Let the Sun Shine on Unemployment—Does Renewable Energy Create Jobs?

Although it might seem obvious what renewable energy is, there is some debate about how renewable energy is defined, which has a definite effect on policy and regulation. What seems clear from various readings is that renewable energy does not include resources from fossil fuels or waste products from fossil fuel sources.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the renewable energy industry is more labor intensive than fossil-fuel industries, which are more mechanized. Therefore, says UCS, more jobs are created per unit of electricity from renewable sources than from fossil-fuel sources.

However, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), although that is a compelling argument, there is no standard, generally-accepted method to verify that claim. The ACEEE has embarked on a project to address the issue. Along with some partners in the energy field, the ACEEE is reviewing existing practices for energy-efficiency jobs accounting and verification by surveying and interviewing program managers across the United States.

In its latest report on renewable energy and jobs, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), estimates that renewable energy employed 7.7 million people, directly or indirectly, around the world in 2014 (excluding large hydropower). According to the agency, this is an 18% increase from the number reported the previous year. In addition, in its first global estimate of large hydropower employment, IRENA research showed approximately 1.5 million direct jobs in the sector (IRENA (2015), Renewable Energy and Jobs—Annual Review 2015).

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Sources of Renewable Energy

Commonly accepted sources of renewable energy include:

• Wind. According to the American Wind Energy Association, at the end of 2014, there were 73,000 wind-related jobs in the United States (up from 50,500 in 2013), across fields such as development, siting, construction, transportation, manufacturing, operations, and services. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), wind energy could be supporting over 600,000 wind-related jobs in the United States by 2050.
• Solar. According to the latest figures by the The Solar Foundation, as of late 2014, the solar industry employs over 173,000 solar workers, representing a growth rate of 21.8% since late 2013. The installation sector remains the single, largest source of domestic employment growth, more than doubling in size since 2010. According to the DOE, one out of every 78 new jobs created in the United States in 2014 was created by the solar industry.

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• Geothermal. According to a 2015 report by the Geothermal Energy Association, geothermal power plants employ about 1.17 persons per megawatt (MW) at each operating power plant. These are permanent jobs that last the entire 30 to 50 year lifetime of the power plant. In addition, according to the report, geothermal plants during construction employ about 3.1 person-years per MW and the manufacturing of the equipment requires an additional 3.3 person-years per MW. A 50-MW geothermal plant will require 310 person-years of construction and manufacturing employment.
• Biomass. According to the IRENA report, in 2014 indirect and direct jobs related to biomass accounted for 724,000 jobs worldwide, with 152,000 in the United States. However, if you include liquid biofuels under biomass, there were 282,000 additional jobs in the United States in 2014 (1.8 million worldwide). The DOE cites similar numbers (close to a half-million) and says that number could triple by 2025.
• Hydropower. According to a 2014 report from the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), the hydropower industry supports 200,000 to 300,000 jobs in the United States, as well as a supply chain of more than 2,500 companies. In addition, a study commissioned by the National Hydropower Associations claims that hydropower can create 1.4 million cumulative jobs and add 60,000 MW of affordable, domestic, renewable energy by 2025.