Many people are overwhelmed when they hear the engineering profession. Basically, engineers develop new technologies and help to solve problems. Some engineering branches encompass chemical, hydrological, aerospace, biochemical, electrical, environmental, mechanical, and biomedical engineering, just to mention a few.
In today’s world, the development of renewable energy resources is increasing. Renewable energy engineering is generally tailored towards electrical, mechanical, and environmental, particularly in development and research. This field as well plays an integral role in the establishment and implementation of modern technology, which is a primary part of the green-power area.
Usually, renewable energy engineering is a broad field, from mega-scale wind energy to micro-hydro system all the way to solar thermal projects. Solar thermal, wind & biomass, solar photovoltaic, and tides are all available for utilization and improvement. That said, the renewable energy engineering field encompasses the entire energy field available in every situation.
The future of renewable energy engineering
The worldwide energy field is set to change severely in the next few decades. If you consider some years ago, renewable energy wasn’t recognized even in remote areas because there was a threat to standard nuclear and coal power. Currently, every country is massively investing in wind, solar, and geothermal power. That is primarily because of the quick fall of prices and the rising scalability of renewable energy technology. With that in mind, the solar power prices are estimated to drop by 25% by 2022. This impact is geared by the high investment currently done in the field. With this energy shift, the energy field attracts opportunities for anyone interested in becoming an energy engineer as new energy jobs are being developed to move this revolution.
No matter the technology utilized to produce and store energy, there will always be a growing desire to develop systems that make enough utilization of energy resources. While that happens, energy engineers will be in high demand.
Types of energy engineering jobs
Listed below are some of the leading energy engineering positions. Due to the broad energy engineer definition, it is not possible to narrow down all the subcategories in this article; however, the list below will give a great starting point.
1. Green building engineer
A certified green building engineer typically earns around $100,000 per year in the United States. Infrastructure developers are mainly focused on building structures that support the effective utilization of energy. That insinuates that every construction design requires to be analyzed on an efficient energy perspective. That encompasses the purchase of raw materials that support efficient energy usage and structural design. Some buildings also generate and store their power energy and are fully off the grind.
The role of green building engineer is basically to analyze the usage of energy of existing buildings, design building that allows efficient utilization of energy, and recommend the best methods to improve the efficiency of energy.
2. Energy system engineer
A certified energy system engineer typically earns around $85,000 per year in the United States. ESE focuses mainly on energy usage. ESE has the role of coordinating the distribution of energy, apprehending the impact of energy-related issues on the economy, improving the storage of energy systems, and identifying and analyzing the effects of energy activities on the ecosystem.
Basically, an ESE should possess a broad knowledge of most basic engineering-related work from economics to energy systems. Some of the other responsibilities of ESE are to recommend methods to improve energy efficiency, analyze the existing energy systems and plants to figure out their efficiency, evaluating the environmental and economic impact of modern energy installations.
3. Renewable energy engineer
A certified alternative energy engineer typically earns around $70,000 per year in the United States. Currently, the need for alternative energy engineers is increasing. Many projects are emerging all over the world. Some include 2000 megawatt solar arrays, wave power generators, 6800-megawatt wind farms, and geothermal power systems/plants. Due to frequent innovation in the renewable energy sectors, the use of nuclear and coal power is declining. The innovation is geared by a lot of competitions from many companies developing renewable energy.
With that in mind, renewable energy engineers are always present in projects involving designing of the renewable systems like wind plants and solar, designing and researching the renewable methods and technologies, and improving the existing energy plants.
Bottom line
Today’s world is highly reliant on electricity, and the need for electric power is estimated to rise in the near future. Therefore, more renewable energy engineers are required to make sure that the future generation does not run out of electricity while still keeping the environment a better place to live.