According to the third edition of the Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 201 the 8, developed by the International Renewable Energies Agency (IRENA), global employment in the renewable energies industry reached 10.3 million in 2017, showing a 5.3% annual growth, including direct and indirect jobs.

The report shows that a growing number of countries are gaining socioeconomic benefits from renewable energies. Employment remains concentrated in just a few countries. Japan leads the ranking, followed by China, Brazil, the United States, India, and Germany.

China alone stands for 43% of the employment share. It shows a particularly high participation in solar heating and cooling (83%), in photovoltaic solar energy (66%), and wind energy (44%).

According to the document published by IRENA, employment trends and patterns are generated by a wide range of technical, economic, and political factors, which created around 500,000 jobs in the industry by 2017.

IRENA also points out that costs’ reduction in technologies, have driven the industry’s expansion. As a matter of fact, by 2017 total investments grew when compared to 2016.

The employment creation dynamic is linked to changes in production and the installment if renewable equipment, as well as to corporate and industrial strategies, explains IRENA. Every important factor included in the supply chain becomes more globalized and geographically differentiated.

Another element that promoted the development of renewable energies were government policies. The level of commitment taken to promote the industry’s transformation was key.

The photovoltaic energy sector had another exceptional year. It reached a record existing capacity of 94 gigawats (GW) during 2017, against the 73 GW of 2016, as well as a major creation of new jobs.

China, India, the United States and Japan were the most important markets. They were followed by Turkey, Germany, Australia, and the Republic of Korea. Employment grew 8.7%, reaching 3.37 million jobs in 2017.

The industry’s jobs are concentrated in a small number of countries. According to IRENA, the reason is that the largest share of production occurs in a few nations, and national markets vary in terms of size.

The five main countries, led by China, represent 90% of the jobs in the Solar Photovoltaic Energy sector. Among the leaders, eight countries are Asian and, in general terms, Asia is home to 3 million workers, which represent 88% of the total global number, followed by 7% in North America and 3% in Europe.

China has the best score in employment creation in the photovoltaic industry

The country stands for two thirds of the industry’s employment in the world, around 2.2 million jobs. The largest number of new jobs created were developed in the facilities segment, which currently represents 36% of the photovoltaic jobs in China.

Likewise, the strong growth of new capacity incorporations has driven employment in India, reaching 164,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, European photovoltaic workforce has continue to drop. IRENA explains that this is an evidence of the limited instalment national markets, and the lack of competitiveness among European units’ manufacturers.

Estimations show a -8% decrease (99,600 jobs) in the European Union in 2016.

Brazil is the biofuel leader in the world

With the exception of Brazil, the main bioethanol producers in the world reached production peaks in 2017. Biodiesel production also grew in several countries, but remained below previous levels in Argentina, Indonesia and Filipinas, and in much lower levels in China.

IRENA’s report estimates biofuel global employment to be around 1.93 million, a 12% shift. Most of these jobs are the result of the agricultural value chain. Brazil still has the largest workforce in liquid biofuels. Its’ 795,000 estimated jobs indicate a small increase when compared to the previous year.

The United States also showed employment growth, driven by the record production of ethanol and biodiesel. Biofuel production and employment have also expanded in the European Union, reaching 220,000 jobs in 2016, according to IRENA.

The regional biofuel profile differs considerably in the solar photovoltaic energy sector. Latin America represents half the entire number of jobs in the world, while Asia represents 21% of the total share, North America 16% and Europe 10%.

IRENA reported that, including onshore and offshore segments, the wind industry employs 1.15 million people in the world, a -0.6% decrease when compared to 2016.

Most jobs in the wind energy field can be found in a small number of countries. However, the concentration degree is smaller than in the solar photovoltaic sector. China alone has 44% of the global wind energy employment. The top five countries own 76% of the entire share. The expansion of wind energy use is more balanced than the use of solar photovoltaic energy. Asia has about half of the employment share, with 610,000 jobs, while Europe represents 30% and North America 10%.

China remain the unbeatable leader as regards new installations. While new wind energy installations decreased 15%, offshore intensive employment installations increased 26%. The entire wind energy employment in China remained stable, at 510,000 jobs. Five countries follow China –Germany, the United States, India, the United Kingdom, and Brazil-, representing 50% of the world’s installations.

Wind energy employment in the United States in growing. In 2017, it grew 3% and reached a new peak of 105,500. The rhythm of installments in Brazil remained in a similar level than in 2015, with around 33,700 jobs.

Hydroelectricity employed 1.5 million people in 2017. IRENA finds it challenging to estimate employment in this industry. It points out that data remains scarce, and it is difficult to set apart the jobs of small and large hydroelectric centrals. However, estimations show that small hydroelectric centrals have employed 290,000 people in 2017, while large centrals have employed around 1.5 million direct workers in 2017.

Global estimations for 2013-2017 have been updated after an analysis of employment factors, statistics and available data in countries. Temporary and geographical variations in labour productivity have also been revised.

Latin America faces major opportunities in this industry, and it must make the most of them. These are the jobs of the future.