Hispanic communities do not just rely on the energy system. They help build it. From generation and pipelines to network, construction and maintenance, Hispanic workers are a core part of the energy workforce that keeps homes powered, businesses running and communities safe. That contribution matters even more today as the United States prepares for a major wave of new electricity demand driven by AI and the rapid growth of data centers.
According to the 2024 United States Energy and Employment Report, Hispanic workers make up about 1.5 million energy workers, or 18% of the total energy workforce. Even more notably, Hispanic workers held about 32% of new energy jobs created in 2023, and 33% of new clean energy jobs. This added roughly 79,000 workers in just one year. This is real momentum.
At the same time, Hispanic workers are a major force in the skilled trades that large infrastructure projects depend on. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that Hispanic individuals accounted for about 19% of total employment, and they are strongly represented in several construction occupations, including construction laborers and carpenters. These roles are directly connected to the next big buildout: new data centers and the energy infrastructure needed to serve them.
Why AI data centers are becoming an energy jobs story
Data centers are large and power intensive buildings that need land, electricians, welders, HVAC specialists, equipment operators, network technicians, security staff and ongoing operations teams. They also drive investment outside the building footprint, which includes substations, transmission upgrades and new generation to keep the grid reliable.
The scale of data centers is constantly accelerating. A Pew Research Center analysis, which draws on International Energy Agency estimates, found that U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt hours of electricity in 2024, more than 4% of total U.S. electricity use. This number could even double by 2030 under a conservative scenario. That growth is already reshaping where energy investment goes and where jobs will follow.
What this could mean for Hispanic workers and families
If states and communities plan well, data center development can open doors to stable careers of Hispanic workers across multiple layers of the economy.
A Consumer Energy Alliance data center toolkit compiled with regional economic analysis estimates that a one-gigawatt data center can be associated with tens of thousands of temporary jobs during construction and thousands of ongoing jobs, along with hundreds of millions in labor income, when direct, indirect and induced impacts are included. The same toolkit points to local fiscal benefits in major data center markets and uses Loudoun County, Virginia, as an example of significant local revenue, including funding tied to schools.
For Hispanic families facing higher energy burdens, good jobs are not a side benefit. They are part of what economic resilience looks like. National research from ACEEE finds that Hispanic households face higher average energy burdens than the overall average. Expanding access to middle class careers in energy, construction and data center operations can help households better manage the cost pressures that energy bills create.
Protecting communities as growth accelerates
Workforce opportunity should not come at the expense of the very households these projects are built around. As data centers drive new demand, community focused planning matters, and includes fair cost allocation so families are not left paying for infrastructure built primarily to serve very large customers. The data center toolkit discusses approaches, like requiring large load customers to provide upfront commitments and structuring investments so risks and costs are not shifted onto other ratepayers.
Hispanic workers are already helping power America’s energy economy. With the right training pipelines, inclusive hiring and consumer protections, the next wave of AI data center growth can become a real opportunity story, more career pathways, more local investment and more stability for the families who have long carried a disproportionate energy burden.
