NORTH CAROLINA — Just as the sun was setting over Uptown Charlotte, Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis met with Dr. Matt Miller who leads the Sustainability Technologies program at Central Piedmont Community College.
Dr. Miller teaches hands-on classes, preparing students for some of the most in-demand jobs out there right now.
Wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic, or solar panel installers, top the list of fastest-growing occupations through 2033, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We’re seeing it grow because it takes relatively little time to design and implement, say, a solar farm, whereas coal-fired power plant, it may take 10 years to the permitting, and the cost is next to nothing compared to traditional energy sources,” Dr. Miller told Channel 9. “And there’s no pollution, right? There’s no pollution with solar, wind energy.”
The U.S. Department of Energy says renewable energy generates over 20 percent of all U.S. electricity.
In 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasted solar power generation to increase by 75 percent through 2025, and wind by 11 percent.
Here in the Carolinas, Dr. Miller said the solar field in particular is booming.
“I always tell my students that there are two shades of green, even if you do not care about the environment, you cannot argue with the amount of money that it saves and generates in the electrical industry,” Dr. Miller explained.
One of those former students is Amanda Smith who met with Channel 9 at a solar plant in Lincolnton.
“This a 16-Megawatt AC solar plant, about 20 acres, that we’re standing on right now,” Smith said.
She’s a senior director at Pine Gate Renewables, which develops, owns, and operates solar plants like the one in Lincolnton.
“I decided in my early 30s that I wanted to go back to school,” Smith said.
So, she found herself in Dr. Miller’s program.
“Solar jobs themselves, they’re open to people with different technical skills. So many different levels of skills, as well as educational backgrounds,” Smith said.
And Smith said there’s a tremendous opportunity for career advancement.
“I think, a lot quicker than you might see in other industries, being that we are still a relatively new industry,” Smith said.
The median pay for a wind turbine technician is over $61,000 per year – for a solar panel installer, close to $49,000 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Dr. Miller said the demand is so high, his students are getting offers before they even graduate.
“They really need people to sustain the renewable energy boom,” Dr. Miller explained.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to get into this field, to be a part of this growth,” Smith said.
Central Piedmont isn’t the only school offering these programs.
The following institutions that have programs include UNC Charlotte, Queens University, Johnson C. Smith University, and Catawba Valley Community College.
WATCH BELOW: First solar-powered Domino’s opens in Clover
©2025 Cox Media Group
