Renewable Energy Created Nearly 1 Million Jobs in India
Renewable Energy Created Nearly 1 Million Jobs in India

Highlights:

  • Solar PV created approx. 2,82,000 jobs in India in the year 2022
  • The nation’s domestic module manufacturing capacity also witnessed significant growth in the same year.

According to a recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), approximately 9,88,000 jobs were created in the RE sector of India in 2022. While hydropower emerged as the top employer, solar PV was a close second, employing over 2,82,000 people in both on-grid and off-grid fields.

The study found that in 2022, India saw a 47% jump in jobs related to grid-connected solar PV (as compared to the previous year), reaching a total of 2,01,400 positions. The off-grid solar sector also played a significant role by employing 80,000 people. Moreover, in FY 2022, the solar industry generated 52,100 new jobs, mainly in project development.

IRENA also reports that India also witnessed significant solar capacity addition, with approx. 13.5 GW of solar capacity added. Moreover, domestic module manufacturing capacity increased from 10.4 GW in 2021 to 24.7 GW in 2022.

Additionally, solar module exports increased by almost 5 times in the same year. The report highlights the restrictions placed on Chinese modules by the United States as one of the key reasons for the export growth.

In the past year, there was a substantial 83% increase in utility-scale solar capacity, resulting in the creation of nearly 72,700 jobs. Additionally, the growth of rooftop solar capacity led to a rise in jobs from 43,000 in the previous year to 65,400 in 2022.

However, the report also noted a slowdown in the addition of wind capacity. India managed to add only 1.9 GW of wind capacity in the last year.

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Resource: The Economic Times