While many industries are facing uncertainty, the renewable energy sector is emerging as a powerful engine of economic opportunity, with 13.7 million people employed globally in 2022 and one in five new jobs worldwide coming from this dynamic field.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the global renewable energy sector directly and indirectly employed 13.7 million people, representing a 6% increase from 2021
- Renewables accounted for 1 in 5 new jobs created worldwide in 2022 with 13.7 million total jobs
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) jobs reached 4.3 million globally in 2022, up 8% from the previous year
- Solar PV manufacturing in China employed 3.8 million workers in 2022
- Globally, solar PV installation jobs were 2.9 million in 2022, with rooftop PV at 1.8 million
- In the US, solar employed 263,000 workers in 2023, with 60% in installation
- Onshore wind jobs worldwide totaled 1.2 million in 2022
- Offshore wind employed 130,000 people globally in 2022, up 20% from 2021
- In the US, wind power supported 120,000 jobs in 2023, with manufacturing at 20,000
- Hydropower employed 2.1 million globally in 2022, with China at 1 million jobs
- Brazil’s bioenergy sector, mainly ethanol, employed 1 million people in 2022
- Global liquid biofuels jobs were 800,000 in 2022
- Geothermal power employed 40,000 directly in 2022, plus 60,000 indirect
- IRENA forecasts 42 million renewable jobs by 2050 in 1.5C scenario
- US Inflation Reduction Act projected to create 1.5 million clean energy jobs by 2030
Renewable energy job growth surged globally in 2022, creating millions of new positions.
Bioenergy and Hydro
- Hydropower employed 2.1 million globally in 2022, with China at 1 million jobs
- Brazil’s bioenergy sector, mainly ethanol, employed 1 million people in 2022
- Global liquid biofuels jobs were 800,000 in 2022
- Hydropower O&M jobs worldwide totaled 1.5 million in 2022
- India’s hydropower jobs were 200,000 in 2022
- Solid biomass jobs globally reached 500,000 in 2022, mostly in Asia
- US hydropower employed 66,000 in 2023
- Biogas jobs were 150,000 worldwide in 2022
- Canada’s hydro sector supported 50,000 jobs in 2022
- Modern bioenergy cooking solutions created 100,000 jobs in Africa in 2022
- Hydropower construction jobs per GW average 10,000 person-years globally
- EU bioenergy jobs totaled 500,000 in 2022, led by Sweden and Germany
- Pumped storage hydro added 50,000 jobs globally in recent projects
- Sugarcane ethanol in Brazil supported 750,000 farm and mill jobs in 2022
- Small hydropower jobs were 300,000 in Asia in 2022
- US biofuels employed 350,000 in 2023
- Waste-to-energy bio jobs reached 50,000 globally in 2022
- Hydropower refurbishments created 20,000 jobs in Europe in 2022
- Bioenergy supply chain jobs in developing countries were 1 million in 2022
Bioenergy and Hydro Interpretation
While China and Brazil are proving hydropower and bioenergy can be massive job engines, the global picture reveals this green workforce is still more of a scrappy, distributed coalition than a single industrialized army.
Global Overview
- In 2022, the global renewable energy sector directly and indirectly employed 13.7 million people, representing a 6% increase from 2021
- Renewables accounted for 1 in 5 new jobs created worldwide in 2022 with 13.7 million total jobs
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) jobs reached 4.3 million globally in 2022, up 8% from the previous year
- Wind power employed 1.3 million people worldwide in 2022, with onshore wind dominating at 1.2 million jobs
- Hydropower supported 2.1 million jobs globally in 2022, primarily in operations and maintenance
- Bioenergy jobs totaled 1.6 million worldwide in 2022, with significant growth in solid biomass sectors
- Asia hosted 63% of global renewable energy jobs in 2022, equating to about 8.6 million positions
- China alone employed 5.3 million people in renewables in 2022, representing 39% of the global total
- Women represented 32% of the renewable energy workforce globally in 2022, up from previous years
- Renewable energy jobs grew by 13.7 million cumulatively from 2012 to 2022 at an average annual rate of 5.5%
- Globally, solar PV installation jobs accounted for 2.9 million of the 4.3 million total solar jobs in 2022
- Manufacturing jobs in renewables reached 2.1 million globally in 2022, with solar PV leading at 1.6 million
- In 2022, Brazil had 1.4 million renewable energy jobs, mainly in bioenergy from sugarcane
- EU countries employed 1.9 million in renewables in 2022, with wind and solar leading
- The US had 1.37 million clean energy jobs in 2023, many in renewables like solar and wind
- IRENA projects 14.4 million renewable jobs by 2024 globally under current policies
- In 2021, renewables created 3.9 million new jobs net globally after accounting for fossil fuel job losses
- Geothermal energy supported 100,000 jobs worldwide in 2022
- Concentrating solar power (CSP) jobs were around 50,000 globally in 2022
- Ocean energy jobs numbered fewer than 10,000 globally in 2022
- Globally, 40% of renewable jobs were in operations and maintenance (O&M) in 2022, totaling about 5.5 million
- Construction and installation phases employed 36% of renewable workers globally in 2022
- In 2022, India employed 1.1 million in renewables, led by solar PV at 500,000 jobs
- Vietnam saw renewable jobs grow to 200,000 in 2022, mostly solar manufacturing
- Germany had 350,000 renewable jobs in 2022, with wind power at 140,000
- In 2023, the US solar industry employed over 280,000 workers, a 15% increase from 2022
- IRENA estimates that tripling renewables by 2030 could create 24 million jobs globally
- Globally, renewable energy jobs per TWh are higher than fossil fuels, at 3.5 jobs/TWh for solar vs 0.3 for coal
- In 2020, renewables offset 700,000 fossil fuel jobs but net gained 3 million jobs worldwide
Global Overview Interpretation
The renewable energy sector, now employing nearly 14 million globally, is quietly building a new workforce—one solar panel, wind turbine, and biofuel at a time—proving that saving the planet isn't just noble work, it's seriously good business.
Regional and Projections
- Geothermal power employed 40,000 directly in 2022, plus 60,000 indirect
- IRENA forecasts 42 million renewable jobs by 2050 in 1.5C scenario
- US Inflation Reduction Act projected to create 1.5 million clean energy jobs by 2030
- EU Green Deal aims for 1 million additional renewable jobs by 2030
- Africa's renewable jobs could reach 2.5 million by 2030 with investment
- Latin America had 2.3 million renewable jobs in 2022, projected to double by 2030
- In Texas, renewables employed 150,000 in 2023, surpassing oil and gas
- IRENA projects solar jobs to reach 10 million globally by 2030
- Wind jobs forecasted at 3 million worldwide by 2028
- Developing countries could gain 20 million renewable jobs by 2030 per IRENA
- New York state solar and wind jobs grew 10% to 50,000 in 2023
- Australia's renewable jobs hit 32,000 in 2023, projected 50,000 by 2025
- IRENA estimates every $1 million renewable investment creates 15 jobs vs 7.5 in fossil fuels
- South Korea plans 300,000 green jobs by 2030, many in renewables
- Middle East renewable jobs to grow from 50,000 to 2 million by 2050
- In 2023, Illinois clean energy jobs reached 130,000, 20% renewables
- Global renewable jobs to triple to 38 million by 2030 in net-zero path
- Japan aims for 500,000 renewable jobs by 2030 under GX plan
- Southeast Asia renewable jobs projected at 1.5 million by 2030
- Nevada's renewable sector employed 20,000 in 2023, growing 25% yearly
- By 2050, renewables could employ 100 million globally per ILO-IRENA
Regional and Projections Interpretation
Forget your old career ladder; the new path to a thriving global economy is paved with solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal plants, promising not just a livable planet but an army of tens of millions gainfully employed in saving it.
Solar Power
- Solar PV manufacturing in China employed 3.8 million workers in 2022
- Globally, solar PV installation jobs were 2.9 million in 2022, with rooftop PV at 1.8 million
- In the US, solar employed 263,000 workers in 2023, with 60% in installation
- India created 100,000 new solar jobs in 2022 through its 100 GW target progress
- Europe had 550,000 solar jobs in 2022, led by Germany with 160,000
- Solar PV O&M jobs globally reached 430,000 in 2022
- In Australia, solar employed 30,000 people in 2022, mostly installers
- China's solar module manufacturing supported 2.5 million direct jobs in 2022
- US utility-scale solar construction jobs averaged 15,000 per GW installed in 2023
- Globally, solar PV jobs grew 8% to 4.3 million in 2022 from supply chain localization
- Vietnam's solar boom created 150,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
- In 2023, California had 110,000 solar jobs, 40% of US total
- Solar thin-film manufacturing employed 50,000 globally in 2022
- India’s solar rooftop program generated 50,000 installer jobs by 2022
- Europe’s solar EPC jobs were 250,000 in 2022
- Globally, solar supply chain jobs outside manufacturing were 1.2 million in 2022
- US residential solar installers numbered 80,000 in 2023
- Brazil added 20,000 solar jobs in 2022 with distributed generation growth
- Solar PV R&D jobs globally were 20,000 in 2022
- In the Middle East, UAE solar projects created 15,000 jobs during construction of Noor Abu Dhabi
- Global solar recycling jobs emerging at 5,000 in 2022
- Morocco's Noor Ouarzazate CSP employed 2,500 during peak construction
Solar Power Interpretation
China’s manufacturing powerhouse may build the solar panels, but the true job story is written on rooftops worldwide, where nearly 2 million installers are hammering down a decentralized energy revolution one shingle at a time.
Wind Power
- Onshore wind jobs worldwide totaled 1.2 million in 2022
- Offshore wind employed 130,000 people globally in 2022, up 20% from 2021
- In the US, wind power supported 120,000 jobs in 2023, with manufacturing at 20,000
- Germany’s wind sector had 140,000 jobs in 2022, 100,000 onshore
- China created 60,000 new wind jobs in 2022, totaling 800,000
- UK offshore wind jobs reached 30,000 in 2022
- Wind turbine manufacturing globally employed 700,000 in 2022
- US wind O&M jobs were 50,000 in 2023
- Brazil’s wind capacity added 3 GW in 2022, creating 15,000 construction jobs
- Europe’s wind jobs totaled 750,000 in 2022, led by Germany and Spain
- Offshore wind installation jobs per GW are 5,000 person-years globally
- India’s wind jobs were 50,000 in 2022, mostly O&M
- Denmark employed 12,000 in wind in 2022, 10% of workforce in renewables
- Global wind blade manufacturing jobs were 200,000 in 2022
- US Midwest states had 60,000 wind jobs in 2023
- Vietnam emerging wind market created 5,000 jobs in 2022
- Wind tower production employed 150,000 globally in 2022
- Spain’s wind sector supported 100,000 jobs in 2022
- Floating offshore wind jobs projected at 10,000 by 2025 globally
Wind Power Interpretation
While the winds of change may be capricious, the global job creation statistics tell a very steady and human story: from China's colossal 800,000 wind workers to the 10,000 brave souls soon to be anchoring turbines in the open sea, it's clear we're not just chasing the wind, we're building a workforce on it.
Sources & References
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