Employment in and through RE and EE
The domestic employment effects of RE and EE are a key factor in securing public support. While worldwide data suggest that the employment intensity per unit of energy produced (or saved) is on average higher for renewables than for fossil fuels (and in turn higher for efficiency-enhancing than for generation measures), results can vary significantly. Modelling potential employment effects is therefore a very useful approach to increasing the legitimacy of RE/EE policies.
To conclude, sustainable energy technologies not only have the added benefit that they are significantly more employment-intensive than conventional energy technologies (and that many of the jobs are created locally, especially in the case of EE and distributed generation), but also that it is much easier for local providers to gain a foothold in these markets. Moreover, actors previously not involved in the energy market may find it easier to enter new markets that did not exist before. Sustainable energy technologies can thus benefit old and new actors.
Estimating employment effects from RE and EE Examples from the MENA region
There are a number of studies using different methodologies to shed light on the employment co-benefits of RE and/or EE in the particular case of the MENA region. One of them studied the employment effects of concentrated solar power plants in Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. It considered various scenarios for regional development and found a wide spread of employment effects across the region up to 2020 (including up to 180,000 jobs) (World Bank, 2011). A second study looked at the employment co-benefits of both RE and EE in Morocco and examined scenarios with different shares of local manufacturing and overall growth rates (Kingdom of Morocco, 2012). A third looked at the employment effects of RE and EE in Tunisia up to 2030 using input-output tables and different scenarios to illustrate the impacts over time on different sectors and in different occupations (Lehr et al., 2012 & 2016). Others have looked into sector and technology-specific socio-economic impacts in selected countries or at a regional level. All of these studies can serve as examples of how to inform the public discourse and policy-makers about the employment potential of RE/EE and the skills needed in order to maximize the number of jobs they create in the MENA region.
Co-benefits from the diversification of energy sources and independence from fossil fuels
In most developing countries energy policy is driven by one primary goal: guaranteeing a sufficient supply of energy, and specifically of electricity, to meet the rising demand at acceptable prices for end consumers and other politically sensitive groups. Global demand for fossil fuels may be rising, but a strong dependency on fossil imports or exports is associated with high risks in terms of sudden cost fluctuations (price spikes or slumps), supply or demand disruptions, excessive capital outflows or inflows (leading to current account disturbances and ‘Dutch Disease’ phenomena), and other pressures, which may be motivated politically or otherwise. Diversifying a country’s energy mix via RE and reducing its energy consumption through EE are effective strategies for mitigating these energy security risks.
Energy Security: Tunisian Solar Plan & 30-30 Strategy
Tunisia’s electricity system is based almost entirely on natural gas. The decreasing yields from its own fields have been compensated by rising shares of gas imports from Algeria. Royalties from the gas pipeline from Algeria to Italy also play a crucial role in this context. The recent slowdown in the Italian economy has led to a drastic slump in Italian gas purchases from Algeria, and this is also negatively impacting Tunisia, as it increasingly needs to secure its gas supplies via the world market. Moreover, Algeria is finding it increasingly difficult to honour its supply obligations vis-à-vis neighbouring countries, since its own production is falling while domestic consumption is soaring. The Algerian government has therefore announced that it will not be able to uphold its exports for long, unless it manages to increase production from unconventional sources.
For these reasons, Tunisia is aiming to diversify its electricity mix in the medium term by taking advantage of its own renewable resources (average solar irradiation of 5.1 kWh/m²/day and wind speeds of up to 10 m/s in the north). For that purpose, in 2012 the National Energy Management Agency (ANME) developed the Tunisian Solar Plan (TSP) as well as the 30-30 Strategy in 2014.Accordingly, a 30% share of Tunisia’s electricity supply shall come from renewable energy sources in 2030, especially from wind (15%), PV (10%) and CSP (5%). In addition, the 30-30 Strategy envisages a 17% reduction in the primary energy demand by 2020 and a 34% drop by 2030 – compared to a trend-based scenario. By implementing these targets, Tunisia intends to lower its dependence on (increasingly imported) fossil fuels and thereby secure its energy supply in the long term. In pursuing these goals Tunisia has opted for a bottom-up approach based on small, decentralized applications (PV and SWH). Their deployment is also serving to build up its domestic solar industry, which is increasingly able to manufacture, install and operate technology components and entire systems.
Brazil: Diversification of electricity sources as a key benefit of RE investments
The Brazilian electricity supply is dominated by cheap hydro-power. However, droughts in recent years have led to blackouts and strengthened the recognition that the country needs to diversify its power supply to make it less dependent on a single source. As a consequence, the ten-year expansion plan (2012-2022) foresees a reduction in the share of hydroelectric power from nearly 66% (2012) to 62% 2022). In turn, the plan envisions increasing the share of non-hydro renewables from 18% (2012) to 23.5% (2022) and reducing the share of non-renewable power sources from 16.2% (2012) to 14.1% (2022). Brazilian policymakers have developed strategies and planning documents that clearly indicate installation and production targets for specific technologies and time lines. These have played an important role in preparing the public in general, and industry in particular, and are a key tool for structuring the expansion of RE in any given jurisdiction. The Brazilian approach is an example of good practice in this regard.
[Tabe: Development of the power supply (capacity targets) in Brazil by power source until 2022, according to the Ten-Year Energy Expansion Plan. INSERT TABLE. Source: Ministry of Mines and Energy, 2013.]
Public health benefits
The public health benefits that can be derived from RE and EE investments are particularly relevant for urban and industrial areas. Like other sources of air pollution, power or heat generation from coal or fuel oil has significant detrimental effects on the health of citizens, animals and plants.
World Health Organization (WHO) statistics are an important source that provide a good starting point for assessing public health co-benefits and communicating them to your audience.[1]
