Literature search shows strong job potential for renewables

LATHAM, New York, US, 2004-07-14 Refocus Weekly

A number of recent reports see “major growth” for employment in the renewable energy sector, according to a memo from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

More than two dozen U.S. reports base job forecasts on the implementation of a series of policy initiatives and incentives, but they use different methodologies and that makes comparisons, assumptions and trends difficult to assess, says Jane Weissman of IREC in ‘Labor Forecasts & Job Trends for the Solar & Renewable Energy Industries.’ “As a result, this memo is a collection of information and does not attempt to extrapolate general job trends.”

The memo scans some of the current data on employment and economic impacts from the deployment of renewables, and is a continuation of IREC’s focus on workforce development and setting competency standards for practitioners in the industry.

“Job information tends to be sketchy and does not drill down to specific job classifications and types,” she explains. “Consequently, we’ve been looking for specific information on forecasts of manufacturing, installation, and O&M jobs.”

Among the reports quoted in the memo are the Worldwatch Institute prediction that renewables are entering a boom period “with global wind energy use tripling since 1988 and annual solar cell production increasing 150% in the past three years.” Navigant Consulting says wind and PV markets have seen annual growth of 15% to 25% over the past five years, and that use of renewables will more than double over the next decade in the U.S. and Canada, with wind and biomass comprising 85% of that growth.

The American Wind Energy Association says the wind industry currently directly employs 2,000 people in the U.S. and that every megawatt of installed wind capacity creates 2.5 person-years of direct employment and 8 person-years of total employment, while the Danish Wind Turbine Manufacturer’s Association estimates that wind creates 5 jobs for each MW of installing turbines and 17 jobs per MW in manufacturing.

The U.S. geothermal industry employs 10,000 people in installation, construction and operation of geothermal power plants, and the forecast from the Department of Energy for a 87% increase in capacity over the next 20 years could mean the creation of 35,000 new jobs. The solar PV sector employs 20,000 workers in the U.S., which will grow to 150,000 by 2020.

The document examines a number of roadmaps for various renewable energy technologies, as well as labour forecasts from state governments.


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