Renewables Create 9.8m Jobs Globally

More than 9.8 million people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2016.

This is according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.

“Falling costs and enabling policies have steadily driven up investment and employment in renewable energy worldwide since IRENA’s first annual assessment in 2012, when just over five million people were working in the sector,” says IRENA director-general Adnan Amin.

“In the last four years, for instance, the number of jobs in the solar and wind sectors combined has more than doubled.”

While the South African renewable energy industry has largely been hailed as a success story, there are fears government is looking to prioritise nuclear energy in the country’s energy mix.

According to industry body, the South African Renewable Energy Council, the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme has created over 26 000 jobs in just four years.

However, the local renewable energy industry is facing uncertainty following delays by Eskom and the Department of Energy to sign new power purchase agreements. Amid the impasse, the City of Cape Town is championing the use of green energy.

In Africa, IRENA says utility-scale renewable energy developments have made great strides, with SA and North Africa accounting for three-quarters of the continent’s 62 000 renewable jobs.

“In some African countries, with the right resources and infrastructure, we are seeing jobs emerge in manufacturing and installation for utility-scale projects,” says Rabia Ferroukhi, head of IRENA’s policy unit and deputy director of knowledge, policy and finance.

“For much of the continent, however, distributed renewables, like off-grid solar, are bringing energy access and economic development. These off-grid mini-grid solutions are giving communities the chance to leap-frog traditional electricity infrastructure development and create new jobs in the process,” notes Ferroukhi.

“Renewables are directly supporting broader socio-economic objectives, with employment creation increasingly recognised as a central component of the global energy transition. As the scales continue to tip in favour of renewables, we expect that the number of people working in the renewables sector could reach 24 million by 2030, more than offsetting fossil-fuel job losses and becoming a major economic driver around the world,” Amin adds.

The Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2017, released at IRENA’s 13th Council meeting, shows global renewable energy employment, excluding large hydropower, reached eight million in 2016.

When accounting for direct employment in large hydropower, the total number of renewable energy jobs globally climbs to 9.8 million.

China, Brazil, the US, India, Japan and Germany accounted for most of the renewable energy jobs. In China, for example, 3.64 million people worked in renewables in 2016, a rise of 3.4%.

The report shows solar photovoltaic was the largest employer in 2016, with 3.1 million jobs – up 12% from 2015 – mainly in China, the US and India. In the US, jobs in the solar industry increased 17 times faster than the overall economy, growing 24.5% from the previous year to over 260 000.

New wind installations contributed to a 7% increase in global wind employment, raising it to 1.2 million jobs, the report says.

Brazil, China, the US and India also proved to be key bioenergy job markets, with biofuels accounting for 1.7 million jobs, biomass 700 000, and biogas 300 000.

“IRENA has provided this year a more complete picture on the state of employment in the renewables sector by including large hydropower data. It is important to recognise these additional 1.5 million working people, as they represent the largest renewable energy technology by installed capacity,” says Ferroukhi.

The report finds that globally, 62% of the jobs are located in Asia. Installation and manufacturing jobs continue to shift to the region, particularly Malaysia and Thailand, which has become a global centre for solar PV fabrication.