Last year it was announced that there were over 10 million people working in the renewable energy sector globally for the first time - this according to a report by the International renewable agency (IRENA). It goes on to suggest that by 2050 the number could reach about 28 million given the large potential growth in the sector.
The largest proportion of these jobs lies with solar photovoltaics at 9% with wind power coming in second. The link to EV Charging will certainly push the solar sector to greater heights as global drivers shift en masse to electric.
So what does this look like on the ground? Individual workers moving from coal mines to wind farms isn't likely to be a simple conversion. It is more reflected by generational change and the sons and daughters of fossil fuel workers moving into renewables as they start out in their working lives.
A recent New York Times article provides a fascinating look at this transition within families - from a Solar Company Vice President and her Coal Mining Grandfather to a Wind Farm Manager and his Oil Field Worker father. There is a mix of reasons behind their career decisions from environmental to financial but all of their stories show how the changing focus of the economy has led them to break the cycle of family industry and start afresh.
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