eclareon, in partnership with the Slovak Association of Photovoltaic Industry and RES (SAPI), has conducted a landmark study forecasting that Slovakia’s renewable energy sector could require as many as 77,000 skilled employees by 2030. If the country accelerates heat pump deployment beyond current projections, however, the number could rise to an estimated 121,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. These figures stem from an in-depth analysis of three key technologies—solar PV, onshore wind, and heat pumps—across three developmental scenarios: business-as-usual, the Draft Update of the National Energy and Climate Plan, and a net-zero pathway targeting carbon neutrality by 2050.
Under the Draft Update NECP scenario alone, the study predicts around 50,000 FTE jobs, led by heat pumps (43%), with onshore wind and solar PV splitting the remaining 57%. The business-as-usual scenario, meanwhile, anticipates over 53,000 positions, dominated by heat pumps (82%). By contrast, the net-zero path envisions 77,000 FTE jobs, mostly from solar PV (65%) and onshore wind (35%), but this calculation does not yet include additional heat pump potential. Should heat pump deployment scale up at even the business-as-usual rate under the net-zero scenario, total employment could reach the 121,000 mark.
The study combines an employment factor model and an input-output model, integrating both secondary sources and unique primary data collected through online business surveys and expert interviews. According to eclareon’s analysis, despite 2023 having been designated the European Year of Skills, Slovakia’s education system still struggles to align with the specialized requirements of green jobs. Many companies in the renewables sector face a mismatch between the STEM skills they need and the existing labor force, pointing to a critical need for expanded technical training, interdisciplinary curricula, and hands-on industry partnerships.
To discuss these findings and explore actionable solutions, a high-level, invitation-only event was held on 29 October 2024 at the European Commission Representation in Bratislava. In attendance were national policymakers and representatives of major energy firms seeking to bridge the gap between the country’s labor supply and its rapidly evolving green energy sector. Presenting on behalf of eclareon were Vlad Surdea-Hernea (Project Manager) and Ulf Lohse (Senior Consultant), who outlined how Slovak industry and the government can collaborate to maximize the environmental and socio-economic benefits of renewables.
The full study, containing detailed methodology and scenario breakdowns, can be accessed at: Green Jobs in Slovakia (PDF).
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has intensified its energy transition, aiming for higher shares of renewable energy sources (RES) to reduce energy dependence and substitute Russian imports. This initiative aligns with key EU strategies like the Green Deal, Fit-for-55 Package, REPowerEU, and the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED 2023/2413). Central to this effort is Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577, a temporary emergency framework introduced in December 2022 to address lengthy permitting procedures—a major obstacle to renewable energy investments.
The objectives of this project include:
By analyzing the impact of accelerated permitting initiatives, this project contributes to refining the EU’s renewable energy strategy, ensuring its alignment with broader sustainability, security, and climate goals.
This project, led by eclareon, focuses on creating NGO guidelines and recommendations to ensure fair community engagement and benefit-sharing in solar, wind, and grid projects. It includes an in-depth report analyzing current European policies, measures, and practices, as well as case studies highlighting good practices and areas for improvement.
The initiative aims to provide evidence-based insights for regulators, developers, and municipalities, promoting strategies that enhance community acceptance and equitable development of renewable energy projects. By fostering procedurally just and distributively fair approaches, the project seeks to support the rapid and fair expansion of renewable energy in Europe.
Additionally, the project contributes to broader European and global efforts to establish common standards for fair renewable energy practices, offering criteria, KPIs, and actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
The ARES project aimed to contribute to an effective and cost-efficient deployment of renewable energy in the European Union by improving regional cooperation, in particular through the transparency of Member States’ investment plans and policies.
To this end, the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) of all member states were reviewed. The main focus was on the existing cooperation measures between the member states (e.g. statistical transfers) as well as on the planned installed renewable energy capacities and investments for the next decades.
As part of the TaqatHy project, realized by GIZ with the support of their political partner, Algeria’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), eclareon analyses the local value chains in Algeria for large and medium-sized solar and wind farms, as well as the quality infrastructure of such projects.
The results of the research will be compiled into a study containing recommendations for the development of local solar and wind value chains and their quality infrastructure in Algeria. These results can be used to strengthen Algeria’s renewable energy strategy.
As part of the TaqatHy project, realized by GIZ with the support of their political partner, Algeria’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), eclareon analyses the local value chain in Algeria in the field of large and mid-size enterprises for existing and future infrastructures of blue and green hydrogen, its development potential, the main factors for market development and the opportunities for local companies to participate in different link along the value chain.
The results will be laid out in a report highlighting recommendations for the development of the local green hydrogen value chain and related quality infrastructure in Algeria, in relation to the successful countries in the sector.
As the European Commission worked in 2015 to further develop and concretize post-2020 climate and energy policies, there was a need to explore the potential role of biogas in achieving European climate and energy goals. An important question in this context was which policies at the EU and Member State levels could best contribute to the effective and efficient growth of biogas in the EU. To this end, the European Commission commissioned CE Delft, eclareon and DLO (Institutes Alterra and FBR) to conduct a technical study to evaluate the optimal use of biogas after 2020, which developed scenarios for possible developments of biogas in the EU until 2030.
With the adoption of the recast Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) 2018/2001 the foundations have been made for a significant administrative simplification and a higher transparency of the procedures for renewable energy projects.
However, in addition to the monitoring of the legal transposition of the RED II there will still be ample room for further improvements of the administrative procedures related to permit granting and exchanges of best practices between bodies at regional level, national level and cross border.
The scope of this project was therefore the practical implementation of the Articles 15, 16 and 17 of the RED II and the identification of best practices in EU member states.
In addition to the main report, the consortium has produced 29 comprehensive national reports describing approval procedures and associated obstacles and best practices at the national level:
The PREBS project served to provide technical assistance to the Commission in the realization of the 2018 report on renewable energy. The project included the data collection, analysis and assessment of the progress in deployment of renewable energy, and national measures promoting such deployment, in the 28 EU Member States, based on Member State renewable energy progress reports submitted in 2017. In addition, the project also conducted data collection on the EU biofuel, biomass and biogas markets and on economic, social, and environmental impacts of the EU consumption of biofuels, biomass and biogas.