FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2025
New Report Shows Alabama Could Unlock Jobs, Growth, and Investment Through Solar Development
Huntsville, AL – Alabama has a major opportunity to create thousands of jobs, grow wages by more than a billion dollars, and generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue by expanding solar energy, according to a new report commissioned by Energy Alabama.
The research, conducted by Mangum Economics, compared Alabama’s utility scale solar development to that of neighboring states like Georgia and South Carolina. The research also made an internal comparison between the Alabama service area of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the rest of the state. In Alabama, TVA serves approximately 25% of our state’s population across 13 counties.
The findings are clear:
- Falling Behind: In 2023, just 0.9% of Alabama’s electricity came from utility scale solar. Georgia generated 5.8% of its electricity from utility scale solar and North Carolina at 9.1%. Even Tennessee surpassed Alabama.
- Within Alabama, as of 2023, 54% of Alabama’s utility scale solar generating capacity is located in the TVA service area, even though TVA serves just 25% of Alabama’s population across 13 counties. The rest of the state (75% of the population across all or parts of the remaining counties) is home to 46% of Alabama’s utility scale solar generating capacity.
- Missed Jobs: If Alabama had matched Georgia’s level of utility scale solar development, those projects would have created an additional 16,420 job years during construction and 270 permanent operations jobs. Matching South Carolina’s level would mean 4,570 more construction job years and 73 permanent operations jobs.
- Missed Wages: Georgia-level utility scale solar development in Alabama could have delivered an extra $1.1 billion in wages and benefits. Matching South Carolina’s level would have meant $317 million more.
- Missed Tax Revenue:. Georgia-level utility scale solar development would have generated $235 million more in construction-related state and local tax revenue and $713 million more over 40 years of operations. The South Carolina equivalent of utility scale solar would have meant $65 million more in construction-related taxes and $196 million more over 40 years of operations.
- The much smaller TVA service area of Alabama saw $505 million in direct and indirect economic benefits and $20 million in state and local taxes from the utility scale solar projects. In comparison, the rest of Alabama, with 75% of the population, gained $450 million in direct and indirect economic benefits and $18 million in state and local taxes from utility scale solar.
“These numbers show what we already know: Alabama has the sun and the space to compete with our neighbors, but bad policy is blocking progress,” said Daniel Tait, Executive Director at Energy Alabama. “Every year we delay, we miss out on new jobs, new investment, and cleaner, cheaper energy for families and businesses.”
Energy Alabama is calling on state leaders and regulators to modernize policies and remove barriers that hold back renewable energy investment.
About Energy Alabama
Energy Alabama is a 501(c)(3), member-supported, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing Alabama’s clean energy future. Through education and advocacy, we empower Alabamians of all ages to embrace clean energy solutions. We champion policies that promote clean energy adoption, cultivate a skilled workforce ready to deploy these technologies, and believe in a future where clean energy is accessible to all.
