Reskilling For A Renewable Future

The world is in the midst of a massive energy transformation. The world’s energy demands keep increasing alongside a growing ?world population,?and there is a demand for this energy to come from alternative sources and not fossil fuels, making this shift uniquely challenging and yet full of opportunities. The need for this shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is being driven by technology, changes in the economic and political landscape, environmental concerns, and demand for greater convenience.

To respond to this change in the industry, there is an urgency for investment in building, research, and education. Reflecting the scale of this transition is the steady increase in spending. The last decade has seen a significant rise in new global investment in clean energy, with overall spending to the tune of?$300 billion?or more in most years. The particular focus of this investment has been on spending for solar, wind and energy-smart technologies.

The investment must also be made in training the workers in those fields and making sure they have the skills necessary. This means the workers in areas like construction, installation, maintenance, and transportation, as well as workers with computer and mathematical skills. There is currently a digital transformation skills gap that must be bridged.

?An example of a sector where reskilling is needed is in geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is seen as one of several key areas of research and engineering development in the transition to renewable energy. This is due to its use for heating, cooling, generation of clean electricity, aquaculture, and in industrial processes. Iceland, El Salvador, New Zealand, Kenya, and the Philippines are leaders in the geothermal field with Iceland supplying more than 90% of its total heating demand with geothermal energy.

For geothermal energy to be harnessed at scale, significant progress is required on several fronts:

• The reskilling of oil and gas workers to be able to effectively operate in geothermal projects.
• Many more engineers becoming involved Engineers are increasingly involved in geothermal research
• And for existing geothermal technology as well as upcoming developments and research breakthroughs to become more widely accessible to industry.

Some skills are also transferable for workers moving from fossil fuel to renewable energies. A notable example is between offshore oil and wind: Existing experience and operations for building offshore oil platforms can be leveraged for offshore wind services. In fact, IRENA estimates that about 40% of the full lifetime costs of an offshore wind project, including construction and maintenance, have significant synergies with the offshore oil and gas sector.

Important Relevant scientific data, including geoscience and environmental data, will be needed to choose sites. Geofacets ?can help discover and access ?essential information, helping users quickly find high-quality, relevant geoscience, geotechnical and geospatial data needed during the development phase of these projects.

Adapting to the energy transformation will be an ongoing effort but make no mistake — it’s already ramping up in a major way Adapting to the energy transformation will be a long-term process but make no mistake - it's already gaining momentum. Renewables sector employment topped 10 million in 2018, according to the?International Renewable Energy Agency?(IRENA). The energy transition overall will have many large-scale benefits to offer, including going from ?an increase in jobs, a decrease in energy dependency, and even a decrease in energy prices. If you are interested in learning more you can read the new skills needed for a renewable future .