Distributed solar is a jobs creation engine

The decentralized renewable industry in emerging markets like Africa and South Asia still lacks comprehensive and up-to-date numbers on total number of jobs created, but IRENA just put out a new report that hints at the huge untapped potential for employment (see chart below). Previously, IRENA forecast that the off-grid renewable energy sector would create 4.5 million jobs globally by 2030. UNEP has also estimated that off-grid lighting could create 500,000 jobs in Western Africa alone.