You have solar installs to staff and wind sites to crew. The work is growing fast. But the local applicant pool is thin. The people who show up often quit by week three. Heights, weather, early starts, and travel weed them out fast.

Veterans do not blink at any of that. They have worked at height. They have worked in bad weather. They have followed lockout steps and safety briefs every single day. That is the kind of worker a solar or wind crew needs.

This guide shows you how to hire veterans for renewable and clean energy roles. It covers solar install, wind turbine techs, and field operations and maintenance. You will see which military jobs map to the work, where to find these people, and how to read a military resume so a strong candidate does not slip past your screen.

Why are veterans a strong fit for solar and wind work?

Renewable energy work is hard on the body and the schedule. Solar crews work on rooftops and in open fields. Wind techs climb 300 feet up a tower. Sites are often far from town. Shifts start before sunrise. Weather does not stop the job.

This is the part that breaks most new civilian hires. It is also the part veterans handle without drama.

Military work built these habits in already. A deployment meant long days far from home. Field work meant heat, cold, and rain. Safety was not a poster on the wall. It was a brief before every task. Veterans show up, follow the steps, and finish the job.

There is a safety side too. Solar and wind both run on strict procedures. Lockout and tagout. Fall protection. Confined space rules for nacelles and inverter rooms. Veterans already think this way. The military runs on checklists for a reason. A worker who treats safety as routine is worth a lot on a renewable site.

The market backs this up. The veteran unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are people who want to work. They just need an employer who can read what they did and put them in the right seat.

What solar and wind roles can veterans fill?

Renewable energy is not one job. It is a set of roles across the life of a project. A veteran can fit at almost every stage. Here is how the work breaks down.

Solar installation and construction

This is the build phase. Crews mount racking, set panels, run conduit, and wire arrays. Roles include solar installer, panel setter, and crew lead. The work is physical and weather-bound. It rewards people who can follow a plan and keep a crew moving. Combat engineers, construction MOS holders, and field electricians slot in fast here.

Wind turbine technician

Wind techs install, service, and repair turbines. They climb the tower, work inside the nacelle, and troubleshoot the gearbox, generator, and control systems. It blends mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic skills in one job. Aircraft mechanics, shipboard engineers, and power gen repairers map almost one to one.

Operations and maintenance

Once a solar farm or wind site is live, it needs O and M crews. They run inspections, swap parts, fix faults, and keep output high. This is steady, year-round work. Veterans who ran maintenance shops or fixed gear under pressure thrive here. The mindset is the same: keep the equipment up.

Battery storage and field operations

Battery energy storage is the newest growth area. Sites pair solar or wind with large battery banks. These need electrical techs and field operators who can handle high-voltage systems safely. Navy and Air Force electrical jobs prepare people well for this work.

Which military backgrounds map to renewable energy?

The codes look strange at first. But the skills underneath line up with solar and wind work. Read the duties, not the title. Here are the backgrounds that fit best.

• Electricians and electrical systems: They wire, test, and fix electrical systems. This is core to both solar and wind. Army 12R Interior Electrician and Navy Electrician's Mate are strong matches.
• Power production and generation: They run and repair power gear in the field. That is close cousin work to renewable O and M. Air Force 3E0X2 Electrical Power Production and Army 91D Power Generation Equipment Repairer fit here.
• High-voltage and prime power: Some military jobs run large power systems. Army 12P Prime Power Production Specialist works on high-voltage gear most civilians never touch. That is gold for battery storage and substation work.
• Electrical systems and facilities: Air Force 3E0X1 Electrical Systems handles building and site power. The skills carry over to install and O and M.
• Aircraft and ship mechanics: Wind techs need mechanical skill at height. Aviation mechanics and shipboard engineers have both.
• Construction and combat engineers: They build in the field under deadline. Solar construction crews want exactly this.

Treat this as a starting point, not a hard rule. Two people with the same code can have very different skills. A 91D who ran a generator shop is different from one who turned wrenches for two years. Read what they actually did.

One pool to flag: Navy and Air Force electrical and power jobs. These people often hold real high-voltage and electrical experience before age 25. For battery storage and substation roles, that is a rare find in the civilian market.

Where do you find veterans for renewable energy jobs?

The talent is out there. You just need to source where they are. A few channels work better than a generic job post.

Start with the program built for this exact need. The Department of Energy funded the Solar Ready Vets Network. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council ran it. Partners included the Solar Energy Industries Association and Hiring Our Heroes. It trained veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses for solar careers. That federal funding ended in late 2025, so the active employer pipeline is closed. The training tools it built are still online. Hiring Our Heroes also runs no-cost fellowship programs that fill a similar sourcing role.

SkillBridge is your second channel. It lets active-duty members work at your company during their last months of service, while the military still pays them. You get a months-long working tryout at no payroll cost. For a wind or solar firm, that is a low-risk way to test fit before you hire. Learn how to set this up in our guide on hiring service members before they separate.

You can also post where veterans look. Base transition offices and American Job Centers reach people leaving service now. See our guide on where to post jobs to reach veteran candidates for the full list.

One more pool worth knowing. Best Military Resume adds over 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and more than 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform. Many already list electrical, power, mechanical, and field backgrounds. You can reach this pool directly through our employer hiring program. It is a fast way for a midsize firm to source without building a full veteran hiring program first.

How do you handle the certification gap?

One thing trips up most renewable employers. A veteran electrician is skilled. But skill is not the same as a civilian certification. Solar and wind both have gates.

Solar installers often need or benefit from a NABCEP credential. Wind techs need GWO safety training, the standard for working at height on turbines. Both fields want an OSHA card. Most veterans do not show up with these. Their military training did not hand them the civilian paper.

Do not let that stop you. The skill is there. The credential is a short step, not a wall. Handle it in three moves.

How do you read a military resume and interview for fit?

The biggest hiring mistake is screening a veteran out for the wrong reason. The codes look foreign. The phrasing is humble. A good candidate gets passed over because the resume was read at face value.

Read the duties, not the code. A line like "maintained shipboard electrical distribution" tells you more than the rating ever will. Look for what the person ran, fixed, and was trusted with. That is the signal. Our guide on mapping military career fields to your open reqs walks through this in depth.

Watch for understatement. Military culture trains people to credit the team, not themselves. A vet might write "assisted with" a job they actually led. In the interview, dig. Ask what they personally did. Ask how big the system was. Ask what broke and how they fixed it. The real story comes out fast.

Run a practical test if you can. Renewable work is hands-on. A short shop task or a walk through a real fault tells you more than ten interview questions. Veterans tend to shine the moment the task gets real. Talking is not their strength. Doing the work is.

What does it cost and what is the payoff?

The labor market for renewable energy is tight and getting tighter. That is why a veteran pipeline pays off.

Solar photovoltaic installers earned a median of $51,860 in May 2024, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. The field is projected to grow 42 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 4,100 openings each year. Wind turbine service technicians earned a median of $62,580 in May 2024, per the BLS, and the job is projected to grow about 50 percent over the same decade. Both rank among the fastest-growing jobs in the country.

Fast growth means a thin pool and a bidding war for skilled hands. Veterans give you a fresh supply that other employers overlook. They show up ready for the height, the weather, and the safety rules. They tend to stay. That cuts your turnover and your retraining cost.

There may be a tax credit too, but check the status first. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit has long given employers a credit for hiring certain veterans. It lapsed at the end of 2025 and has not been reauthorized as of mid-2026. Bills to extend it are pending in Congress. The credit has been renewed retroactively many times before, so many employers keep filing the paperwork during a lapse. Do not bake a fixed credit amount into your budget right now. Read the current details in our WOTC employer guide, and confirm the latest status with the Department of Labor.

How do you start hiring veterans for renewable energy?

You do not need a giant veteran hiring program to begin. You need one open req and a willingness to read a military resume the right way.

Pick a role you are struggling to fill. Map it to the military backgrounds above. Source through SkillBridge, Hiring Our Heroes fellowships, or a veteran talent pool. Read the duties, test the hands, and plan the cert step into the offer. That is the whole play.

The growth in solar and wind is not slowing down. The employers who build a veteran pipeline now will have crews while everyone else fights over the same thin civilian pool. Veterans are ready for this work. They just need a company that can see it.

If you want a direct line to veteran candidates with electrical, power, and mechanical backgrounds, hire through Best Military Resume. Over 1,000 new veteran profiles join every month. We can help you reach the right people for your solar and wind roles.

For more on adjacent fields, see our guides on recruiting veterans for skilled trades and field operations and hiring veterans for construction roles.