Renewables sector employs 6.5m people in 2013 - IRENA

May 12, 2014 - The global renewable energy industry provided direct and indirect employment to 6.5 million people across the world last year, as compared to 5.7 million in 2012, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said yesterday.

The largest job providers in the sector were China, Brazil, the US - with 2.6 million, 894,000 and 625,000 people, respectively. Other key markets in terms of employment were India, Germany, Spain and Bangladesh, IRENA said in its “Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2014” study. The organisation noted renewables jobs in China grew as compared to 2012 levels due to an increase in solar installations, which rose five times between 2011 and 2013, and increased production activity.

In 2013, most people were working in the solar industry, total of 2.27 million, followed by the liquid biofuels segment with 1.45 million. About 834,000 people had jobs in the wind, 782,000 in the biomass and 503,000 in the solar heating and cooling sectors.

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