Date Added: 04.12.20

With a coronavirus vaccine in the pipeline and the end of the pandemic seemingly in sight, the world seems to be reaching a state of covid fatigue, meanwhile some industries are utterly thriving. At a time where so many sectors are struggling to see a future at all – somehow against all odds, we’re seeing a boom in the renewable energy market. So, what gives?

Renewables have typically been slow off the mark when it comes to funding and adoption over the years, and yet during the pandemic we have seen unprecedented growth in the sector. In fact, so much so that clean sources of energy are set to account for a whopping 90% of the UK’s increase in capacity this year as the use of fossil fuels has plummeted.

The lockdown effect

Thanks to international lockdowns where people aren’t travelling to work every day much less anywhere else, we’re seeing a global downturn in the use of oil, gas, coal and petroleum. The energy industry as a whole thought this would spell trouble across the board, with demand dropping drastically and oil prices crashing as a result.

Aside from a major shift in day to day travel, the lack of overseas travel this year has not only made a dent in our carbon footprint, but in our profits too. This, of course, spells trouble for oil-dependant parts of the globe – like Nigeria and Angola who now face an even bigger recession thanks to their biggest export taking such a hit.

However, it’s not all bad news. Those who previously had seen renewable energy as a “nice to have” now had to put serious stock in cleaner energy becoming a staple of our future energy infrastructure. Where fossil fuel supply chains and projects have been disrupted by the pandemic, renewable energy providers have had a chance to swoop in, pick up the pieces and breeze ahead.

Climate change awareness

Amidst all the pandemic panic, the climate change threat hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, while much of the world has stood still for months on end – those seeking to turn the tide on climate change haven’t quite made the strides they would have liked.

What has changed for the better is consumer behaviour. Having seen the positive impact that lockdowns have had on the environment and climate change, many are trying to make cleaner choices when it comes to their personal consumption – driving consumer demand for renewables through the roof and seeing oil, gas and coal falling behind.

In fact, it’s because of this conscious consumer behaviour that many new build housing developments are fitting their homes with solar panels as standard to make them more attractive to buyers. Some developments are actually going to the trouble of retrofitting solar panels onto recently completed estates to upgrade them for increased profitability. This is not only normalising greener energy solutions in the home, but is creating much needed jobs at a time when they’re hard to come by.

Government support

Support for green initiatives has been gradually on the rise for some time, although it hasn’t always been a smooth journey. Thankfully the government have recently u-turned on their decision to block new wind farm developments, something that was due to set the onshore and offshore wind market back a fair bit.

Not only has the block been scrapped, but the UK government has really outdone itself by opting to actively subsidise onshore renewable energy projects. These new projects aren’t exactly small fry either, with a total of 13GW up for the taking in auctions for the subsidies.

This all comes in support of the prime minister’s 10-point plan which is set to end the UK’s contribution to rising global carbon emissions by 2050.

The future…

Far from being just a flash in the pan, the future of renewable energy is looking very bright for the duration of the pandemic and beyond. With renewable electricity set to outgrow fossil fuels by 2025 and renewables spending expected to double – coal and gas may wind up a thing of the past.

We mustn’t get too far ahead of ourselves though, as that reality may come later than we’d like with many of the countries dependant on their fossil fuel exports planning on pouring funding into coal, oil and gas to recover from the recession the pandemic has brought with it.

Thankfully both government and private investors are showing no signs of slowing down their support for the renewable energy market. It seems as though the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic has given renewables the opportunity it needed to shine through as the primary resource rather than an optional alternative.

In terms of what this means for the energy jobs market: it’s very good news across the board. Not only is there a huge demand for renewable energy expertise, but also an incentive to invite new talent into the space as well as provide ample opportunities for those already in it looking to take a step sidewards into clean energy.

It’s been very encouraging as an energy and utilities recruitment consultancy to see almost no hiring freezes in our sector since the pandemic took hold. While we’ve unfortunately noticed other sectors struggling to stay afloat, the energy market has gone from strength to strength.

The renewable energy boom has been the silver lining to what has been a truly tumultuous year to say the least, there has never been a better time to be at the forefront of the clean energy revolution.

So if you’re looking for your next move in renewable energy, or would like to speak to someone about your hiring plans – don’t hesitate to get in touch.