Germany news: Pistorius to scrap warship project
06/24/2026 June 24, 2026 Employment in renewable sector hits record high in 2025 New government plans could slow the installation of rooftop solar systems [FILE
06/24/2026 June 24, 2026 Employment in renewable sector hits record high in 2025 New government plans could slow the installation of rooftop solar systems [FILE: Apr 1, 2025] Image: Daniel Reinhardt/IMAGO Some 436,000 people were employed in Germany's renewable energy sector last year — a record — but planned energy reforms by the government could put thousands of those jobs at risk, a leading think tank says.
The employment figures are 4% above those for 2023, with wind power the largest employer with 131,000 jobs — an increase of some 30% over 2023, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation. Photovoltaics accounted for almost 100,000 employees, followed by the production and installation of heat pumps, with around 72,000 people employed in that sector last year. Jana Fingerhut, a labor market expert at the foundation, said, however, that the government needed to continue to invest in the sector to maintain the jobs.
She said that in the photovoltaic sector, for example, the number of jobs was falling because most solar modules are now produced abroad. "The manufacturing base that was still so strong in Germany 15 years ago has disappeared. We must not allow the same thing to happen with the production of wind turbines, heat pumps and inverters," Fingerhut warned. Economy Minister Katharina Reiche is planning to link the expansion of wind and solar power to the development of Germany's electricity grid, but critics worry plans are progressing too slowly.
She is also considering scrapping subsidies for new rooftop solar systems in private households, which many fear could deter people from having them installed.
The BriefWire