Experts split on green workers

With energy resources in Europe shifting away from fossil fuels - and in some countries, nuclear power - questions and concerns have been raised over whether developing renewable energy will be able to create enough jobs to replace the thousands that currently exist based on more traditional sources.

Although many studies have been conducted about the effect of moving to renewable energy on jobs, experts seem to be split on the results, with some saying green energy jobs will actually exceed those offered by traditional sources, and others refuting these claims saying the high costs of renewable sources outweigh the benefits.

According to the World Watch Institute, an independent research institute devoted to environmental awareness, currently there are around 2.3 million people employed in the renewable energy sector, a number expected to grow exponentially in the next decade.

"Renewables tend to be a more labor-intensive energy source than the still-dominant fossil fuels, which rely heavily on expensive pieces of production equipment," the report said. "A transition toward renewables thus promises job gains."

A study commissioned by the German government showed that jobs in the renewables sector have grown rapidly, and are expected to reach up to 500,000 jobs by 2020, and 710,000 by 2030.

However, a recent report released by Scotland-based firm Verso Economics states that despite government forecasts, for every renewable energy job created in the United Kingdom, 3.7 jobs were lost. The report concluded the benefits provided by the new sector aren't enough to make up for the costs, especially due to the government subsidies required by many renewable resources.

Currently, producing electricity from renewable sources is more expensive than using traditional sources, mostly because the technology has yet to develop enough for prices to drop. The European Union's push for member countries to meet certain percentages of their energy needs with renewable resources by 2020 has resulted in governments implementing supportive frameworks for those sources. Some of those supports backfired, like in the case of the Czech Republic, which experienced an expensive "solar boom" due to overtly generous legislation.

However, some renewable technologies, like solar panels, are quickly falling in cost and becoming more competitive. Several of them, like solar, wind and hydro plants, also require the manufacturing of parts over their entire lifetime, which creates steady manufacturing jobs, according to the World Watch Institute report. In addition, such jobs help local businesses as the report states, "Jobs in installing, operating and maintaining renewable energy systems tend to be more local in nature and could thus benefit a broad range of countries."

Cat Contiguglia can be reached at
ccontiguglia@praguepost.com