In an interview with Fortune, SunEdison Chief Executive Jim Cramer noted that solar job opportunities are up in the US, with the job market “still a lot of work to be done.”
He said the solar industry is “the future” of the US energy industry, and that the country’s jobs are on the rise, “not necessarily in terms of hiring but in terms in terms [of] hiring new people.”
He continued: I think the solar jobs are still a lot on the upswing, they’re still very high, but the job-market for solar has been on the downswing for a number of years now.
That’s a result of a number things, but probably the most important one is that, in a lot.
So solar companies that are not very well-run and that are very heavily reliant on government subsidies are struggling to find new jobs.
Solar companies that have been able to compete are not necessarily having the same success as those companies that were not successful, he said.
Cramer went on to say that “most” of SunEdisons business is driven by solar power, adding that the company is working on solar infrastructure.
However, the company has “some challenges” on that front, and it’s “not good news” for the solar companies in particular.
He said SunEdations focus is on solar energy technology and deployment, which will continue.
Cramers comments echo those of several other companies, including those from NRG Energy, which recently said that it would invest $1 billion to develop a solar plant in Texas.
However the company also noted that “a large amount of investment” would have to come from private capital.
NRG also noted the solar plants are “not going to be ready” for some time, and the company’s investment in the Texas plant will be phased out over the next three years.
NR G also said that its solar portfolio has “a long way to go” and has not seen a meaningful increase in solar jobs since 2009.
NRGs own portfolio includes more than 10,000 MW of solar energy projects across the United States.
The company also said it is currently “making significant progress” on solar installation in the United Kingdom, which has more than 7,000 solar installations, and plans to double the number of installations in the UK over the coming years.
In addition, NRG said that there are “more than 20,000” solar jobs across the US.
But Cramer and other analysts noted that the United states energy industry is still struggling with the cost of solar panels and related equipment, and said that SunEdys “Solar Industry Outlook” is “an incomplete view.”