Here's the largest job generating sector in clean energy sector

India’s 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity target and goals under the National Green Hydrogen Mission could generate over 44,00,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, according to a new study.

The study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) India said that rooftop solar is projected to be the single largest employment engine, accounting for 43% of these estimated jobs.

The study finds that of the 6,50,000 clean energy workers added between FY23 and FY26, the largest share came from rooftop solar, which accounted for 62% of the total workforce addition. This was followed by PM-KUSUM at 16.3%, biomass power at 12.6% and ground-mounted solar at 6%.

Rooftop solar creates more jobs because it must be installed home by home, shop by shop, and building by building, unlike large solar or wind projects that are built at a single site. This means more workers are needed for customer outreach, site surveys, design, installation, grid connection, and maintenance.

Women account for only 11% of the total workforce in solar and wind deployment and manufacturing sectors. Women’s participation is highest in rooftop solar at 15%, followed by solar module manufacturing at 13%, floating solar at 12%, and ground-mounted solar at 11%.

The study also finds that 61% of women in the clean energy workforce are employed in non-technological roles such as human resources, accounting, and administration.

For instance, rooftop solar generates 44 times more FTE job-years per MW than utility-scale solar. The study estimates that rooftop solar generates 45 FTE job-years/MW, compared to 1 FTE job-year/MW for ground-mounted solar and 0.6 FTE job-year/MW for wind. Decentralised clean energy systems were found to be significantly more jobs-intensive than large-scale systems.

It is based on a primary survey of companies conducted in 2024–25 across the solar, wind, bioenergy, and hydropower sectors. The study developed new FTE employment coefficients to estimate workforce intensity across different clean energy technologies and business phases across solar, wind, bioenergy, and hydropower sectors, and estimates direct jobs created during component manufacturing, project deployment, and operations.

India now ranks third globally in renewable energy installed capacity and has achieved its target of meeting 50% of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil sources in 2025, five years ahead of schedule.