Last year, photovoltaic solar energy employed 31,500 people and wind power 23,900 people in Spain. Yet the best is still ahead: the renewable energy market is poised to rise further in the years to come, potentially generating a cumulative 468,000 jobs this decade, including 350,000 direct roles and 118,000 indirect ones.
Nearly half of these opportunities are expected to materialize in Andalusia, Castilla y León and Aragón. This projection appears across several studies, among them the report recently published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) titled Renewable Energies and Employment: 2022 Annual Review (IRENA 2022).
A complementary forecast from Unielectrica, a renewable energy market broker, outlines additional needs to reach the 468,000 new jobs: 280,000 in forest management, 150,000 in animal husbandry and integrated agro-farming, and 160,000 in the circular economy. The total could reach 1.13 million green jobs by 2030.
According to Unielectrica, 327,278 MW of renewables were in the process of connecting to the grid in February, comprising 213,255 MW of photovoltaic, 92,132 MW of wind, 2,528 MW of thermosolar, and 19,363 MW from other sources.
Solar energy is expected to drive the most employment, and APPA anticipates that about 68 of every 100 jobs created will be protected for roughly two decades.
In wind technology, about 25 of every 100 jobs relate to manufacturing or ancillary services, 64 involve the initial installation phase, and 11 pertain to long‑term operation and maintenance.
Andalusia, leader in green employment
Across autonomous communities, Andalusia shows the greatest potential for green employment. Unielectrica estimates it can generate 106,000 renewable energy jobs this decade, both direct and indirect. The region currently has 55,924 photovoltaic MW and 4,426 wind MW in the connection queue.
Castile and León is projected to follow, with about 62,000 jobs forecast as renewable energy capacity reaches the grid by 2030. At present, 29,815 MW of photovoltaic power and 19,740 MW of wind power are awaiting connection.
Aragon is expected to contribute roughly 58,000 new jobs, with a projection of 24,781 MW of photovoltaic capacity and 15,402 MW of wind capacity in the pipeline.
Direct and indirect job creation in other regions includes Castilla La Mancha (43,000), the Valencian Community (40,000), Extremadura (32,000), Madrid (30,000), Catalonia (27,000), Galicia (22,500), and Murcia (15,000). Navarra (9,600), the Basque Country (7,500), the Canary Islands (5,500), and La Rioja (4,200) also show sizable projections. Asturias (3,700), the Balearic Islands (2,300), and Cantabria (1,600) round out the list of regional contributions for the decade.
The Unielectrica data aligns with APPA’s 2019 findings, which identified around 45,000 direct and indirect renewable jobs in the year just before the pandemic. If that pace had continued through the decade, it would match the targets outlined in Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience plan.
Industry boom around the world
The renewable energy sector is in a genuine boom. Last year it employed about 12.7 million people globally, with around 700,000 more jobs expected by 2020, despite the pandemic and ongoing energy challenges.
IRENA highlights that solar remains the fastest growing sector, creating 4.3 million jobs worldwide in 2021. The study also notes that concerns about climate change, pandemic recovery, and supply chain disruptions have driven nations to localize supply chains and create jobs at the national level.
IRENA’s report shows a broad expansion of renewable energy jobs across nations. About two-thirds of these roles are in Asia, with China accounting for 42% of the global total, followed by the European Union and Brazil at 10% each, and the United States and India at 7% each.
Europe accounts for about 40% of global wind generation and is a leading exporter of wind equipment. In 2020, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain represented more than three-quarters of world wind equipment exports. The regional distribution of wind equipment exports placed Germany at 30.1%, Denmark at 26.3%, the Netherlands at 13.8%, Spain at 13.8%, Brazil at 8.3%, and India at 2.4% each. In the bioenergy sector, which includes biofuels, biomass energy, and biogas, Spain installed 2.8 GW of capacity in 2020 and 4 GW in 2021, often through self-consumption and without auctions or subsidies.
Reference: IRENA Renewable Energy and Jobs 2022. (IRENA 2022).
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