The Bertelsmann Foundation has identified a record employment level in renewable energy in a recent study. According to the study, around 436,000 people worked in the sector in 2025 – almost four percent more than in the previous peak year of 2023. Wind energy remains the strongest area with 131,000 jobs, an increase of about 30 percent compared to 2023. Photovoltaics employs nearly 100,000 people, and the heat pump sector around 72,000.
The foundation warns, however, of the consequences of the federal government’s emerging energy policy shift. The planned reforms could jeopardize “thousands of jobs,” the study states. Labor market expert Jana Fingerhut cautioned: “The manufacturing sector in Germany, which was still so strong 15 years ago, has disappeared. We must not let that happen again with the production of wind turbines, heat pumps, and inverters.”
Federal Economics Minister Katharina Reiche (CDU) wants to more closely link the expansion of wind and solar installations to grid expansion and reduce costs. Among other things, the elimination of subsidies for small new solar systems on residential rooftops is under discussion. The foundation calls for the legislative proposals to be designed to “secure employment” and not to stifle the expansion of renewable energy during the economic crisis.
Source: www.tagesspiegel.de
