Renewable technologies in Karnataka, India: jobs potential and co-benefits

Abstract

The tangible benefits of renewable energy technologies are a crucial parameter when determining the political feasibility of adopting a low-carbon development path, particularly for emerging economies. We present that these potential benefits consist of "green jobs" and of a wider set of socioeconomic and environmental "co-benefits" that are generated simultaneously from renewable technologies in India. Based on case studies from the Indian state of Karnataka we obtain estimates for jobs and describe co-benefits enabled by wind, offgrid solar and biomass technologies. Furthermore, we use these estimates to project the potential for future benefits that could be generated by further enhancing the use of renewable technologies toward sustainable energy policy and security. We show that enhancing green economy offers benefits that include the creation of jobs, but also delivers a much wider set of socioeconomic and environmental welfare gains for emerging economies such as India. Our paper also provides valuable evidence-based analyses for policy-makers when assessing the benefits of low-carbon sustainable development.

Wind Power and Job Creation

“…As we saw in a paper concerning India, labor intensity matters [41]. This is an indication that cross-country comparability is hard and, in some cases, not fruitful.…”

“…One important observation is presented in Kattumuri and Kruse [41], who transformed their findings from a project in India to a USA job-intensity level. The labor intensity is rather different between the USA and India, and hence they show that we can expect a larger employment effect in a country with greater labor intensity.…”

The Effect of Marshallian and Jacobian Knowledge Spillovers on Jobs in the Solar, Wind and Energy Efficiency Sector

“…All wind power projects are undertaken under various institutional frameworks, labour markets, time periods and labour intensity within the respective countries. Labour intensity within a country also matters [69].…”

India and Climate Change: Evolving Ideas and Increasing Policy Engagement

“…The transition from solid fuels to LPG cooking is further found to reduce pressures on forests and achieve modest climate benefits, although with uncertainties regarding the extent of nonrenewable biomass harvesting (113). Studies that consider the impact on livelihoods show that renewable energy technologies provide green jobs along with a wider set of socioeconomic and environmental co-benefits (114). Livelihoods, food and water production, and rural development are also examined in the context of large-scale biofuel production (115,116).…”

“…The evidence of potential trade-offs, however, is largely examined between renewable investments and biodiversity, the preservation of local forests versus grazing land use, and the local environmental and biodiversity impacts of coal plants (117). The literature includes trade-offs (and synergies) between solar energy and the impacts on agricultural land and water resources, with ways to maximize the efficiency of land and water use (118). Other studies consider the tradeoffs from integrating mitigation and adaptation strategies in agriculture and forestry (119), and the interdependence among the water, energy, and food nexus (120).…”