The number of jobs in the solar business grew 12 times faster than overall job creation in the U.S. last year and outpaced those in the oil and gas sector.

According to the latest data by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the overall clean energy sector (excluding hydropower) employed 8.1 million people worldwide in 2015, up from 7.7 million in the previous year. IRENA expects worldwide jobs to reach 24 million by 2030.

For a deeper dive: Guardian, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Phys.org