Looking at how Renewable Energy will be providing employment opportunities in India and around the world.
Words by: Vandana Devi
Photographs from: Various sources
There is no doubt about the fact that Renewable Energy is the way forward – to ensure sustainable living, reduce carbon emissions and so on. And as noble and adequate a reason that is to turn to eco-friendly energy sources, there is also an added advantage that this is very positive for the economy – especially the job market. India continues to have a rising rate of unemployment and any such employment opportunities is good news for the country.
Employment opportunities in India’s renewable energy sector will double by 2022, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). IRENA estimates say that employment in India’s renewable energy sector has increased from 48,000 jobs in 2015 to 60,500 jobs in 2016. And globally there is an increase of about 2.8% in jobs provided in this sector. This means that around 9.8 million people were directly or indirectly employed in this sector in 2016.
Around the world, China, Brazil, US, Japan, India and Germany account for most number of renewable energy jobs. Asia tops the charts with 62% of the total jobs in 2016 being accounted for by Asian Countries like India and China. While 81% of these jobs are temporary, in construction etc, around 16% would be skilled and permanent.
Solar photovoltaic was the largest employer in 2016 with 3.1 million jobs being offered. New wind installation provided 1.2 million jobs and biofuels accounted for 1.7 million jobs around the world. India has 5.7% of all the people employed in the renewable energy sector worldwide. In India, utility and park scale photovoltaic projects can create 58,000 direct jobs. 183,500 additional jobs can also be created in the Wind energy sector. And so, the renewable energy sector could become a major deterrent of unemployment in the country,