Germany is set to reach record levels of renewable energy employment, with the trend fuelled by demand for heat pumps and solar panel installation, Euractiv informs.
Employment in renewable energy-related sectors is returning to rates last seen in 2010, when the CDU/CSU ran the country together with the FDP. Robert Habeck, the green minister of economy and climate action, commented on the situation on Wednesday (24 January):
The expansion of renewable energies also secures jobs in Germany and creates new ones.
387,000 people were employed in renewable energy sectors in Germany in 2022, which is 88,000 more than in 2019, according to the institute for economic structures research (GWS). The statistics consider any work related to renewable energies, including installation of foreign solar panels and production of heat pumps.
In the solar sector, installers make up the majority of the workforce. In the heat pump sector, where domestic manufacturers operate in Germany, a more even distribution is considered reasonable. At the same time, jobs in onshore wind energy, which accounts for 24 per cent of the total employment in renewable energy, continue to decline at a slow pace.
In addition to the expansion in Germany, the expansion of renewables abroad and thus the demand for imports from Germany is also relevant here.
About 85,000 workers were employed in the operation and maintenance of accumulated renewable energy assets, the economy ministry stated.
