Renewable Energy and Jobs. Annual Review 2016

Transcription

1 Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 201

2 KEY FACTS q Renewable energy jobs reached an estimated 7.7 million in 201, excluding large hydropower. q Jobs in the sector grew by 1% from the estimate reported last year and the regional shifts towards Asia continued, especially in manufacturing. q The 10 countries with largest renewable energy employment were China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, France, Bangladesh and Colombia. q In 201, the solar PV sector accounted for 2.5 million jobs, of which two thirds were in China. Solar PV jobs also grew in Japan, while decreasing in the European Union. q Biofuels (1. million), biomass (22,000) and biogas (31,000) are also major employers, with jobs concentrated in the feedstock supply. While Brazil and the United States continued to dominate, Southeast Asia saw growth in biofuel jobs, reflecting measures to support production. q Wind employment crossed the 1 million mark, with China accounting for half of these jobs. The United States, Brazil and the European Union also saw gains. q Solar water heating and cooling employed 7,000 people, more than three-quarters of them in China. Other significant markets are India, Brazil and the European Union. q Small hydropower employed about 20,000 people, more than half in China, followed by the European Union, Brazil and India. q Large hydropower was estimated to support another 1.5 million direct jobs, mostly in China and largely in construction and installation. q An array of industrial and trade policies continues to shape employment, with stable and predictable policies favouring job creation. Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2015 IRENA estimates that renewable energy employed 7.7 million people, directly or indirectly, around the world in (excluding large hydropower). This is an 1% increase from the number reported last year. In addition, IRENA conducted the first-ever global estimate of large hydropower employment, showing approximately 1.5 million direct jobs in the sector 2. This second edition of the Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review presents the status of renewable energy employment, both by technology (Figure 1) and in selected countries (Figure ). The table at the end of this report summarises the findings across major markets. Like last year, falling prices for solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind equipment globally posed a challenge for manufacturers in some markets, thus affecting jobs. Yet, accelerated solar PV installation and expanded operations and maintenance spurred job growth. Manufacturing of solar PV panels moved decisively from Europe and North America to Asia, where shifts continue between countries. On the installation side, China and Japan were major markets. Wind power jobs have increased steadily following a market revival in 201 led by China, Germany and the United States (GWEC, 2015; Navigant, 2015). Employment in biofuels continued growing in the United States and Brazil, and in emerging labour-intensive Asian markets where biofuel production witnessed accelerated expansion. The world s leading countries for renewable energy employment remain the same as in previous years: China, Brazil, the United States, India, and some members of the European Union, notably Germany. In addition, new markets have emerged including Indonesia, Japan and Bangladesh. In Latin America, Brazil remains the dominant player, followed by Colombia, Argentina and Mexico. Renewable energy-related employment 2 1 Unless otherwise noted, all employment data refer to direct and indirect jobs (see Box 5 for definitions). IRENA s 2013 estimate of.5 million jobs (excluding large hydropower) has been updated to. million following a revision by the China National Renewable Energy Centre (CNREC) for solar water heating employment. The employment data include information for the latest available year. Overall, most of the numbers are from 2013 and This is a first time estimate and IRENA will further refine the methodology before including it in the total number of jobs for renewable energy. Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review

3 Figure 1: RENEWABLE ENERGY EMPLOYMENT BY TECHNOLOGY BOX 1: EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN OFF-GRID SOLAR PV Solar Photovoltaic Liquid Biofuels Wind Energy Solar Heating/ Cooling Solid Biomass Biogas Hydropower (Small) Geothermal Energy CSP ,01 3 1,7.1 million jobs in , ,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 Jobs in the off-grid solar PV can be created for different applications, ranging from stand-alone installations (e.g. solar lanterns, solar home systems) to mini-grids. In general, stand-alone applications create more local jobs in installation and equipment distribution, while mini-grids require more employees in operations and maintenance (e.g. to collect tariffs). Given limited information for employment in solar PV based mini-girds, the focus is on jobs in stand-alone applications. Bangladesh, India and Kenya, for example, have used stand-alone solar systems to provide electricity access and create jobs. In 2015, Bangladesh, added an estimated 700,000 solar home systems (SHS), raising the total cumulative installations in the country to.5 million (Shahan, 201). IRENA estimates that the workforce in the sector has increased by 13% to reach 127,000 jobs, a quarter of which are in manufacturing, with the remaining spread across distribution, installation and after-sales services. India has also been successful in creating jobs across the off-grid solar PV value chain, which accounts for 73,000 jobs according the last available estimates (MNRE and CII, 2010). Companies that build, install and maintain stand-alone systems are rapidly scaling up operations and creating jobs along the value chain. D.Light, which manufactures and retails solar lanterns and SHSs, has sold over 10 million solar products, employing over 00 people (D.Light, 201). MKOPA has sold over 300,000 solar home systems in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania and created more than 700 full-time jobs along with 1,500 sales representatives. Similarly, several other companies (see Table 1) are serving vast populations and creating jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Table 1: EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED OFF-GRID SOLAR COMPANIES MID-2015 remains low in Africa except in a few countries, like Kenya, Morocco and South Africa, where deployment growth is creating domestic value and jobs. Globally, renewable energy employment continues to be shaped by an array of supportive industrial and trade policies. Solar PV is the largest renewable energy employer, accounting nearly 2.5 million jobs. RENEWABLE ENERGY EMPLOYMENT BY TECHNOLOGY SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS Solar PV is the largest renewable energy employer, accounting for 2.5 million jobs. The global production of solar panels keeps increasing and further concentrating in a number of Asian countries. Lower costs are driving accelerated growth in installations, particularly in China and Japan. China remains the top solar energy job market, retaining its undisputed lead in manufacturing while also expanding its domestic market. Jobs in Japan increased to 210,000 in 2013, thanks to a rapidly growing domestic market. Manufacturing jobs are on the rise in Malaysia, the Republic of Korea and other regional industrial hubs, but those markets are presently too limited to support considerable employment in the installation segment of the solar PV supply chain. Company Name Full-time Employees Countries of Operation Number of Customers (Last 12 months / Cumulative) Azuri Technologies Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, 0 Zambia N.A. / 75,000 BBOXX 1 Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda 23,105 / 250,000 D. Light >00 Uganda, Kenya, China, India N.A./10 million Fenix International 120 Uganda, Kenya 115,000 / 15,000 FRES Mali, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Guinea 32 Bissau 30,000 / 330,000 Grameen Shakti,550 Bangladesh 52,000 / 1.7 million Mera Gao Power 125 India,000 / 22,000 M-KOPA >700 Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania 1.1 million / 3.75 million Mobisol >500 Tanzania, Rwanda 70,000 / 110,000 Off Grid Electric >00 Tanzania, Rwanda 10,000 per month / N.A. Renewable Energy Foundation >00 Sub Saharan Africa N.A. / >3,000 Simpa Networks 300 India 55,000 / 75,350 Solaraid 130 Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia 51,212 / 10 million Solar Kiosk Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Botswana, 70 Ghana, Vietnam 02,500 / 1 million Solar Now 1 Uganda 3,11 /,7 Solar Sister 5 Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda 152,000 / 21,000 Sunlabob Laos, Cambodia, Uganda, Afghanistan, Sierra 2 Leone, Mozambique and Liberia N.A. / > 25,000 Tessa Power 300 Niger, Nigeria, Mali 2,000 / 5,000 Sources: Azuri (n.a.); D.Light (201); Energy Access Practitioner Network (2015); Grameen Shakti (201); IRENA (2012); Kent (2015); M-KOPA Solar (2015, 201); Mobisol (2015); Nijland (2015); Sunlabob (201); Wesoff (2015) Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review

4 LIQUID BIOFUELS Liquid biofuels remain a large employer, accounting for nearly 1. million jobs worldwide. Brazil has the largest workforce, with 5,000 employed. Job losses in the ethanol industry (due to the increasing mechanisation of sugarcane harvesting) were more than offset by job growth in biodiesel, mainly supported by incentives such as increased blending requirements. Other major biofuel job markets in Latin American include Colombia and Argentina, with workforces of 7,00 5 and 30,000, respectively. The United States, France and Germany are key biofuel producers, though mechanised harvesting and processing limit employment compared to countries with more labour-intensive operations. Supportive policy frameworks and attractive market conditions spurred job growth in liquid biofuels in several Far Eastern countries, including China, Indonesia and Thailand. Indonesia s labour-intensive palm oil-based biodiesel industry, for instance, supports 223,000 jobs. WIND Global wind employment crossed 1 million jobs in 201, up from 3,000 the year before, primarily fuelled by deployment in China, Germany, the United States and Brazil. In China, wind jobs surged from 35,000 in 2013 to 502,00 in 201. The United States recovered in 201 from a policy-induced slump in new installations as wind jobs rose by 3% to 73,000. Brazil saw encouraging gains, with an estimated 35,00 wind jobs in 201, up 12% from the previous year. SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING A complete and reliable employment picture remains difficult for solar heating and cooling. Available reports are sparse, with limited information about methodologies and unclear segmentation of the value chain. A review of the literature supports a rough estimate of 7,000 for total employment in the sector, a 1% decline over the previous year 7. This is primarily caused by a slowdown in the Chinese solar water heating market, which is home to 0% of global installed capacity. Despite this decline, China remains by far the dominant market for solar water heaters, with 00,000 jobs in manufacturing alone. Other available estimates include India with 75,000 jobs (Epp, 2011), Brazil with 1,000 (Alencar, 2015), and the European Union with 37,00. For the United States, IRENA estimates more than 5,000 jobs in the sector. SMALL HYDROPOWER Employment in small hydropower is difficult to estimate, as operators may be employed under informal arrangements and certain segments of the supply chain are shared with large hydropower. The global employment is estimated at 20,000 jobs. China, with close to half of global deployment, has 12,000 jobs in the sector. The European Union supports around 20% of the total jobs. India, Brazil and the United States are also significant employers. BOX 2: LARGE HYDROPOWER The available information for jobs in this technology is especially sparse. For the second year running, IRENA has conducted the global employment factor-based estimation to fill the data gap. The results reveal approximately 1.3 million direct jobs in 2015, down 13% from the 2013 peak of 1.5 million. The estimates allow for a better understanding of the dynamics along the segments of the value chain. In 2013, several new projects were coming online and the construction and installation segment of the value chain was the largest employer with 52% of the jobs. In 2015, new installations have declined by around 0% and jobs in the construction and installation segment have decreased to 3% of the total. The operations and maintenance segment is now the largest segment of the value chain with 51% of the jobs. 1 The results show that China s dominance of large hydropower employment has somewhat declined from 3% in 2013 to 3% in 2015, primarily due to a slowdown in new installations and a leaner project pipeline. Brazil is the second largest employer with 15% of the global large hydropower jobs, followed by India, the Russian Federation, Iran and Vietnam (Figure 2). Other relevant employers are Turkey, Canada, United States and Paraguay. Figure 2: EMPLOYMENT IN LARGE HYDROPOWER BY COUNTRY Rest of the World 27% >1.3 million jobs 3% China The European Union has seen moderate additions with wind employment increasing by 5.% to reach 31,00 in Germany accounted for nearly half of these jobs, followed by the United Kingdom, Italy and Denmark. In 201, the growing offshore segment employed 75,000 in Europe. Wind employment increased by 23% to cross 1 million jobs. Turkey 2% Vietnam 3% Russian Federation 5% Iran 5% 15% Brazil The most recent year available. Source: Lehr and Nieters (2015). % India 7 The global estimate for 2013 has been updated from 503,000 to 13,000 following a major revision of Chinese solar water heating employment estimates. A conservative estimate based on SEIA (2013). 1) IRENA is further refining its estimations of jobs in large hydropower. Analysis of indirect jobs shows a preliminary estimate of 1.2 million people. Energy [R]evolution by Greenpeace provides a global estimate for 2010 for all hydropower Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review

5 Table 2: ESTIMATED DIRECT AND INDIRECT JOBS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLDWIDE, BY INDUSTRY World Solar Photovoltaic European Unioni China Brazil 1.52 United States 1 India Japan Bangladesh Liquid Biofuels c 277f 35 3 Wind Power Solar Heating/ Cooling 3 Solid Biomassa,g Biogas Hydropower (Small)b Geothermal energya CSP 1 Total,07 h Figure 3:??? d e Germany 3 21 Rest of EU France China j 55 United States Germany 7 Japan 355 France 170 Brazil 1 North Africa 3,523 India 1 1 Rest of Africa Bangladesh South Africa 2.1 million jobs in k The most recent year available. 7 The global estimate for 2013 has been updated from 503,000 to 13,000 following a major revision of Chinese solar water heating employment estimates. A conservative estimate based on SEIA (2013). Energy [R]evolution by Greenpeace provides a global estimate for 2010 for all hydropower Renewa ble Ene rgy and Job s - A nnu al R ev iew Rest of EU

6 BOX 3: EMPLOYMENT IN OFF-GRID RENEWABLES FOR COOKING AND MOTIVE POWER Several renewable energy sources can be used to provide heat for cooking (mainly biomass and biogas) or motive-power for agro-processing or other uses (mainly small watermills) in rural areas. Traditional biomass dominates with around % of global final energy consumption. It supports the livelihoods of around 3 billion people and seems to create millions of jobs. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 1 million people work worldwide in commercial fuelwood and charcoal production, including 1 million in Africa, 11 million in Asia and 11 million in the Americas, mostly South America (FAO, 201). A significant upgrading in bioenergy use consists of improved cookstoves, which also create jobs. The partners of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, for instance, had manufactured almost 10 million cookstoves> Of the 7,000 people employed in 2012, 5% were women. In addition to the employment opportunities, women also benefited from reduced exposure to smoke and time saved in fuelwood collection (Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, 2013). Biogas, often used for cooking and heating applications in rural settings, can also support jobs. The SNV Biogas programme in Vietnam, for instance, has installed over 150,000 digesters since 2003, creating around jobs per installation during the construction phase (IRENA, 201 forthcoming). Small watermills can be used to produce electricity or to harness motive power for agricultural or industrial processes. An improved watermills programme in Nepal, for example, created an estimated 500 jobs in operation and maintenance alone, feeding electricity into mini-grids to supply almost 00 households while also providing motive power for agro-processing (IRENA, 201 forthcoming). Overall, renewable energy offers a key solution for the provision of universal access to modern energy sources, in line with the United Nation s Sustainable Development Goal 7. In addition to the development benefits of having access, providing access represents a vast potential market for job creation. The market for renewable applications for cooking and motive power has been picking up in rural areas in several countries, but further policy action is needed to accelerate deployment and to maximize the socio-economic benefits. 10 Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review