Renewable energy is, in general, energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. The European Commission's Annual Single Market Report 2021 states that the energy and renewables industrial ecosystem includes various economic divisions dedicated to the production, distribution, and or management of energy from wind, solar, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, ocean and heat pumps, usually classified within ten NACE rev2 divisions, including electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, manufacture of electrical equipment, and more divisions that are horizontal and contributing to all industrial ecosystems.
Overview
The core divisions of the RES ecosystem in the EU grew substantially over the last decade. The number of enterprises almost doubled from 110,748 in 2011 to 209,164 in 2020. This represents a 7% compound annual growth rate for this economic division. The turnover grew by 0.6% annually over the same period. The benefits in terms of employment contribution by this industrial ecosystem vary by country across the EU. The renewable energy industries created 1.2 million jobs in 2021 in the EU27. The three main renewable sources of energy contributing to employment generation were solid biomass, wind energy, and solar photovoltaic, which represent 68% of the total renewable energy employment in the EU, with solar being the source that has grown the most globally.
The European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems (EMI) project has produced its first yearly report on the Energy-Renewables ecosystem, highlighting data on its progress in terms of its industrial performance, technology generation and uptake, start-up trends, and dependencies.
Download the report
EMI Renewable industral ecosystem report.pdf
English