Renewable Energy That Creates New Jobs: In-Depth Investigation
06.10.2019 SUSTAINABILITY & ECO-INNOVATIONS 0.0 0

renewable energy and jobs

 

Clean and renewable sources are now one of the fastest-growing industries all over the world. There is hardly a person that has never heard of green energy and why the transition to it is crucial for the future.

 

The environmental catastrophe and the impact of traditional energy-producing plants are evident by this time.

 

While university and college professors are assigning more and more tasks, like preparing a custom research paper on the issues to raise awareness among students, others get involved in the eco-activism or create new opportunities for renewable energy at the enterprises.

 

So why is it so important to conduct transition to renewable energy production? And is it actually creating jobs? Let’s find out.

 

The Field Is Diverse

Renewable energy production has several directions. One may opt for solar panels, wind turbines, liquid biofuels, biogas, etc. All of them are making much less damage to the environment, mostly due to the creation of a lesser amount of carbon dioxide. They also require less water, which also has a significant impact on the planet’s ecosystem.

 

Here are some numbers. Only in the United States, 43.5% of water is withdrawn from lakes and rivers to be used on the traditional power plants. It is specifically needed to cool down nuclear reaction and fossil fuel production. It leads to contamination of water and changes in the ecosystem.

 

According to the Scientific American data, overall, to electrify one average household for one day in the USA the nuclear plant needs 615 gallons of water, a coal-fired plant needs 199 gallons, and a natural gas plant needs 114 gallons.

 

We simply cannot afford wasting water on these needs anymore as the global temperature is rising and the supply of fresh water is reduced.

 

Consistency Matters

Most researchers specify that the transition between two methods of energy production should happen in connection. There is no need to shut down all the mines and nuclear plants immediately. They can be rebuilt to the new green plants in some time.

 

It is obvious, that green energy production is ecologically much more efficient. It leads to less harm. Yet, there is a question of business interest. How beneficial is this direction to society and the economy?

 

Well, the answer is simple: new energy sources are more affordable and create more jobs all over the world.

 

First of all, building a new plant that uses green energy is cheaper than running the existing coal mines. The traditional coal industry is already having troubles and experiences reduction.

 

Moreover, researchers predict that by 2025, each coal plant in the USA will be more expensive to run than to build a new wind or solar one. The clean energy production provides affordable heating and electricity for end customers.

 

At the same time, it is more affordable for providers. It is a win-win game. The recent data shows that the renewable energy industry grows 12% faster per year than the American economy itself.

 

renewable energy and jobs

 

What About Jobs?

Now, let’s talk about jobs. The traditional plants and industries do not provide a considerable amount of employment opportunities. Mostly, the processes are automatized and conducted by machines. On the contrary, the employment opportunities for new green sources plants are growing every year.

 

The green energy production has made massive progress in the last decade, and the numbers continue to grow. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency data in 2018, there were 11 million new jobs created all over the world. 39% of them are in China, and women take 32% of positions in the industry.

 

Most jobs were created in the development of solar panels. The second place goes to liquid biofuels and the third one to large hydropower production. For today, green production has created more jobs in the US than fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants.

 

What About the Salary?

Most importantly, these newly created jobs are highly-paid positions. For example, solar power jobs are paid almost the same as nuclear plant jobs. Those are highly-paid due to significant life risk. The employment rate for renewable energy grew to 3.6% in 2018 and is expected to go up to 6% in 2019 in the United States only.

 

Here is another critical factor – these jobs are well-paid and available for the broad public. For example, the Brookings Institution published a report on American green energy employment. It shows that getting a new job in this industry leads to an 8%-19% increase in household income. And the industry hires people without college degrees for about 45% of positions.

 

Final Words

Renewable energy is a rapidly developing industry that grows every year. Now it is already more business effective and affordable for the provider and end-user.

 

It will be even more economically-efficient in the future. This may result in a dramatic reduction in the traditional coal plant industry. It also causes significantly less damage to the environment. But most importantly, it creates new job opportunities all over the world with high-level salaries.

 

 

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TAGS:renewable energy, sustainability, Environment

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