If you’re looking for work, you might consider solar farming. The renewable energy industry is rapidly growing. This is according to a report by the intergovernmental organisation International Renewable Energy Agency, according to Huffington Post.
The renewable energy industry now employs 8.1 million people around the world, and that is up 5% from last year. Nearly 3 million people work in the solar sector alone, that’s an 11% jump form 2015. At the same time, the fossil fuel sector continues to shed jobs, this according to Adnan Z. Amin, the director general of IRENA.
According to Amin, the continued job growth in the renewable energy sector is important because it stands in contrast to trends across the energy sector. In the United States, jobs in the renewable energy sector increased by 6% last year while employment the oil and gas industry went down by 18%. Solar jobs opportunities grew by 22% as a result of generous renewable energy tax credits, like the 30% credit on solar investments.
Not everyone is happy about the growth of renewable energy. IRENA’s report came out after one week after a number of union representatives sent scathing letters to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. They criticized him for working to bankroll the Democratic campaigns with billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer. The complaints of union representatives is that the rise of renewable energy options and efforts to battle climate change threaten the fossil fuel industry and the jobs it gives to people.
Opponents of renewable energy within the US and Australia insist that moving away from traditional fossil fuels will put many people out of work. Supporters of clean energy insist that the sector will make up for the jobs lost in the traditional fossil fuel sector.
Many people believe that when one door closes, another one will open.