Indian solar to create 125,000 army of rooftop installers in five years

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Nearly 238,0000 jobs are projected for the rooftop solar sector and more than half of this will be for the construction and commissioning stage. Flickr: Ajay Tallam

India’s 175GW by 2022 renewable energy target could create up to 330,000 jobs in the next five years, predominantly in the rooftop PV sector, according to a report from India’s Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Nearly 238,0000 jobs are projected for the rooftop solar sector and more than half of this (125,000) will be for the construction and commissioning stage where installers are involved.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Only direct jobs as well as a portion of the indirect jobs, such as in manufacturing, were counted. Assuming India meets its targets, the job creation breakdown between the different technologies was as follows:

Credit: CEEW/NRDC

Consultancy firm Bridge to India has forecast India to reach just 15GW of rooftop solar out of the 40GW target by 2022, but such an achievement will still create a vast number of jobs.

The study also found that a strong domestic solar module manufacturing industry has the potential to provide employment for an additional 45,000 people in India. However, the domestic industry continues to struggle against cheaper Chinese imports.

The report did not balance the figures with how many jobs may be lost or gained in the coal sector as renewables start to compete with solar energy. India has recently seen a number of major coal-fired power plant plans cancelled, although these were not necessarily due to the rise of solar.

In 2016/17, solar and wind energy employed more than 21,000 people in India:

Credit: CEEW/NRDC

Both sectors are then expected to employ an estimated 25,000 people or more in 2017/18.

last year's dominant jobs growth in utility-scale is expected to swing strongly in favour of rooftop in the coming year.

India has recently launched two policies related to energy conservation and solar installations on buildings that should help drive the rooftop sector.

The CEEW and NRDC report was named ‘Greening India’s workforce: Gearing up for expansion of solar and wind power in India’ and the analysis was partly driven by the fact that companies in India do not always self-report the number of jobs created with each new solar or wind project.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
Saatvik Green Energy has secured new solar PV module orders worth more than INR7 billion (US$84 million), to be delivered in this financial year.
October 7, 2025
Juniper Green Energy through its subsidiary Juniper Green Sigma Eight has signed a 70MW power purchase agreement with renewable energy giant Tata Power. 
October 6, 2025
Indian infrastructure company focused on rooftop and ground-based solar power installations, PVV Infra has secured solar power orders worth INR7.9 billion (US$90 million) through two of its subsidiaries. 
October 6, 2025
Indian solar developer ACME Group has established a new subsidiary to manage its renewable equipment manufacturing business, under which it is planning to scale production of TOPCon PV modules.
October 6, 2025
Rajasthan government will develop 500MW/2,000MWh of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a four-hour single-cycle configuration and extended operational life.
October 2, 2025
The Indian solar industry has 86GW and 182GW of solar cell and module manufacturing capacity, respectively, expected to be commissioned by 2027.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK