Renewable energy engineer

Renewable energy engineers research alternative sources of energy in order to design systems for renewable energy production. They strive to optimise energy production from renewable sources, and reduce production expenses and environmental strain. They design systems which focus on energy sustainability and efficiency.

The following job titles also refer to renewable energy engineer:

renewables engineer
project engineer, PV array
project engineer, renewables
renewable energy technology engineering specialist
renewable energy engineering specialist
renewable energy technology engineer
renewable energy systems engineer
asset engineer, renewable power
project engineer, offshore wind
renewable energy engineering adviser
renewable power engineer
renewable energy technology engineering adviser
turbine engineer
renewable energy engineering expert
renewable energy engineering consultant
renewable energy technology engineering expert
industrial energy engineer
wind turbine project engineer
renewable energies engineer
renewable energy technology engineering consultant
project engineer, energy efficiency

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as renewable energy engineer. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Renewable energy engineer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to renewable energy engineer.

energy systems engineer
solar energy engineer
wind energy engineer
hydropower engineer
environmental mining engineer

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of renewable energy engineer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of renewable energy engineer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of renewable energy engineer.

Solar energy: The energy which originates from light and heat from the sun, and which can be harnessed and used as a renewable source of energy using different technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV) for electricity production and solar thermal energy (STE) for thermal energy generation.
Electrical engineering: Understand electrical engineering, a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism.
Technical drawings: Drawing software and the various symbols, perspectives, units of measurement, notation systems, visual styles and page layouts used in technical drawings.
Engineering processes: The systematic approach to the development and maintenance of engineering systems.
Civil engineering: The engineering discipline that studies the design, construction and maintenance of naturally built works such as roads, buildings, and canals.
Fluid mechanics: The characteristics and properties of fluids, including gases, liquids and plasmas, at rest and in motion, and the forces on them.
Mechanical engineering: Discipline that applies principles of physics, engineering and materials science to design, analyse, manufacture and maintain mechanical systems.
Environmental engineering: The application of scientific and engineering theories and principles aimed at improving the environment and sustainability, such as the provision of clean habitation necessities (such as air, water, and land) for humans and other organisms, for environmental remediation in the event of pollution, sustainable energy development, and improved waste management and waste reduction methods.
Industrial heating systems: Heating systems fuelled by gas, wood, oil, biomass, solar power, and other reneable energy sources and their energy saving principles, applicable specifically to industrial buildings and facilities.
Mining, construction and civil engineering machinery products: The offered mining, construction and civil engineering machinery products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.
Power engineering: Subdiscipline of energy and electrical engineering which specialises in the generation, transmission, distribution, and usage of electrical power through the connection of electrical devices to motors, generators, and transformers, such as an AC-DC power adapter.
Renewable energy technologies: The different types of energy sources which cannot be depleted, such as wind, solar, water, biomass, and biofuel energy. The different technologies used to implement these types of energy to an increasing degree, such as wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, photovoltaics, and concentrated solar power.

These skills are necessary for the role of renewable energy engineer.

Promote sustainable energy: Promote the use of renewable electricity and heat generation sources to organisations and individuals, in order to work towards a sustainable future and encourage sales of renewable energy equipment, such as solar power equipment.
Provide information on geothermal heat pumps: Provide organisations and individuals searching for alternative methods to provide buildings with energy on the cost, benefits, and negative aspects of the installation and use of geothermal heat pumps for utility services, and what one must take into account when considering the purchase and installation of geothermal heat pumps.
Ensure compliance with safety legislation: Implement safety programmes to comply with national laws and legislation. Ensure that equipment and processes are compliant with safety regulations.
Use thermal management: Provide thermal management solutions for product design, system development and electronic devices used to protect high power systems and applications in demanding environments. These can be eventually collaborated with customers or other engineers.
Adjust engineering designs: Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.
Research locations for wind farms: Perform research on-site and using a wind atlas in order to evaluate different locations which could be suitable for the construction of groups of wind turbines, as well as perform follow-up research on the location in order to aid in the development of construction plans.
Perform scientific research: Gain, correct or improve knowledge about phenomena by using scientific methods and techniques, based on empirical or measurable observations.
Use technical drawing software: Create technical designs and technical drawings using specialised software.
Make electrical calculations: Determine the type, size and number of pieces of electrical equipment for a given distribution area by making complex electrical calculations. These are made for instruments such as transformers, circuit breakers, switches and lightning arresters.
Manage engineering project: Manage engineering project resources, budget, deadlines, and human resources, and plan schedules as well as any technical activities pertinent to the project.
Provide information on solar panels: Provide organisations and individuals searching for alternative methods to provide facilities and residences with energy on the costs, benefits, and negative aspects of the installation and use of solar panels, and what one must take into account when considering the purchase and installation of solar systems.
Provide information on wind turbines: Provide organisations and individuals searching for alternative energy methods on the cost, benefits, and negative aspects of the installation and use of wind turbines, both residential and common, and what one must take into account when considering the implementation of wind turbine technology.
Carry out energy management of facilities: Contribute to develop effective strategies for energy management and making sure that these are sustainable for buildings. Review buildings and facilities to identify where improvements can be made in energy efficiency.
Use cad software: Use computer-aided design (CAD) systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimisation of a design.
Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
Inform on government funding: Give information to customers related to the grants and financing programmes attributed by the government for small and large scale projects in various fields such as the promotion of renewable energies.
Design wind turbines: Design the electrical components and blades used in equipment which generates energy from the wind into electrical power, ensuring that the design is optimised to ensure safe and efficient production of energy.
Adapt energy distribution schedules: Monitor the procedures involved in the distribution of energy in order to assess whether energy supply must be increased or decreased depending on changes in demand, and incorporate these changes into the distribution schedule. Ensure that the changes are complied with.
Approve engineering design: Give consent to the finished engineering design to go over to the actual manufacturing and assembly of the product.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of renewable energy engineer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Energy market: The trends and major driving factors in the energy trading market, energy trades methodologies and practice, and the identification of the major stakeholders in the energy sector.
Engineering principles: The engineering elements like functionality, replicability, and costs in relation to the design and how they are applied in the completion of engineering projects.
Energy performance of buildings: Factors that contribute to lower energy consumption of buildings. Building and renovation techniques used to achieve this. Legislation and procedures regarding energy performance of buildings.
Electrical power safety regulations: The compliance with safety measures which need to be taken during the installation, operation, and maintenance of constructions and equipment which function in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power, such as the appropriate safety gear, equipment handling procedures, and preventive actions.
Power electronics: The functioning, design, and usage of electronics that control and convert electric power. Power conversion systems are usually categorised as AC-DC or rectifiers, DC-AC or inverters, DC-DC converters, and AC-AC converters.
Electric generators: The principles and operations of devices that can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, such as dynamos and alternators, rotors, stators, armatures, and fields.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of renewable energy engineer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Analyse energy consumption: Evaluate and analyse the total amount of energy used by a company or an institution by assessing the needs linked to the operative processes and by identifying the causes of superfluous consumption.
Troubleshoot: Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.
Maintain photovoltaic systems: Perform maintenance tasks and repairs on systems which generate electrical energy through the conversion of light into electric currents, the photovoltaic effect. Ensure compliance with regulations, and correct installation of the photovoltaic power system.
Inspect facility sites: Inspect the land of a possible construction site for distribution facilities by measuring and interpreting various data and calculations by using the appropriate equipment. Check if the field work is conform with plans and specifications.
Inspect wind turbines: Perform routine inspections on wind turbines by climbing the turbines and carefully inspecting all parts to identify any problems, and to assess whether repairs have to be arranged.
Use software tools for site modelling: Use software and other modelling tools to create simulations of and develop scenarios for possible outcomes of site operations. Use the information gathered from simulations and models for analysis and decision making.
Report test findings: Report test results with a focus on findings and recommendations, differentiating results by levels of severity. Include relevant information from the test plan and outline the test methodologies, using metrics, tables, and visual methods to clarify where needed.
Oversee quality control: Monitor and assure the quality of the provided goods or services by overseeing that all the factors of the production meet quality requirements. Supervise product inspection and testing.
Develop material testing procedures: Develop testing protocols in collaboration with engineers and scientists to enable a variety of analyses such as environmental, chemical, physical, thermal, structural, resistance or surface analyses on a wide range of materials such as metals, ceramics or plastics.
Create autocad drawings: Create As-Built municipal drawings using AutoCAD.
Examine engineering principles: Analyse the principles that need to be considered for engineering designs and projects such as functionality, replicability, costs and other principles.
Manage contracts: Negotiate the terms, conditions, costs and other specifications of a contract while making sure they comply with legal requirements and are legally enforceable. Oversee the execution of the contract, agree on and document any changes.
Identify energy needs: Identify the type and amount of energy supply necessary in a building or facility, in order to provide the most beneficial, sustainable, and cost-effective energy services for a consumer.
Prepare technical reports: Prepare technical reports that describe results and processes of scientific or technical research, or assess its progress. These reports help researchers to keep up to date with recent findings.
Assess project resource needs: Test ideas and purposes of the program against available financial and human resources to work out if the idea is realistic. Take an active role in creating the work situations you step into. Ensure that your available skills match with the needs of the end user/participant. The design of the programme must clearly define the role you will provide and the support you expect in return from stakeholders.
Coordinate electricity generation: Communicate the current demand of electricity generation to electricity generation workers and facilities in order to ensure that the generation of electrical power can be increased or decreased accordingly.

2149 – Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified

 

 

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References

1. Renewable energy engineer – ESCO