The energy transition isn't just changing how America makes power. It is also changing where America signs paychecks.

On June 29, Hitachi Energy broke ground on a $457 million expansion of its South Boston, Virginia campus, the next phase of building the nation's largest facility for producing large power transformers, the massive machines every substation, data center, and transmission line depends on. The project will bring about 825 new jobs to Halifax County, nearly doubling a workforce of roughly 850 that has been making transformers on that site since 1968.

The hottest jobs program in America right now may be the electric grid itself.

Governor Abigail Spanberger, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and Congressman John McGuire all showed up for the groundbreaking, a signal of how central grid manufacturing has become to state economic development strategy. The expansion is the cornerstone of Hitachi Energy's more than $1 billion investment in U.S. grid equipment manufacturing.

Why Transformers, Why Now

Large power transformers are among the most supply-constrained components in the entire energy system. Wait times stretch years, and nearly all large units have historically been imported. As AI data centers, electrification, and manufacturing reshoring push electricity demand to record highs, domestic transformer capacity has become a national priority and a hiring boom for the regions that land the factories.

What the Jobs Look Like

These are long-term careers in advanced manufacturing and operations: winders, machinists, welders, electrical technicians, quality engineers, and plant operations staff. Hitachi Energy says the expanded campus is being designed around the workforce, with plans that include an on-site health clinic, fitness facilities, and a new cafeteria. Those are the kind of amenities that signal a company planning to retain people for decades, not quarters.

The Bigger Picture

South Boston isn't an outlier. Grid equipment makers, battery plants, and energy manufacturers have been announcing factory investments across the Southeast and Midwest, frequently in rural counties where 800 jobs transform a local economy. The U.S. Department of Energy has reported clean energy jobs growing at more than twice the rate of overall U.S. employment.

The Bottom Line

For job seekers, the message is simple: the grid buildout is hiring, and not just for engineers. Watch the counties landing these plants. The openings span skilled trades, operations, and logistics, and they come with the stability of an industry that will be building for the next 25 years.

Sources: Hitachi Energy press release, U.S. Department of Energy