Renewable energy to create over 9,000 skilled jobs by 2030: CPD study

• Renewable energy workforce will grow from 4,472 to 13,778
• Fossil fuel-based power will lose 400 jobs from 17,050
• Renewable energy will grow from 1,194MW to 6,000MW
• Electricity generation will reach 28,975MW by 2030

Bangladesh is expected to create about 9,300 skilled jobs through energy transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy by 2030 by implementing the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2023, which aims to cope with the consequences of climate change, according to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

A study by the think tank reveals that the renewable energy sector is expected to grow its workforce from 4,472 to 13,778 jobs. However, the fossil fuel-based power generation sector is expected to lose about 400 jobs from its current workforce of 17,050.

The new jobs in the energy transition will be created in specific categories, such as energy technicians, storage specialists, grid engineers, energy analysts, environment planners and consultants, energy efficiency experts, and green building designers and architects.

At a seminar organised by the think tank at the Brac Centre Inn in Dhaka on Thursday, CPD Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem presented the study, "Energy Transition in Bangladesh: Its Implication on Employment and Skills in the Power and Energy Sector."

The study specifically considers several energy transition targets mentioned in different draft policies, such as the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan and the Renewable Energy Policy 2023, and also utilises data from the Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2017, Khondoker Golam Moazzem said.

According to the study, Bangladesh's total electricity generation is projected to reach 28,975MW by 2030, including both on-grid and off-grid generation. This is up from the current total generation of 26,017MW.

Renewable energy generation is expected to increase from the current 1,194MW to 6,000MW by 2030, while fossil fuel-based power generation is expected to decline from 24,823MW to 17,945MW in the same period.

The study also mentioned that the fossil fuel industry will lose jobs in several areas, including fuel handling and storage, ash disposal and pollution control, boiler operation and combustion engineering, flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) technology, coal yard work and conveyor operation, and oil and gas refinery work.

"We need to focus on retaining and reskilling, provide income support, matching labour market services, employer incentives, and green finance methods in case of employment transition," Khondoker Moazzem said.

At the seminar, Khosru Md Selim, professor of electrical engineering at Independent University, said, "We have some challenges to participating in this transition. We will need a trained workforce through vocational training."

He also mentioned that some solar panels were installed in Dhaka city, but the systems are not working due to technical illiteracy.

Dr Ijaz Hossain, former professor of chemical engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), said, "The energy transition should have started a long time ago. The government is already moving towards anti-renewable energy production by implementing coal, gas, and furnace oil-based power plants. We already have 5,000 MW of this, and 2,000 MW is under construction."

Humayun Rashid, president of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh, said, "The prospect of the future job market in the renewable energy sector is fantastically good."

Mohammad Alauddin, rector of the Bangladesh Power Management Institute, said, "We have the policy, but we should focus on how it can be implemented. The country is in the take-off stage, and we should train our human resources. But who will train them? That should be our concern."

The government's 30% renewable energy transmission target is challenging, but not impossible, he said.