Undercutting Clean Energy Means Undercutting Veterans
Tens of thousands of American veterans wake up every morning to go to work in the solar and storage industry. They are construction workers, project managers, and electricians that are continuing their service by building the infrastructure that powers our lives.
Veterans make up 8.2% of the U.S. solar workforce, significantly higher than their share of the national labor force. As Washington continues its seemingly daily attacks on clean energy, the truth is that those attacks are disproportionately hurting veterans.
I’m proud to be one of 23,000 veterans working in the solar and storage industry, but my journey here was not smooth. I was an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2015 to 2021, and one of 6,000 veterans fired in DOGE cuts. In the months that followed, I’ve watched as Washington has systematically attacked our industry in favor of their preferred energy sources.
This Veterans Day, honoring service shouldn’t be rhetorical. If we truly want to value those who served, let’s align our policy with that promise. We can start by building the industries that secure our energy future while preserving the livelihoods of the veterans who build them.
Cancelled projects and broad cuts to federal clean energy programs don’t fall evenly across the economy. They land hardest in an industry where veterans make up a larger share of the workforce. Add that to the thousands of veterans laid off due to federal staffing cuts, and the result is clear: more veterans are out of work and more military families will lose paychecks due to the Administration’s attacks on the solar and storage industry.
Princeton’s ZERO Lab and other studies estimate a roughly $500 billion reduction in clean energy investment through 2035, and Energy Innovation projects up to 760,000 U.S. jobs could be lost by 2030. Because veterans are represented in the clean energy workforce at roughly double their share of the overall U.S. workforce, those modeling projections imply 68,400–76,000 veterans could be affected.
According to SEIA and Wood Mackenzie forecasts, the Trump administration’s anti-clean energy policies could cause the U.S. to lose up to 125 gigawatts of solar deployment between 2025 and 2030. This represents a significant hit to future hiring and manufacturing that will further depress opportunities for veterans in the sector.
The consequences of this administration’s anti-solar policies reach far beyond jobs. Veterans bring mission discipline and leadership to these projects that strengthen America’s energy infrastructure. When we push veterans out of these roles, we don’t just drive-up unemployment data, we hollow out teams that deliver energy security.
Energy security in 2025 means building resilient, homegrown energy systems that can stand up to supply shocks, extreme weather, and interference from hostile actors. But moving away from domestic clean energy and deepening reliance on imported fuel sources creates vulnerability at the hands of foreign suppliers. Look no further than Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which demonstrated how quickly a geopolitical shock can trigger a global energy crisis. Solar has zero fuel cost and much lower price volatility. Investing in abundant, American-made clean energy is not merely an economic or environmental choice, but a core national-security imperative.
The irony is sharp. This administration talks about “American energy dominance” and “energy security” as pillars of national strength. Yet policies that undercut clean energy deployment and simultaneously place tens of thousands of veterans out of work actively weaken our national security. Clean energy is not the enemy of energy security; it is a central component of it, and veterans are core to the workforce building that capability.
We must do better. If we really mean “thank you for your service,” let’s act like it. Lawmakers should protect the domestic clean energy industries that employ and empower veterans. That means sustaining stable, long-term policy signals that attract investment, expanding programs like Solar Ready Vets, and ensuring that veterans have clear, well-supported pathways into solar, storage, and related trades.
Nearly 23,000 American veterans choose to keep serving in solar and storage. The least we can do is make sure our policy choices don’t force them out of the work they’re doing for their country.
Greg Giunta is manager of regulatory affairs and counsel at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). He was an Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps from 2015 to 2021.
