Renewable energy, Hamburg’s employment engine: Industry accounts for 24,700 jobs Survey for the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster: More than 50% Job Growth since 2008

Renewable energy is driving economic growth in Hamburg and the surrounding metropolitan region, with an unprecedented increase in the number of employees over the past few years. According to a survey carried out by Prognos AG on behalf of the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster, adjusted growth in employment in this sector amounted to approx. 56 per cent in the period from 2008 to 2011. The industry accounts for around 24,700 employees in 1,466 companies in the Hamburg metropolitan area, with roughly 14,500 of those jobs in the city of Hamburg. Companies in this sector are optimistic about the future and envisage job growth of 40 per cent in the period to 2015. Many firms in Hamburg and the surrounding region share a highly developed service orientation.

“Our study clearly illustrates that renewable energy is now a significant pull factor for Hamburg as a business location and we expect this trend to continue over the next few years. The Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster will continue to encourage networking as a platform for the industry,” says Jan Rispens, Managing Director of Renewable Energy Hamburg.

“The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is North Germany’s renewable energy capital. It has played a key role in the city’s prosperous development and dynamism over the past three years,” stresses Hamburg’s Senator for Economics, Transport and Innovation, Frank Horch.

“We have applied a variety of methods to achieve valid results. The figures clearly show that the Hamburg metropolitan region has benefited disproportionately from the current energy revolution,” says Peter Kaiser, Senior Project Manager at Prognos AG, being responsible for this survey.

The companies surveyed predict a continuously positive trend for the future. In the period to 2015 they envisage a further increase in their workforce of around 40% in the renewable energy sector – compared to a growth forecast of 15% in their other business areas. This trend is mainly driven by plant construction and component manufacturing as well as planning, installation and maintenance. 

As well as company and employment statistics, this survey also analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the Hamburg metropolitan region and the wind, bio-energy and solar energy segments. Hamburg is an important centre for the wind energy sector in particular. Many service providers are active in the fields of certification and financing as well as engineering. For the offshore sector, the harbours at Cuxhaven and Brunsbüttel play a major role within the Hamburg metropolitan region.

Both the executive summary and the complete study are available at: http://en.erneuerbare-energien-hamburg.de/downloads.html