The renewable energy sector employed over one million people in Europe and created a turnover of around €143.6 billion in 2014, according to a new report published by EurObserv'ER, the body that monitors trends in renewable energy in Europe.
According to the report – the State of Renewable Energies in Europe – the countries with the highest amount of renewable energy jobs were Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain, with the EU's smaller countries having the least jobs in the sector.
When it comes to turnover, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Denmark and Spain saw the highest turnover rates last year.
Wind energy was the main driver of jobs and growth in the sector overall with 12 EU countries seeing growth and over 12 GW of newly installed capacity. The sector accounts for over 324,000 jobs and in 2014 its turnover was €48.3 billion.
The report also said that wind energy has been the driver of investments in renewables over recent years. Between 2013 and 2014, investments in renewable energy generation projects increased significantly, mainly in wind energy.
While the market for photovoltaic energy has flattened in Europe, the sector still had a turnover of €16.4 billion and accounted for 120,000 jobs, according to the report. Heat pumps and biofuels came in next with turnovers of €13.8 billion and €13.4 billion respectively. Biogas, small hydro, solar thermal and geothermal all had a turnover in the range of €1.3 – 6.1 billion.
Source: © European Union, 1995-2016