Poland was the EU’s biggest solar jobs market last year, thanks to a national rooftop incentive scheme, but Germany’s efforts to repatriate solar manufacturing will help the city’s photovoltaic power plant. bloc to return to number one in three years, according to SolarPower Europe.
With solar supporting 466,000 full-time people works in the EU last year, the trade body SolarPower Europe predicted the industry will be behind the equivalent of 530,000 jobs in 2022.
It is one of the main figures of the body EU Solar Jobs Report 2022released this week.
According to SolarPower Europe’s medium scenario for industry development – which appears most accurate when comparing actual figures with the trade group’s latest medium scenario forecast – Europe will need more than a million solar workers in 2030, prompting the trade body to warn: “The skilled labor shortage could well become the main bottleneck preventing Europe from achieving its goal energy security and climate Goals.”
Industry requests
The members’ association used the report to offer tax deductions to encourage individuals to train as solar installers and to persuade companies to provide skills; call for a plan EU solar mandate that new public buildings be extended to all structures whose exterior surface has been renovated; and to demand a ban on oil and gas boilers.
The labor-intensive nature of residential rooftop PV meant Poland was Europe’s biggest solar employer last year, with its industry supporting around 113,000 jobs – 24% of the EU total – helped also by the country’s low labor costs.
The figures
Germany supported 87,000 solar industry roles in 2021; Spain 66,000; the Netherlands 36,000; France 33,000; and Italy 24,000; with Greece the fifth largest market for solar jobs, with the equivalent of 34,000 positions. Spain and France were the only EU member states where large-scale solar power supported more jobs than rooftops in 2021.
SolarPower Europe predicted – again in its medium ambition scenario – that Germany would support 204,000 solar jobs in 2026, helped by a solar market of 23 GW per year and a push on PV manufacturing. The energy crisis will allow Poland to maintain 102,000 jobs in 2026, despite the planned closure of a rooftop solar incentive program that has boosted its photovoltaic sector, the trade body added.
Spain, Italy, France and Greece will continue to be healthy solar job markets in 2026, according to SolarPower Europe, and will be joined by new entrant gigamarket Romaniawhere low labor costs will help support approximately 43,000 solar stations, with utility-scale jobs dominating.
The report included useful snapshots of the EU solar manufacturing industry, highlighting Wacker Chemicals as Europe’s only polysilicon manufacturer and, extra-EU Norwegian outfits NorSun and Norwegian Crystals two of the three ingot makers and solar wafers on the continent, alongside the French EDF Photowatt.
Lithuania Valeo; Based in Germany Meyer Burger; hungarian fab Ecosoliferous; and that of Italy 3Dim were the only solar cell producers in Europe in 2021, according to the study.
Investment costs
The document also mentions capital expenditure (capex) of PV across Europe last year, taken from figures provided by the International Renewable Energy Agency, International Energy Agencyand German research organization Fraunhofer ISE.
Hungary and Czech Republic offered the cheapest solar systems in Europe, according to the report, at an initial cost of €0.38/Watt ($0.38) of installed generation capacity for large-scale systems; €0.50/W for industrial bays; €0.58 for commercial signs; and €0.86 for the residential roof kit.
Greece had the most expensive industrial, commercial and residential solar costs in the bloc, at €1.61/W; €1.87; and €2.75, respectively. The national figure of €0.76/W for large solar was matched, however, in Poland and Spain, and cheaper than utility-scale solar investments recorded in Romania and Denmark (with €0.77/W); Italy (€0.78); Sweden (€0.86); Portugal and France (€0.94); the average value of €0.98 observed on Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Luxemburgand Malta; and in the Netherlands (€1.07).
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