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Asia leads renewables employment boom

The renewable energy industry created more than 500,000 jobs globally last year – a 5.3% increase on 2016 – according to new figures in the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA’s) Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review. This brings the total number of sector jobs to a record 10.3mn – with 60% based in Asia, according to the report.

Among the largest renewable energy employers are China, Brazil, India, Germany, Japan and the US, which account for more than 70% of all industry jobs globally. Whilst a growing number of countries have increased employment opportunities across the renewables market, the bulk of manufacturing jobs – 60% – are based in Asia.

The solar PV sector was the biggest industry employer last year, accounting for nearly 3.4mn jobs – up almost 9% from 2016, following a record 96 GW of installations last year. China accounts for an estimated two-thirds of PV jobs – totalling 2.2mn – a 13% expansion from the previous year. Japan and the US were the second and third largest solar PV employers, despite a slight dip in both countries’ solar markets. Rounding off the top five –which account for 90% of solar PV jobs globally – are India and Bangladesh.

The wind industry also experienced growth last year, to reach a total of 1.15mn jobs worldwide. China accounted for 44% of global wind employment, followed by Europe and North America with 30% and 10% respectively.

Adnan Z Amin, Director-General of IRENA, said: ‘The data also underscores an increasingly regionalised picture, highlighting that in countries where attractive policies exist, the economic, social and environmental benefits of renewable energy are most evident. Fundamentally, this data supports our analysis that decarbonisation of the global energy system can grow the global economy and create up to 28mn jobs in the sector by 2050.’

News Item details


Journal title: Energy World

Subjects: Renewables, Solar power, Photovoltaics, Employment, Energy markets

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