Solar O&M hiring demands broad technical skills with few license mandates
An analysis of 4,525 U.S. solar job listings shows that O&M roles increasingly require diverse technical skills across electrical, mechanical, and digital domains. Despite this complexity, only 9% of postings strictly mandate an electrician license, with most treating it as preferred or state-dependent.
The study, attributed to Solar Roles, examined 4,525 job listings captured between 2020 and 2026. Researchers grouped these postings into 387 distinct text clusters to identify recurring skill demands within the operations and maintenance sector.
The findings indicate that electrical proficiency is a near-universal expectation for these roles. Electrical skills appeared in 84% of the analyzed O&M job descriptions. However, despite this high frequency of technical skill requirements, formal licensure remains less common. Only 9% of the postings listed an electrician license as a strict condition of employment.
Tightening Labor Market
According to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) National Solar Jobs Census, operations and maintenance stood out in 2024 as the sole solar subsector experiencing deteriorating hiring conditions. In that year, 23% of O&M employers reported severe difficulty in finding qualified workers. These employers identified a lack of experience, training, or technical skills as the primary barrier to filling positions.
Utility-scale plant maintenance postings prioritized mechanical systems in 70% of cases, compared to just 22% for service roles. Similarly, high or medium voltage requirements appeared in 41% of utility-scale maintenance listings versus 11% for service postings. In contrast, distributed or residential service postings emphasized battery storage in 55% of cases, up from 30% for maintenance roles. Service positions also leaned more heavily on digital software tools, cited in 69% of postings compared to 53% for maintenance.
According to the Solar Roles dataset, 64% of O&M job postings require travel, while 43% call for a valid driver's license.
Diverse Skill Requirements
Postings in the O&M job archive increased from 5.8% between 2020 and 2022 to 12.2% between 2024 and 2026. Specifically, three out of four postings mentioned at least three distinct skill areas, while 61.5% of analyzed posting groups included at least four out of seven core technical domains.
| Skill Area | Percentage of Postings |
|---|---|
| Safety procedures (LOTO) | 68% |
| Digital tools and software | 63% |
| Inverter experience | 56% |
| Mechanical system skills | 44% |
| Battery and energy storage | 43% |
| High and medium voltage | 26% |
Safety protocols remain the most frequent requirement, with lock-out/tag-out compliance cited in 68% of listings.
Licensing and Role Specifics
- Of the 387 posting groups, 148 included electrician licenses, yet just 36 groups (9% of total postings) made this license a mandatory condition.
- Licensure was cited as a preferred qualification in another 72 groups, while 36 groups indicated that licensing requirements varied depending on the state where the work took place.
- One Palmetto job ad for a Solar Field Service Technician stated that an electrical license was necessary only for Massachusetts assignments, noting it was a plus in other locations.
- An Onward Energy role for a Solar Operations & Maintenance Technician II assigned one worker to oversee PV plant operations via SCADA systems, alongside commissioning, testing, inspecting, troubleshooting, repairing, and modifying AC and DC systems.
- These systems included solar arrays, inverters, transformers, switchgear, trackers, and metering equipment.
- The Solar Roles dataset indicates that 48% of O&M job postings require heavy lifting, while 40% demand the capability to work at elevated heights.
Source: pv magazine USA. This article is an original Luminity report based on the linked source.