Siemens Boss Sounds the Alarm on Looming Shortage of Skilled Clean Energy Workers
A top Siemens Energy executive has sounded the alarm over an impending shortage of skilled green energy labor as the UK steps up efforts to increase its green energy capacity. Siemens Energy’s UK and Ireland boss Darren Davidson says the lack of skilled workers is one of the top challenges facing the country’s burgeoning renewable energy sector and estimates that the industry will need up to half a million more skilled workers to meet net-zero emission targets.
With the renewable energy space going through ‘unprecedented growth,’ the Siemens executive said, this labor gap will be one of the largest obstacles in its path. The UK is one of dozens of countries that are working to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by replacing fossil fuels with green alternatives.
Solar and wind energy have taken center stage as the primary alternatives to fossil fuels and decades of technological advancements have made these two renewable sources of energy a real threat to oil, coal, and natural gas. However, Davidson suggested that putting too much emphasis on solar and wind over other green sources of energy could hamper the country’s plans to eliminate fossil fuels from its energy mix.
Siemens Energy opened the largest wind turbine blade factory in the UK in 2016 where it currently has 1,300 employees. The firm will be integral to the UK’s plans to decarbonize its energy system and quadruple offshore wind energy capacity by decade-end, Davidson said.
However, although the UK government has said it will provide the support the renewable energy industry needs to fill its labor gap, building a properly skilled workforce will be a challenge especially as the deadlines for certain climate action goals approach. The UK will need hundreds of thousands of skilled workers to decarbonize its energy grid by 2035 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Additionally, Davidson noted that achieving these goals will require investment in other green energy technologies. This includes green hydrogen as well as high-capacity energy storage to overcome the intermittency inherent to renewable energy.
To that end, Siemens Energy has tentative plans to retrofit its Lincoln gas turbine factory to make it run on hydrogen gas. Still, Davidson said, the firm will have to be certain about the market’s viability before making the transition. The facility currently has around 1,500 employees.
A spokesperson from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the government’s transition to domestically-produced clean energy will create plenty of new high-quality jobs across the UK. The spokesperson noted that the Office for Clean Energy jobs would work with trade unions, Skills England, industry, and experts to ensure there are enough skilled green workers to support the country’s green transition.
As the skills gap is filled in different jurisdictions, the clean energy minerals being produced by companies like First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTF) will be quickly utilized to make needed products like solar panels, stationary energy storage systems and wind turbines.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FSTTF
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer
A top Siemens Energy executive has sounded the alarm over an impending shortage of skilled green energy labor as the UK steps up efforts to increase its green energy capacity. Siemens Energy’s UK and Ireland boss Darren Davidson says the lack of skilled workers is one of the top challenges facing the country’s burgeoning renewable energy sector and estimates that the industry will need up to half a million more skilled workers to meet net-zero emission targets.
With the renewable energy space going through ‘unprecedented growth,’ the Siemens executive said, this labor gap will be one of the largest obstacles in its path. The UK is one of dozens of countries that are working to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by replacing fossil fuels with green alternatives.
Solar and wind energy have taken center stage as the primary alternatives to fossil fuels and decades of technological advancements have made these two renewable sources of energy a real threat to oil, coal, and natural gas. However, Davidson suggested that putting too much emphasis on solar and wind over other green sources of energy could hamper the country’s plans to eliminate fossil fuels from its energy mix.
Siemens Energy opened the largest wind turbine blade factory in the UK in 2016 where it currently has 1,300 employees. The firm will be integral to the UK’s plans to decarbonize its energy system and quadruple offshore wind energy capacity by decade-end, Davidson said.
However, although the UK government has said it will provide the support the renewable energy industry needs to fill its labor gap, building a properly skilled workforce will be a challenge especially as the deadlines for certain climate action goals approach. The UK will need hundreds of thousands of skilled workers to decarbonize its energy grid by 2035 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Additionally, Davidson noted that achieving these goals will require investment in other green energy technologies. This includes green hydrogen as well as high-capacity energy storage to overcome the intermittency inherent to renewable energy.
To that end, Siemens Energy has tentative plans to retrofit its Lincoln gas turbine factory to make it run on hydrogen gas. Still, Davidson said, the firm will have to be certain about the market’s viability before making the transition. The facility currently has around 1,500 employees.
A spokesperson from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the government’s transition to domestically-produced clean energy will create plenty of new high-quality jobs across the UK. The spokesperson noted that the Office for Clean Energy jobs would work with trade unions, Skills England, industry, and experts to ensure there are enough skilled green workers to support the country’s green transition.
As the skills gap is filled in different jurisdictions, the clean energy minerals being produced by companies like First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTF) will be quickly utilized to make needed products like solar panels, stationary energy storage systems and wind turbines.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCQB: FSTTF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FSTTF
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer
