The issue of jobs in relation to moving towards a clean energy economy is a hot topic; particularly while the world is in the midst of an economic crisis.
The coal industry has use the spectre of job losses to further its cause, as have other fossil fuel sectors; even though it’s becoming clear that renewable energy will create a jobs boom.
A controversial study emerging from Spain’s Juan Carlos University quoted by some renewable energy opponents claims that on average, every renewable energy job in Spain “destroyed” 2.2 jobs in the broader Spanish economy. The study stated that a similar scenario would be experienced in the USA as a result of US renewable energy development and policy.
However, the paper entitled “Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources” has been debunked by a new report released by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The NREL report says that the analysis by the authors from King Juan Carlos University represents a significant divergence from traditional methodologies used to estimate employment impacts from renewable energy.
“In fact, the methodology does not reflect an employment impact analysis. Accordingly, the primary conclusion made by the authors – policy support of renewable energy results in net jobs losses – is not supported by their work.”
The NREL report states the Spanish study lacks transparency and supporting statistics and fails to compare renewable energy technologies with comparable energy industry metrics. It also says it doesn’t take into account important issues such as the role of government in emerging markets, the success of renewable energy exports in Spain and the differences in policy are significant enough that the results as reported in the Spanish study are not likely to be indicative of workforce impacts in the United States or other countries.
The “NREL Response to the Report Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources from King Juan Carlos University (Spain)” can be viewed in full here
