South Dakota clean-energy jobs: 11,282 workers (2024)
Largest sector in South Dakota: Energy Efficiency with 7,898 workers (national rank #45).
Where South Dakota’s clean-energy jobs sit across 8 sectors
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 7,898 | #45 |
| Wind | 1,831 | #18 |
| Solar | 743 | #46 |
| Storage & Grid | 340 | #43 |
| Electric Vehicles | 327 | #40 |
| Clean Fuels | 79 | #43 |
| Hydropower | 65 | #48 |
Employer-reported hiring difficulty in South Dakota
Did not hire
49.1%
Somewhat difficult hiring
29.0%
Very difficult hiring
14.7%
Not at all difficult hiring
7.2%
NAICS industry mix for South Dakota clean-energy jobs
Construction
9,080
Manufacturing
5,860
Trade
5,444
Other Services
3,922
Utilities
2,008
Professional Services
1,638
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows
955
Agriculture and Forestry
622
Mining and Extraction
65
South Dakota’s electric-power generation workforce by fuel type
Wind
1,831
Solar
743
Other electricity
632
Natural gas electricity
244
Bioenergy/Combined heat and power
178
Coal electricity
84
Traditional hydropower
65
Low impact hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetics
32
Oil and other fossil fuel electricity
21
Geothermal electricity
20
Full USEER workbook line items for South Dakota
Fuels
| Fuels total | 3,360 |
| Corn ethanol | 1,652 |
| Oil (petroleum and other fossil fuels) | 1,214 |
| Other fuels | 128 |
| Other ethanol and non-woody biomass | 115 |
| Natural gas fuels | 84 |
| Woody biomass | 80 |
| Other biofuels | 79 |
| Nuclear fuels | 5 |
| Coal fuels | 3 |
Electric Power Generation
| Electric power generation total | 3,851 |
| Wind | 1,831 |
| Solar | 743 |
| Other electricity | 632 |
| Natural gas electricity | 244 |
| Bioenergy/Combined heat and power | 178 |
| Coal electricity | 84 |
| Traditional hydropower | 65 |
| Low impact hydropower, marine, and hydrokinetics | 32 |
| Oil and other fossil fuel electricity | 21 |
| Geothermal electricity | 20 |
Transmission, Distribution & Storage
| Transmission, distribution, and storage total | 4,631 |
| Traditional transmission and distribution | 3,523 |
| Other (including commodity flows) | 565 |
| Storage | 340 |
| Other grid modernization | 78 |
| Smart grid | 63 |
| Micro grid | 61 |
Energy Efficiency
| Energy efficiency total | 7,898 |
| Traditional HVAC with an efficiency component | 2,194 |
| High efficiency HVAC and renewable heating and cooling | 2,109 |
| Other | 1,639 |
| Certified and efficient lighting | 1,152 |
| Advanced materials | 803 |
Motor Vehicles
| Motor vehicle total | 9,855 |
| Gasoline and diesel vehicles | 7,318 |
| Other vehicles | 807 |
| Motor vehicle commodity flows | 562 |
| Hybrid electric vehicles | 503 |
| Battery electric vehicles | 327 |
| Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles | 230 |
| Hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles | 57 |
| Natural gas vehicles | 51 |
By NAICS Industry
| Construction | 9,080 |
| Manufacturing | 5,860 |
| Trade | 5,444 |
| Other Services | 3,922 |
| Utilities | 2,008 |
| Professional Services | 1,638 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 955 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 622 |
| Mining and Extraction | 65 |