Illinois is experiencing substantial job growth in the clean energy industry. What do unions, workforce training programs, communities, and employers need to understand about the clean energy workforce needs and assets of their region? How can regions better understand and prepare for clean energy job growth?
The Climate Jobs Institute created regional data packets to support the CEJA workforce programs and clean energy workforce planning more generally. These data packets can help union labor, workforce training programs, state agencies, community colleges, and local governments plan for growth in the clean energy sector.
Our 2026 updated data packets provide even more clean energy insights that can help regions and communities plan for workforce growth.
Data packets are separated into the ten Illinois Economic Development Regions, shown in the map on the right. Access the data packets here:
About the Data Packets
While jobs numbers and clean energy project development are evolving all the time, these packets are an initial attempt to pull together multiple data sources to answer the following questions.
- How many existing clean energy jobs are in each region, by type?
- New in 2026: Updated job numbers for all clean energy sectors; job posting data for solar, wind, and transmission/distribution jobs.
- How many construction apprentices are in each region?
- New in 2026: Updated apprentice numbers
- How many clean energy training programs and apprenticeship programs are in each region?
- New in 2026: Updated CEJA workforce and contractor programs and apprenticeship programs.
- What clean energy employers and unions are based in each region?
- New in 2026: Top solar companies operating in region, clean energy manufacturers
- What solar, wind, EV, and EV infrastructure development is happening in the region?
- New in 2026: Updated solar, wind, EV permit, and EV charging infrastructure data
- Which regions will see job loss from fossil fuel plant and coal mine closures, and how many jobs will be lost?
- New in 2026: Updated plant and mine closure data, other significant job loss related to energy
About the Illinois Economic Development Regions
Illinois’ ten Economic Development Regions were established to implement federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programming. The Economic Development Regions coordinate workforce development activities, service delivery, and resources throughout local areas in the regions. Regions are required to develop regional Economic Development Plans every 4 years to plan for workforce development, education and training, and business growth across the region. Though the CEJA programs are not funded through federal WIOA dollars, clean energy workforce development should ideally be integrated into regions’ larger workforce development and plans. We hope these data packets will help with this integration.
About the Data
The Clean Energy Regional Data Packets were created by staff at the Illinois Climate Jobs Institute, based on a number of different data sources. The packets were last edited February 2026. The Climate Jobs Institute will update the data packets on an annual basis, including more clean energy jobs data as it is available.
The following data sources were used:
- US Energy Employment Report 2025 county data.
- US Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS)
- CEJA Illinois Map for locations of training programs, apprenticeship programs, and employers.
- CEJA list of awarded workforce programs, last updated fall 2025.
- Illinois Community College Board Directory of Programs
- Illinois Board of Higher Education Program Inventory
- Illinois Commerce Commission Certified Solar DG Installers, EV Charging Station Installers, and Energy Efficiency Installers.
- Illinois Shines Project Application Reports
- Labor Union regional maps for key labor unions involved in the clean energy transition
- Clean Energy Manufacturing Data from SEIA Solar and Energy Storage Map, DCEO REV Grantees, Blue-Green Alliance Manufacturing Clean Energy, and NREL Lithium Ionbattery supply chain database.
- Illinois Solar Map for installed and planned solar from fall 2025 (with data from the Illinois Power Agency and US Energy Information Agency). Note that new applications for planned solar are submitted all the time.
- Climate Jobs Institute Electric Power Capacity Map, with data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
- Electric Vehicle Registration Information from Illinois Secretary of State
- Plant and Mine Closure data from Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Questions, corrections, or suggestions? Please reach out to climate-jobs@illinois.edu.
Special Thanks
Multiple CJI staff and research assistants have contributed to these data packets. We thank Abhinav Banthiya, Linda Larsen, Eva Fischer, Peter Fugiel, Johnathan Hettinger, and Bernard Dzamah-Kumah for their contributions to the 2026 revisions. We thank Erin Philips, Anukriti Mehta, and Srirang Sohoni for their contributions to the 2025 version.