RE targets may create 4.4 mn jobs by 2030, rooftop solar to lead: Study

India’s renewable energy target and National Green Hydrogen Mission could generate over 4.4 million full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs by 2030, with rooftop solar accounting for nearly 43 per cent of the estimated jobs, according to a new study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) India, released on Wednesday.

 

The report titled "Driving Energy Transition: Workforce, Skills, and Gender in India’s Renewable Energy Sector" said rooftop solar accounted for 62 per cent of the 650,000 clean-energy workforce additions between financial year 2023 (FY23) and FY26. PM-KUSUM contributed 16.3 per cent, biomass power 12.6 per cent and ground-mounted solar 6 per cent to the total clean energy workforce addition in the same duration.

 

 

However, women's participation in the sector lagged. Women made up only 11 per cent of the total workforce in solar and wind deployment, and manufacturing sectors. Their participation was highest in rooftop solar at 15 per cent, followed by solar module manufacturing at 13 per cent, floating solar at 12 per cent and ground-mounted solar at 11 per cent. Additionally, 61 per cent of women were employed in non-technological roles, such as human resources, accounting and administration.

 

The study was conducted with technical guidance from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and is based on a primary survey across solar, wind, bioenergy, and hydropower sectors. It estimated direct jobs created during component manufacturing, project deployment and operations.

 

“Rooftop solar shows why distributed renewables matter: they generate clean power while creating more jobs per Mw than utility-scale projects. To convert India’s clean-energy ambition into a durable employment engine, India must continue to invest in high-quality skilling, transparent workforce data and inclusive participation,” said Arunabha Ghosh, chief executive officer (CEO) of CEEW.

 

Rooftop solar creates more jobs because it has to be installed in homes, shops and buildings, unlike large RE projects that are built at a single site. This means more workers are needed for customer outreach, site surveys, design, installation, grid connection and maintenance in rooftop solar. It generates approximately 45 FTE job-years per Mw, compared to 1 FTE job-year per Mw for ground-mounted solar and about 0.6 FTE job-year per Mw for wind, the study estimated.

 

Around 60 per cent of jobs in deployment and 80-90 per cent in manufacturing sectors require highly skilled or semi-skilled workers, underscoring the need for technical training, practical field exposure and career progression pathways, it stated.