A REPORT of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has said that Bangladesh has created the sixth largest renewable energy-related workforce in the world in 2013. Bangladesh’s position is equivalent to that of Spain in this regard. In the last decade, the number of solar-powered homes in Bangladesh has jumped from 25,000 to 2.8 million, according to the report.
This progress has created some 114,000 jobs, for assembling solar panels and selling, installing and maintaining them. This solar-power related job creation nearly doubled between 2011 and 2013 which shows a sharp increase. What is more optimistic is the dynamic importance of this statistics. The figures are set to increase further due to higher installation rates, according to the report.
Solar photovoltaic and wind power remain the most dynamic renewable energy technologies. Solar energy accounted for 2.3 million of the world’s 6.5 million renewable energy-related jobs in 2013, which was 5.7 million jobs in 2012, according to the report. Regional shift from developed to emerging countries continued in wind and solar technologies, predominantly in the manufacturing and installation segments of the value chain.
It is remarkable and enthusiastic indeed that Bangladesh comes alongside countries like China, Brazil, USA, and Germany when it comes to job creation in the green energy sector. According to some successful local entrepreneurs, Bangladesh was able to generate those jobs mainly due to a growing popularity of solar home systems. Solar power is increasingly becoming a way to catch up to the need to build a bigger power grid here. In this concern, the role of external funding is very instrumental. For example, with the financial support from the World Bank, starting off a project of solar installation in 2003, a single company has created more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in the green economy.
In this positive development, we take the chance to congratulate efforts in this regard and urge the government to subsidize this sector because of its multifaceted importance. Investment in the green energy sector is a very sustainable and longtime visionary investment. It will definitely help achieve the growth in a way which is free from external social costs. Furthermore, the job creation effect is just too big to be ignored. Even green energy equipment processing could be shifted to an export oriented business. Only recently Bangladesh has started exporting “mainstream” or traditional energy tools like batteries and rechargeable batteries on an industrial scale. The prospect of the silent revolution in green energy, which is definitely an energy source of the future, needs serious consideration for subsidy and government incentives.
