According to the World Economic Forum, a major energy transition is underway in how we power our homes and businesses. Around three-quarters of coal production in the United States is now more expensive than solar and wind energy. “Even without major policy shift, we will continue to see coal retire pretty rapidly,” said Mike O’Boyle, co-author of a report for Energy Innovation, a consulting firm. “Our analysis shows that we can move a lot faster to replace coal with wind and solar. The fact that so much coal could be retired right now shows we are off the pace.” By 2025, for example, enough wind and solar power will be generated at low enough prices in the U.S. that it could theoretically replace 86% of the U.S. coal fleet with lower-cost electricity

According to Forbes, economics are driving both sides of this equation: Building new renewable energy is cheaper than running existing coal plants and prices get cheaper every year; meanwhile, as coal shrinks in importance, it becomes less economic to run plants. By 2025, almost every existing coal plant in the United States will cost more to operate than building replacement wind and solar within 35 miles of each plant.

Multiple states and utilities are setting 100% clean energy goals, creating new demand for workers to build solar panels and wind turbines. This shift to renewables has led to a job boom across America,. A recent Clean Jobs America report by the analytics firm E2 found nearly 3.3 million Americans working in the clean energy sector, outnumbering fossil fuel workers by 3-to-1. Nearly 335,000 people work in the solar industry and more than 111,000 work in the wind industry, compared to 211,000 working in coal mining or other fossil fuel extraction. Clean energy employment grew 3.6% in 2018, adding 110,000 net new jobs (4.2% of all jobs added nationally in 2018), and analysts expect that number to continue rising.

E2 reports the fastest-growing jobs across 12 states were in renewable energy during 2018, and renewable energy is already the fastest-growing source of new U.S. electricity generation, leading the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to forecast America’s two fastest-growing jobs through 2026 will be solar installer (105% growth) and wind technician (96% growth). The American Wind Energy Association has identified wind farms and manufacturing facilities in all 50 states and 69% of all Congressional districts (78% of GOP districts, 62% of Democratic districts).

The change is readily apparent in Colorado, where the renewable energy industry has created 6,334 jobs and generates $388.6 million a year in economic activity in rural, eastern Colorado alone, according to one study. Another study projects that $9.4 billion will be spent on utility-scale renewable energy projects in eastern Colorado between 2000 and 2024. The economic impact of renewable energy project construction in eastern Colorado between 2000 and 2024 totals nearly $6 billion, accounting for nearly 13,000 jobs from both construction workers and their spending. Operations and maintenance of renewable projects generates $388.6 million in economic activity annually. Secondary economic impact impacts are equally noteworthy, with lease payments to landowners and property tax payments to counties, cities, school districts and special districts. .