According to the report titled “Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2024” released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 347 GigaWatts (GW) of photovoltaic (PV) capacity were added to power generation globally in 2023. This marks an increase of 74% compared to 2022.
- This makes the year 2023 as a record-breaking year for solar power generation.
Points to note:
i.As per the report, China constituted 63% (216.9 GW) of the new PV capacities added in year 2023.
ii.The cumulative contribution of the rest of the top 10 installers i.e. the United States of America (USA), Germany, Brazil, India, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Australia, to new capacities was 83.4 GW.
iii.2023 witnessed the largest ever increase in jobs in renewable energy (RE) sector i.e. from 13.7 million (in 2022) to 16.2 million (in 2023).
About Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2024:
i.It is the 11th edition of the report which is released annually by the IRENA and also the 4th edition developed in partnership with ILO.
ii.The report provides a comprehensive analysis of employment trends within the RE sector.
iii.It evaluates the global landscape of RE technologies and examines the employment across various countries, including India.
iv.The report provides the wider analysis of the socio-economic effects of a renewable energy-based transition such as: job creation, the development of local capacities, participation of women in RE sector, and education and training opportunities.
v.The report also consider the impact of renewable energy pathways on jobs, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and overall human welfare, with estimates up to 2050.
Key Findings:
i.Top 5 countries which generated maximum jobs in RE sector: China (7.4 million jobs), the European Union (EU) (1.8 million); Brazil (1.56 million); Brazil (1.56 million); the USA and India both close to 1 million jobs each.
ii.The report highlighted that European countries like: Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands added over 54 GW in solar PV in 2023, which saw an increase of 25% compared to 2022.
- Also, the USA alone added 25 GW of new capacities in 2023, an increase of 30% compared to the previous year.
iii.According to the report, solar PV factories in Southeast Asian region have emerged as an import export hub. Currently, India is the 3rd largest manufacturer after China and Southeast Asian countries.
iv.Globally, 7.1 million jobs were created in solar PV in 2023(increased significantly from 4.9 million in 2022), which accounted 44% of the world’s total RE workforce.
- Among the top 10 countries generated employment in solar PV in 2023, 4 are in Asia, 3 are in Europe, 2 in the Americas and 1 in Oceania.
- The combined employment generated by top 10 countries in solar PV have added up to 6.2 million jobs, accounting nearly 66% of the global total jobs in solar PV.
v.China accounted nearly 65% of global PV employment in 2023 i.e. some 4.6 million jobs, followed by Europe (over 7.57 lakh PV jobs in 2023), India( more than 3.18 solar jobs), and the USA (close to 2.80 lakh PV jobs) and Brazil (2.64 lakh jobs).
Other RE Sectors Generated Employment in 2023:
i.After Solar PV, Liquid Biofuels with 2.8 million jobs, emerged as the 2nd largest employer in the RE sector globally in 2023, followed by Hydropower (2.3 million) and Wind Power sector (1.5 million).
- Brazil topped among the countries which generated maximum jobs in biofuel sector, accounting for 9.94 lakh jobs, followed by Indonesia ( approximately 8 lakh jobs).
ii.The report revealed that number of direct jobs estimated for hydropower sector have decreased from 2.5 million (in 2022) to 2.3 million (in 2023).
- As per the report, Brazil, China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam were the largest employers in hydropower sector.
iii.China emerged as the largest employer in the wind power sector with 7.45 lakh jobs which accounted 52% of global total of jobs in this sector, followed by Europe (3.16 lakh jobs).
iv.As per the report, Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) is critical for providing clean, reliable and affordable energy to remote communities.
- The report has estimated that 3.07 lakh people were directly employed in DRE in 2023 across countries like: India, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
India-Specific:
i.The report has estimated that 1.02 million jobs were created in RE in 2023.
ii.According to the report, Hydropower has emerged as the largest employer in the RE sector in India. It has generated around 4.53 lakh jobs in hydropower, which accounted 20% of the global total, 2nd after China.
iii.India has employed about 3,18,600 people in the solar PV sector, including both on-grid and off-grid systems.
- The report revealed that 2.38 lakh peopled worked in grid-connected solar PV (an 18% increase from 2022) and around 80,000 people worked in the off-grid solar sector.
iv.As per the report, India added 9.7 GW of solar PV capacity in 2023. It has been ranked at 5th position globally for new solar installations and cumulative capacity of India in solar energy, which reached 72.7 GW by the end of 2023.
v.The report has projected that India’s operational module manufacturing capacity will increase to 58 GW in 2024, from the capacity of 46 GW in 2023.
- It has also estimated that cell manufacturing capacity of India will increase from 26 GW (in 2023) to 32 GW (in 2024). Thus, making India the world’s 2nd largest manufacturer of solar PV after China.
vi.The report revealed that India had cumulative installed wind power capacity of 44.7 GW in 2023 and ranked at 4th position globally. India added wind capacity of 2.8 GW in 2023 after the 5 years of slower growth.
vii.The wind sector in India provided employment to nearly 52,200 people in 2023, of which 40% in operations and maintenance and 35% in construction and installation.
viii.Other RE sectors in India which provided employment in 2023: Liquid Biofuels (35,000); solid biomass (58,000); solar heating and cooling sector (17,000).
About International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA):
Director-General (DG)- Francesco La Camera
Headquarters- Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Established- 2011
About International Labour Organisation (ILO):
Director-General (DG) – Gilbert Houngbo
Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland
Member nations– 187
Established– 1919
