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BMU Brochure
Renewably employed

Short and long-term impacts of the expansion of renewable energy on the German labour market

The expansion of renewable energy in Germany continues to have a significant impact on economic growth and jobs. This was shown by a multi-year study commissioned by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and carried out between 2008 and 2011 by a team of renowned research institutions, with the Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS) as lead agency.

The brochure "Renewably Employed" summarises the key findings of this study. The 2nd updated edition was published in July 2011. It is based on three academic reports by the research team, which were published in the first half of 2011. They can be accessed (in German only) on the Internet at: Job effects of renewable energies.

The reports indicate that renewable energy’s contribution to employment rose to about 370,000 jobs in 2010. This is more than twice as much as the 2004 figure (about 160,000 jobs). By 2030, gross employment generated by renewable energy in Germany could rise to over half a million jobs. Extensive model calculations show renewable energy’s impact on net employment in Germany in the same period to be positive in virtually all the scenarios analysed. On the basis of model calculations, the report also illustrates how employment generated by renewables is distributed across the individual German states, taking onshore wind energy as an example.