They believe that solar could support nearly 6,000 jobs in Illinois. Less than 4,000 people are employed in mining Illinois coal.
With the lack of federal action, some of the most important progress is happening at the state level. Their analysis grades state solar policies and gives Illinois an A. I assume that's because solar was added to that Illinois' renewable energy portfolio standard that environmental groups advocated. Because the solar portion of the standard won't kick in for several more years, the industry is only beginning to rise in Illinois.
If you're wondering what's going to happen to Illinois' fleet of obsolete coal plants, check out this Washington Post article, which provides a good summary of the likely road ahead. It covers a Congressional Research Office study that offers a more reliable analysis than the hysteria we predictably hear from the coal industry about every proposed regulation. New EPA regulation of coal, plus incentives for renewable energy, are the current Plan-B for dealing with climate change since the Senate refused to vote on cap-and-trade.
We'll hear more shouting about jobs from the coal industry as they fight the transition to new energy sources. It's important to remember that the alternatives to coal will likely provide more jobs than we get from the world's deadliest power source.