Does Renewable Energy Create Jobs ?

In 2016, the renewable energy sector employed about 9.8 million people, which is a 1.1% increase compared to 2015. Moreover, the solar power industry alone generated twice more workplaces than the coal or oil industry combined.

Most of the fossil fuel jobs in extraction or other supportive activities have been declining since 2012 when gas and oil industry reached their peak. Therefore, people are looking for new opportunities and along comes renewable energy registering a 12% faster growth than the US economy.

Today, jobs in clean energy become more available and well-paid because, according to European Defence Fund (EDF), solar energy supply companies are able to offer more jobs per dollar invested. It develops 12 times faster than the whole US economy.

The main reason for such growth is the economic indicators. Businesses have realised that sustainable development is key to success, long-term performance, and investment. Besides that, the prices on solar and wind products have dropped—making it more affordable.

In the following video you can visualise some practical data and opportunities that the green energy sector is offering. Watch it here and learn something new:

The Great Powers such as US, China, and Germany are pushing for renewables, which made them launch a plan to reduce the global gas emissions by 40%. It will include building factories generating clean energy that would require creating 430,000 additional jobs.

For example, the wind power is looking for specialists in manufacturing, project development, and construction and turbine installation; financial services, transportation and logistics, and maintenance and operations. The local governments have built more than 500 factories that will also require a work force.

Other technologies do not fall behind and in 2009, the hydroelectric power industry created 250,000 jobs. The solar power sector employed around 100,000 people while the geothermal industry hired 5,200 people to perform their activities.

The increasing investments in the renewable energy sector has the potential to provide more jobs than any other fossil fuel industry. Local businesses and renewable industries will benefit from this change as their income will increase significantly.

The benefits of shifting to renewable energy are clear-cut and for this reason the governments should react positively towards the transition to clean energy.