflecting on conversations at ACP CLEANPOWER 2026, Jakob Lau Holst, CEO of GWO, remarked:
Meeting with employers and Training Providers alike has been a reminder of the importance of industry collaboration in response to the needs of the energy transition. Standardised training will continue to be a vital component in enabling the workforce to scale in the US market in the coming years. And as the demand for skilled professionals within wind and solar grows, working together to make career pathways available at the national level will also remain key.
Want to learn more about workforce demand in the US wind market?
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