Hydropower jobs grew 2.3% in 2022, reaching 2.49 million individuals, according to the Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2023 published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
In the report, IRENA highlighted six key messages:
- Decentralized solutions provide reliable power and employment in remote areas. Small-scale hydropower, for instance, requires anywhere from 17,000 person-days (for a 5 kW plant) to over 160,000 person-days (for a 500 kW plant) for initial planning and equipment procurement and manufacturing, installation, connection, ongoing operation and maintenance, all the way to eventual decommissioning.
- Employment can be expanded substantially in coming years and decades with a comprehensive and ambitious policy mix.
- Vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions, along with geopolitical rivalries, is driving a new interest in industrial policy measures to build and strengthen local capacities and secure related job creation benefits.
- Education and training must be expanded to prevent the widening of skill gaps. They must be paired with efforts to tap talent among under-represented groups, including women, youth and minorities.
- Labor rights and social dialogue are indispensable for an energy transition that produces just outcomes and secures workers’ prospects.
- Achieving the energy transition in a manner consistent with climate stability requires much faster renewables deployment, in turn creating more jobs. It also demands broader, systemic change – moving beyond the pursuit of endless economic growth incompatible with planetary limits.
In a section specific to hydropower, the report said:
Hydropower remains at the forefront of the renewable energy landscape, boasting a global capacity surpassing 1,255 GW as of 2022. This figure translates to an impressive 37% of the global total renewable energy capacity. Total installed hydropower capacity exceeds that of wind and solar PV, although annual additions are much smaller now – some 20.5 GW in 2022. China, Brazil, Canada and the U.S. are among the key actors in this sector.
To assess job numbers in hydropower, IRENA uses an employment-factor approach coupled with national-level data for select countries. Considering data revisions since the previous edition of the annual review, the latest report estimates that about 2.49 million individuals were directly employed in the sector in 2022, 2.3% more than in the previous year. Consistent with earlier findings, operations and maintenance (O&M) represent two-thirds of the direct jobs, 30% of the jobs are related to construction and installation activities, and about 6% are in component manufacturing. The remaining fraction pertains to O&M services, which represent the smallest proportion of the workforce.
China continues to dominate in hydropower employment with a 35% share of the global total. India (with a 19% share), followed by Brazil, Viet Nam and Pakistan, are among the top five.
