Renewable Energy and Jobs

Annual Review 2015

IRENA Policy Day

9 June, 2015

1

Benefits of Renewable Energy

RENEWABLE ENERGY

DEPLOYMENT

ENVIRONMENT

Climate change

local pollution

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

poverty alleviation,

access

ENERGY SECURITY

Risk reduction

Trade balance improvement

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Income, industrial

development and jobs

2

32013 20142012

IRENA’s Knowledge Base on Employment

2011

Leading the work on jobs since 2011

2015

Jobs Sidebar in the Global Status Report

3

4

Employment in Selected Countries

Renewable Energy Jobs

Employment by technology

Renewable Energy Jobs

5

Renewable Energy Jobs - Solar PV

6

Energy Access: 3.8 million solar home systems – 115,000 jobs

China is the global leaderUS employment in solar up by 20%

Solar PV employment in Japantripled between 2012 and 2013

7

Renewable Energy Jobs – Large Hydro

8

Renewable energy jobs

and the segments of the value chain

Segment of Value

Chain

Project Planning

Manu-facturing

Install-ation

Decomm-issioning

Grid Connection

Operation and

Maintenance

ManufacturingInstallation & Construction

79% 20%

ManufacturingInstallation & Construction

24% 70%

BREAKDOWN OF EMPLOYMENT BY SEGMENTS OF THE VALUE CHAIN

1.6 Million Jobs in Solar PV 174,000 Jobs in Solar

9

The right policy mix can maximise

value creation (including jobs)

Research and

innovation

Deployment

policies

Strengthening

firm-level

capabilities

Education

and

training

Investment

promotion and

technology

transfer

Local content

requirements

• Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2016 – will update

estimates and further improve coverage and data quality

• Opportunities for Local Value Creation from the Deployment of Solar

and Wind identifies which segments of the value chain should be

undertaken locally to maximize value creation.

• Socio-economic Benefits of Off-grid Technologies analyses how off-grid

applications for heating/cooling and motive power can improve the

livelihood of people that lack access to modern energy services.

• Quantitative assessment of the socio-economic impacts of renewable

energy deployment assesses the economy-wide impacts on select

variables - GDP, trade, employment and welfare.

10

The way forward

Socio-economic Benefits of Off-grid Technologies

Opportunities for Local Value Creation from the Deployment of Solar and Wind

Quantitative assessment of the socio-economic impacts of renewable energy deployment

11

Key questions to be addressed in the assessment:

• Do renewables improve GDP?

• Do renewables create net employment (economy-wide)? What are the

implications for unemployment?

• Do renewables improve welfare?

• How would renewables change the trade of fossil fuels?

Quantitative socio-economic assessment

Scope:

• Geographical: global and disaggregation for most REmap countries

• Economic: all sectors, including households and governments

Economic growth: Income and GDP

12

MEXICO

20 GW of wind by 2020, a

cumulative GDP gain of USD

7.9 billion to USD 28.5 billion

JAPAN

Benefits for a 2030 target of 14-16% RE outweigh costs by

a factor of 2 to 3. Economic effects account for 75-90% of

the total benefits. PV already employs 210,000 people.

CHINA

The PV sector generated USD 52 billion

in 2013. Employs 1.6 million people.

Some examples from similar analyses

The message to take home

Thank you!