Page - 155 - in Clean Water Using Solar and Wind - Outside the Power Grid

Economy 155 the need for more education at all levels is urgent, as noted in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.8 (Jones et  al., 2018). As the share of renewables is set to increase significantly, many more people will have to be employed and educated in the industry compared to today. Table 12.3 Job opportunities in renewable energy systems. Energy Source Construction Time Construction + Installation Job Years/MW Manufacturing Job Years/MW Operation + Maintenance Jobs/MW Years Wind onshore 2 2.5 6.1 0.2 Solar PV 1 9 11 0.2 Solar thermal 2 5.3 4 0.4 Solar heat 7.4 Source: Data from World Bank (2017, Figure 4.15). 12.2.2 Job creation in the wind industry The wind power industry employs more than a million people worldwide, and about half of them are in Asia (Figure 12.1). It is estimated (WEC, 2016, Chapter 10) that wind power alone could support more than four million jobs in 2030, a fourfold increase on today. Elements of wind power installation require special competences and equipment that are not usually available locally. For example, mounting the turbine and the tower requires a lot more expertise than mounting a solar PV array. Furthermore, mounting tall wind towers may require either high cranes or helicopters. Other activities, such as site planning, can often rely on local labour. Many parts of a wind turbine, particularly the blades and the nacelle, are large units. It is of course quite an advantage if these parts can be manufactured not too far away. However, this requires available raw material, skilled workers and, of course, a market that makes the manufacturing profitable. To transport large units long distances is costly and not possible in many remote areas. Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/520710/wio9781780409443.pdf by IWA Publishing user