India's clean energy journey has the potential to generate more than 44 lakh jobs by 2030, with rooftop solar emerging as the single largest employment driver, accounting for around 43% of the projected workforce, a recent study finds.
The findings come at a time when the government is accelerating renewable energy deployment through various schemes aimed at expanding solar adoption across households and agriculture.
Rooftop solar leads workforce expansion
According to the CEEW and NRDC study titled Driving Energy Transition: Workforce, Skills, and Gender in India’s Renewable Energy Sector, rooftop solar has already emerged as the largest contributor to clean energy job creation. Of the 6.5 lakh clean energy workers added between FY23 and FY26, rooftop solar accounted for 62% of the total workforce addition.
PM-KUSUM followed with a 16.3% share, while biomass power contributed 12.6% and ground-mounted solar projects accounted for around 6%.
Why rooftop solar?
The report attributed rooftop solar's strong employment potential to its decentralised nature.
Unlike utility-scale renewable projects, which are developed at a single location, rooftop systems require installation across individual homes, commercial establishments and institutional buildings.
This creates demand for workers at every stage—from customer acquisition and site assessment to installation, grid integration and maintenance.
The study estimates rooftop solar generates nearly 45 full-time equivalent (FTE) job-years per megawatt (MW), compared with just one FTE job-year per MW for ground-mounted solar projects and around 0.6 FTE job-year per MW for wind power installations.
Business development emerges as top hiring segment
When CNBC-TV18 asked about the roles that will see the highest demand in rooftop solar, Akanksha Tyagi, Programme Lead at CEEW, said, "Among the different phases of deploying a rooftop solar plant, the business development phase has the highest employment potential. This phase accounts for about 38% of the total full-time equivalent jobs in rooftop solar."
She added that this phase requires significant customer acquisition efforts and navigating subsidies under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana and various state schemes, leading to high employment intensity.
Explaining other segments, Tyagi said that construction and commissioning follow business development, accounting for about 31% of the total jobs created through the deployment of a rooftop solar plant.
Demand rising for technical and customer-facing skills
As the sector expands, employers are increasingly looking for workers with specialised technical capabilities.
According to Tyagi, key technical skills in demand include:
On the non-technical side, Tyagi said employers are seeking candidates with strong business communication skills, regulatory knowledge and client relationship management capabilities. Prior experience in the renewable energy sector is increasingly becoming a preferred qualification.
Women remain underrepresented in the clean energy workforce
Despite rapid growth in employment opportunities, the report highlights persistent gender gaps across the sector. Women currently account for only 11% of the workforce in solar and wind deployment and manufacturing segments.
According to the study, women's participation is highest in rooftop solar at 15%, followed by solar module manufacturing at 13%.
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