Inter-provincial cooperation in the consumption of renewable energy power from an employment perspective

China introduced the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2019 to boost renewable energy (RE) consumption across provinces, yet the policy overlooks associated employment impacts. To fill this gap, this paper constructs an inter-provincial cooperation model for non-hydro RE power consumption that integrates a dual-objective optimization (minimizing quota completion cost and maximizing employment) and a minimum-deviation benefit allocation approach. The model identifies the roles of green power buyers and sellers, and quantifies optimal RE generation, employment, and costs under both non-cooperation and cooperation scenarios. An empirical analysis is conducted for five representative provinces (Hebei, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Hunan). The results indicate that, compared with the non-cooperation mode, inter-provincial cooperation increases non-hydro RE power generation by 13.42 × 10⁹ kWh (27.4%), creates an additional 1.39 × 105 jobs, and increases total comprehensive benefits by 3.38 × 10⁹ CNY (9.9%). The proposed minimum-deviation allocation method achieves fairer benefit distribution than single methods such as the Shapley value and game quadratic programming. This study provides a practical framework for provincial governments to balance RE consumption, cost efficiency, and employment growth in cross-regional green power cooperation.