Jobs in the solar field in Bangladesh grew by 10% in 2016, faster than many other industries.
A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals that solar employment opportunities in Bangladesh (and other countries) are expanding quickly. As of November 2016, the renewable energy industry in Bangladesh employed 162,000 workers. This is an increase of 10% from 2015.
The lion’s share of these jobs, 140,000 of them, were in solar photovoltaics. Once majority contributor, solar home systems are plateauing due to the slowdown in installation.
On the other hand, employment opportunities in mini-grids and solar pumping are seeing a sudden surge as the government shifts its focus towards these applications.
Solar offers a huge opportunity for the future. The energy created by solar system is relatively cheap to produce given that sunlight that is harvested by solar systems is free. The only costs are labor and materials. As the cost of materials and other technologies continue to decline, solar remains a highly potential sector for growth.
Renewable energy has been seeing a consistent growth globally. In Bangladesh, it is not only solar, sectors like biogas is also seeing material growth. According to IRENA, jobs in the biogas sector grew by more than 60% in 2016 in Bangladesh following numerous initiatives to provide rural household biogas digesters across the country. Global renewable energy sector employed 9.8 million people in 2016.
