Philippines sees increase in employment in RE sector

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines saw an increase in employment in the renewable energies industry last year, but could have employed more if not for the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on various project developments in the sector, according to the latest report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

In the eighth edition of Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2021 by IRENA in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the number of solar photovoltaic (PV) jobs rose from 33,700 in 2019 to 41,035 in 2020.

Meanwhile, wind power jobs increased to 23,800, but the report did not provide comparative data from the previous year.

This mirrors the trend of solar and wind jobs leading the global employment growth in the renewable energies sector, accounting for a total of four million and 1.25 million jobs, respectively.

The large and small hydropower sector employed close to 53,600 workers, solid biomass contributed another 11,200, geothermal power 8,300 and biofuels processed close to 2,900 based on data from the Department of Energy-Renewable Energy Management Bureau (DOE-REMB).

IRENA also estimates that another 36,100 jobs—albeit not necessarily full-time equivalent—were in the agricultural supply chain for biofuels.

In total, the sector employed 169,600 people last year.

However, IRENA said the Philippine renewable energies sector could employ as many as 178,000 people if not for the mobility restrictions caused by the pandemic.

“COVID-19 mobility restrictions slowed project development activities for wind and solar, and caused some construction delays, whereas operations were less affected,” the report said.

“However, delays were addressed through special permits that declared workers in these sectors as essential personnel and through a general streamlining of the permitting process in the energy sector,” it said.

Unlike the solar and wind power jobs, the geothermal and biofuels segment saw a decline in jobs last year.

COVID-19 put on hold or postponed many activities in geothermal energy, which reduced the number of jobs by 30 percent.

Meanwhile, IRENA estimates biofuels employment will reach 28,900 jobs, but direct jobs in the biofuels processing were reported only at 2,887.

“Plants suffered COVID-19–related shutdowns driven by mobility restrictions and the resulting reduced demand for fuel. Construction of new plants was also delayed by problems with procuring necessary equipment and manpower,” the report said.

The Philippines’ ethanol production is estimated to have declined by 20 percent and biodiesel by 30 percent.

On a global scale, worldwide biofuels production also fell six percent from 161 billion liters in 2019 to 151 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic’s effect on transport energy demand and the fact that lower crude oil prices made biofuels less competitive.

Ethanol output fell eight percent, while biodiesel production—which is much smaller in volume than ethanol — held almost steady.

In terms of jobs, IRENA estimates worldwide biofuels employment will hit 2.4 million last year, a slight decline from 2019.

“Fuel processing requires relatively few people, and the bulk of jobs are in the agriculture supply chain, planting and harvesting feedstock. But many of the latter are casual and seasonal in nature, rather than full-time, formal jobs. There are also distinctions between plantation workers and independent farmers, with varying levels of labor productivity,” the report said.

Renewable energy employment worldwide reached 12 million last year, up from 11.5 million in 2019.

The report also confirmed that COVID-19 caused delays and supply chain disruptions, with impacts on jobs varying by country and end use, and among segments of the value chain.