21.05.2015, 15:55
More renewables jobs move to Asia-Pacific: Irena
OREANDA-NEWS. The geographic shift in low-carbon manufacturing to Asia-Pacific from the EU and the US continued last year, according the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).
The US and the EU's combined share in global employment in the renewable energy sector declined to around 25pc from 34pc in 2012-14, Irena said.
Of the 7.7mn jobs in the sector last year, 1.9mn were in the EU and the US, compared with 3.4mn in China, with Asia-Pacific countries accounting for five of the top ten positions in renewables employment last year, up from three places a year earlier.
France and Germany are the only EU countries left on the list.
The number of jobs in the EU fell by 50,000 on the year last year to 1.2mn, on continued adverse policy conditions, high overheads and a sharp decrease in overall investment, Irena said. Spain, Italy and Germany have cut subsidies for renewables in recent years, forcing German solar photovoltaic manufacturers, in particular, to relocate their operations overseas.
US employment in the PV manufacturing sector rose to just under 174,000 jobs last year from 143,000, while jobs in the wind turbine industry increased by 22,500 to 73,000. But competition from firms in Asia-Pacific led US employment in wind component manufacturing to dip to 500 jobs from 550, as a number of plants ceased operations.
Sustained domestic deployment and rising global demand helped the Chinese PV sector grow to 1.6mn jobs last year from 1.54mn a year earlier. The country generated around 34GW of solar PV modules last year, accounting for over 70pc of worldwide output.
And the number of jobs in China's wind turbine manufacturing industry increased to 502,400 from 356,000 over the period, bolstered by a strong domestic market. Installed wind power capacity stood at 20GW last year, while a further 77GW is still under construction.
Beijing has pledged to increase the share of renewables in China's primary energy mix to 20pc by 2030, which requires the installation of over 700GW of renewable capacity.
"Stable and predictable policies are essential to support job creation," Irena said.
The US and the EU's combined share in global employment in the renewable energy sector declined to around 25pc from 34pc in 2012-14, Irena said.
Of the 7.7mn jobs in the sector last year, 1.9mn were in the EU and the US, compared with 3.4mn in China, with Asia-Pacific countries accounting for five of the top ten positions in renewables employment last year, up from three places a year earlier.
France and Germany are the only EU countries left on the list.
The number of jobs in the EU fell by 50,000 on the year last year to 1.2mn, on continued adverse policy conditions, high overheads and a sharp decrease in overall investment, Irena said. Spain, Italy and Germany have cut subsidies for renewables in recent years, forcing German solar photovoltaic manufacturers, in particular, to relocate their operations overseas.
US employment in the PV manufacturing sector rose to just under 174,000 jobs last year from 143,000, while jobs in the wind turbine industry increased by 22,500 to 73,000. But competition from firms in Asia-Pacific led US employment in wind component manufacturing to dip to 500 jobs from 550, as a number of plants ceased operations.
Sustained domestic deployment and rising global demand helped the Chinese PV sector grow to 1.6mn jobs last year from 1.54mn a year earlier. The country generated around 34GW of solar PV modules last year, accounting for over 70pc of worldwide output.
And the number of jobs in China's wind turbine manufacturing industry increased to 502,400 from 356,000 over the period, bolstered by a strong domestic market. Installed wind power capacity stood at 20GW last year, while a further 77GW is still under construction.
Beijing has pledged to increase the share of renewables in China's primary energy mix to 20pc by 2030, which requires the installation of over 700GW of renewable capacity.
"Stable and predictable policies are essential to support job creation," Irena said.
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