Renewable energy jobs have increased steadily in recent times with solar PV sector representing 2.3 million employment opportunities in 2013, says the new statistics released by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Total renewable energy jobs reached 6.5 million in 2013 from 5.7 million in 2012, according to IRENA. China was ranked No.1 renewable energy employer, followed by Brazil, the U.S, India, Germany, Spain and Bangladesh.
A notable change in the sector is the regional shifts of solar and wind technology markets from developed to emerging countries, predominantly in the manufacturing and installation segments of the value chain.
Solar PV and wind power remain the most dynamic renewable energy technologies. In 2013, the solar PV sector accounted for 2.3 million jobs, largely concentrated in China. There has been significant increase in Chinese installation jobs, while manufacturing jobs remained stable.
The report also states that recent trends in renewable energy prices and investment have affected job creation across the value chain. For instance, although declining prices of solar PV and wind equipment are introducing new challenges for suppliers and affecting manufacturing jobs, they are also driving employment growth in installation and operations and maintenance.
In general, manufacturing employment has shifted towards Asia as the share of Europe and the US in global module production declined from 43 percent in 2007 to 14 percent in 2012. In the same year, China accounted for 64 percent of global production, Japan for 5 percent, and other Asian countries (such as Malaysia and South Korea) for 16 percent, the research said.