Investment, Planning and Skills Bring Growth to UK Renewable Energy Sector


maintenance and then management. Similarly, the armed forces, IT, utilities and semiconductor industries provide a hotbed of skills. Alistair Taylor, Head of Service for Repower, came directly from the semiconductor industry. Ron Donnelly, Principal Consultant with global engineering firm Mott MacDonald, transferred from IT in the


Individual SME energy projects may not deliver a significant energy return, but collectively they could make a big contribution to the renewable energy deficit.


banking sector after completing a self-funded MSc in renewables at Loughborough. This was not such a huge leap, as Mott Macdonald advises banks on investments and lending for European wind projects.


More cross-skilling from related sectors must be encouraged via bridge training and apprenticeship schemes. Awareness-building campaigns also need to be set up so workers with relevant transferable skills know of the opportunities and have the incentives to act upon them.


Skills for the Future


The long-term picture must be considered by providing education and training schemes for school leavers, including new apprenticeship schemes to help students develop vocational skills and more training courses set up by energy companies as well as further education institutions. There is currently only one full-time certified wind technician course in the UK, which is at Northumberland College. The British Wind Energy Association working group has recently opened an apprenticeship for school leavers at Carnegie College in Fife. Employers and the government must invest more in training to develop new talent.


Industry Collaboration


Industry collaboration between sector groups is also critical if the right skills are to be produced. Employers, trade associations, local and national government and recruitment companies must work together to ensure the demand for skills is met by supply and that the skills being


The UK is in a great position to become one of the world’s centres for innovation if it takes advantage of a new ‘knowledge economy’ developing from the renewable energy sector.


produced match the needs of employers. For example, Taylor Hopkinson Associates is currently working with the Energy and Utility Skills’ Renewable Energy Workforce Planning Group in Scotland to ensure the workforce is better informed and incentivised, as well as developing the relevant skills for the task in hand. Despite such work, more industry collaboration is needed.


12


government commits more funding to training and provides attractive tax incentives for global manufacturers to set up their operations in the UK and pass on their skills to the domestic workforce.


Conclusion


There is little doubt that the UK is in a unique position to become one of the world’s centres for the generation of renewable energy. It has a coastline and climate ideal for wind, wave and tidal power. It is also in a geographically strong position to export not only its surplus energy, but also the skills that will drive the sector forward. However, time is of the essence. The government has set itself stringent carbon emission targets yet has not delivered a cohesive plan of how these targets will be met. The longer the government hesitates, the more likely the skills deficit will be met by foreign employers. It is also less likely that the UK will secure investment from global energy companies looking for suitable locations to develop their renewable energy operations. Uncertainty permeates the sector; however, clear and transparent planning, commitment and leadership from the government will go a long way to resolving this. Now is the time to take firm action and put the UK back on the map as a centre of industry, innovation and enterprise. n


MODERN ENERGY REVIEW – VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2


The industry also requires more investment in education, awareness building and incentive schemes to ensure that it is attracting the right personnel and that their skills are sustainable and relevant to the sector.


Exporting UK Skills


The UK is in a great position to become one of the world’s centres for innovation if it takes advantage of a new ‘knowledge economy’ developing from the renewable energy sector. It already leads the way in wave and tidal prototyping and testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. Other areas include the development of ‘smart grid’ technology that makes more efficient use of power outputs. Skills developed in these areas can be exported abroad as a way of developing new revenue streams for the renewable industry and wider economy. This will also build the UK’s global reputation as a centre for the development of new renewable energy sources.


Some countries are already buying in UK skills for their wave and tidal operations by employing R&D experts. Furthermore, some UK renewable energy companies, such as Natural Power, SgurrEnergy and RES, have started ‘exporting’ skills by setting up consultancy operations abroad. These are managed and operated using UK skill sets. This expansion is bringing much-needed revenue into the UK and provides a self-sustained stream of income for further investment and development.


Although the UK excels in R&D and testing, it continues to lack skills in manufacturing and engineering, particularly the manufacture of wind turbines and specialist parts, their design and construction. It will continue to rely on skills from Germany, Denmark and India unless the


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124