jobs

Figures suggest that the European solar sector is seeing unprecedented levels of employment but the rate of new job creation is slowing.

According to IRENA, the renewable energy employed 16.2 million people in 2023, of which 7.1 million jobs were in the solar PV industry.

Europe’s solar sector exceeded 800,000 full-time equivalent jobs for the first time in 2023, following record-breaking installation figures.

The US added 142,000 jobs to its clean energy sector in 2023, accounting for more than half of all new jobs added to the US energy industry.

US companies have announced more than 100,000 jobs in clean energy manufacturing since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

A SolarPower Europe report has found that the sector’s workforce grew from around 466,000 to over 648,000 jobs between 2021 and 2022.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council has revealed a 3.5% growth in the number of jobs in the US solar sector between 2021 and 2022.

A lack of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capacity in Spain represents a key challenge for the country’s solar industry as PV plant deployment soars and the government authorises gigawatts of new projects.

In the six months since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed into law, the US has seen over 100,000 new clean energy jobs created across 31 states as companies begin to capitalise on the incentives and security that the bill offers.

The solar industry of the future could see frontier markets become core countries for investment while developers may explore more decentralised projects to overcome land challenges.