The labor-intensive rooftop solar segment will employ 70 percent of the new workforce, creating seven times more jobs than large-scale projects such as solar farms.

NEW DELHI, INDIA (June 20, 2017) - More than 300,000 new workers can be employed in wind and solar jobs and more than 1 million total employment opportunities can be created in achieving Indias ambitious clean energy goals to install 160 gigawatts of renewable power by 2022, a study released today shows.

The labor-intensive rooftop solar segment will employ 70 percent of the new workforce, creating seven times more jobs than large-scale projects such as solar farms.
The study published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) also finds that strong growth in the domestic solar manufacturing industry could provide full time employment for an additional 45,000 people in India.
The first-of-its-kind CEEW-NRDC study "Greening Indias Workforce: Gearing Up For Expansion of Solar and Wind Power in India," builds on previous work and calculates both the number of full-time jobs that will be created by the solar and wind sector, as well as the number of workers that will be required to join the sectoral workforce full-time by 2022.
The study estimates that Indias clean energy goals have the potential to put 34,583 people to work in wind power, 58,647 in utility solar and 237,980 in rooftop solar jobs over the next five years.
Solar jobs will be well distributed across India with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Wind jobs, like wind capacity, are likely to be concentrated in a few states that have high wind potential. The study will be discussed today in a meeting in New Delhi.
"CEEW and NRDC's study captures a new dimension in accurately assessing manpower requirements in the solar and wind domain," said Dr. Praveen Saxena, CEO of Skill Council of Green Jobs. "This study builds on earlier analyses on the subject considering national objectives to meet Indias international clean energy commitments. It makes the path of Skill Council of Green Jobs more clear and visible in terms of capturing the opportunity of employability in India's solar and wind sector."
Nehmat Kaur who works with NRDCs India team and is based in New Delhi, added, "Clean energy expansion is generating thousands of new jobs while meeting India's climate and economic goals. With this tremendous opportunity, India is stepping up as a global leader in demonstrating how a growing economy can scale up renewables, generate employment and provide access in the face of rising energy demands."
Neeraj Kuldeep, Programme Associate, CEEW, said, "80% of the new clean energy workforce will be employed during the construction phase. However, despite these being contractual jobs, the large pipeline of renewable energy projects creates enough opportunities for workers to stay employed. Additionally, since most of these jobs are in the rooftop solar PV segment, central and state governments must provide greater policy support to the rooftop sector."
Over the past three years, NRDC and CEEW have annually surveyed Indias solar and wind companies, developers, and manufacturers to collect accurate, market-based information on jobs created, workforce employed, and the skills required to achieve Indias renewable energy goals.
Key recommendations in the new study for national and state governments are:
• Promote reporting of employment generation from renewable energy companies;
• Provide a greater impetus and policy priority to rooftop solar to create renewable energy jobs and meet governments employment objectives;
• Support development of training centers led by the private sector to source construction jobs locally since solar jobs are well distributed among states;
• Develop wind power training centers based on state specific wind targets in 8 states; and
• Target a strong domestic solar manufacturing industry to provide employment to an additional 45,000 people in India.
Indias rapidly expanding solar and wind energy sectors employed more than 21,000 people in 2016-2017. An additional 25,000 people will be employed over the coming year. Indias clean energy workforce comprises of solar installers, maintenance workers, engineers, technicians, and performance data monitors.
The report is here: https://www.nrdc.org/resources/renewable-energy-india-employment-potential-and-financing-solutions-solar-and-wind-energy
A blog by NRDCs Nehmat Kaur on the issue will be here: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/nehmat-kaur
The new report builds on two earlier ones by NRDC and CEEW that address clean energy jobs and financing mechanisms that can help the country increase its renewable energy capacity: Clean Energy Powers Local Job Growth in India and Greening Indias Financial Market, How Green Bonds Can Drive Clean Energy Deployment
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The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (http://ceew.in/) is one of South Asias leading not-for- profit policy research institutions. CEEW addresses pressing global challenges through an integrated and internationally focused approach. It prides itself on the independence of its high-quality research, develops partnerships with public and private institutions, and engages with wider public. (http://ceew.in/) Twitter @CEEWIndia.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international non-profit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the worlds natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC. NRDCs India Initiative on Climate Change and Clean Energy, launched in 2009, works with partners in India to help build a low-carbon, sustainable economy. Twitter @NRDC_India.