From solar to wind to hydro power, renewable engineers pioneer the production of energy from non-finite sources. Building solutions related to energy use, consumption, and production, renewable engineering is a vital sub-field within engineering, central to the creation our sustainable future.

BMR Solutions is a recruitment agency hiring exclusively for technical and engineering roles. With the market for renewable engineering growing fast, they’re helping innovative businesses find the talent they need to develop sustainable energy solutions.

In this guide, the experts at BMR Solutions provide the ultimate overview to renewable engineering and the types of roles available.

What is Renewable Engineering?

Renewable engineering is a type engineering that concerns the production of energy through renewable resources. Renewable engineers develop the new technologies and innovative solutions that allow us to harvest energy in clean, sustainable ways. Within this specialism, engineers develop new energy systems, optimise existing technologies, improve energy efficiency, and combine scientific knowhow with economic understanding to create a sustainable planetary future for us all.

 

Hi! Hope you don’t mind me adding to your article! I think it might be a good idea in future for you to write a little intro kind of like this – just a nice way to start things off and help the reader understand what they’ve landed on (feel free to amend to more your writing style!) Also think just starting with a description of renewable engineering

Renewable Energy Explained

The reason renewable energy plays such an enormous part in the movement to go green, is because energy from natural resources can be replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. The most common sources of renewable energy are solar, wind, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy and bioenergy. In all of these cases, the resource is not depleted when energy is harvested. The fact that these resources will not run out makes them a fantastic alternative to most commonly used non-sustainable sources – like coal.

Types of Renewable Energy

Solar energy

Solar energy stands to be one of the most abundant and readily available forms of renewable energy. To put it into perspective, more solar energy reaches the earth’s surface in one hour than the planet’s total energy requirements for an entire year. However, solar energy is heavily dependent on the time of day, the season and of course geographical location. Despite this, it is becoming increasingly popular in the UK as it doesn’t involve the burning of fossil fuels or the emission of greenhouse gasses that contribute to the global climate change crisis.

You can read more on solar energy here.

Wind energy

Placing wind turbines on top of hillsides maximises their ability to generate mechanical power or electricity from the wind. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks such as pumping water or griding grain, making it particularly attractive to agricultural sectors. They also maintain the ability to convert mechanical power into electricity.

You can read more on wind energy here.

Hydro power

Hydro power happens to be the most commercially developed renewable energy out there. This could be attributed to the fact that it is more reliable than solar and wind power. By building dams and barriers, engineers can control the water flow in large reservoirs that in turn, drives a turbine creating electricity. As a result, the electricity can be stored for when demand reaches a peak and is also used commercially.

You can read more on hydro power here.

Tidal energy

Tidal energy is another form of hydro power; however, it uses a system of twice daily tidal currents to drive turbine generators. Despite the fact that it isn’t particularly constant, it is highly predictable and is able to compensate for the periods when the tide current is low.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is a great way to harness natural heat below the earth’s surface; geothermal energy is also used to heat homes directly as well as possessing the ability to generate electricity. It isn’t of great significance when considering renewable energy in the UK, whereas in countries such as Iceland, it is much more freely available. Despite this, it is still available throughout the UK and can provide heat and power throughout the year.

You can read more on geothermal power here.

Biomass energy

Biomass energy is another great source of renewable electricity when considering agricultural, industrial and domestic waste as it has the ability to convert solid fuel made from plant materials into electricity. Despite the fact that it burns organic materials to produce solid, liquid and gas fuels, it generates power at a much lower economic and environmental cost.

You can read more on biomass energy here.

How Different is Renewable Engineering to Other Branches of Engineering?

Power engineering is considered to be slightly more technical in the sense that it is more interdisciplinary. Nevertheless, renewable energy is far more sustainable, with many companies making the transition to renewable resources in a global attempt to go green. As a result, the demand for renewable engineers is only going to grow. Renewable energy primarily targets socio-economic aspects of engineering, focussing more on the technology of power generation from alternative sources rather than fossil fuels.

Types of Jobs Relating to Renewable Energy

There are a broad range of jobs available in this field that require qualities engineers possess – it’s just about redirecting those traits to the renewable energy sector. Examples of these roles include:

  • Solar PV system engineer – tasked with designing and developing site plans for solar panel installation, taking initial system concept ideas and translating them into fully detailed construction-ready designs.
  • Wind power engineer – tasked with utilising energy from the wind to feed electrical power systems and power grids. This includes designing wind farms, making and testing all the hardware and electrical components involved in harnessing wind power.
  • Energy storage engineer or battery specialist – assisting with the design and development of energy storage and distribution systems at multiple different stages of a project.
  • Smart grid engineer – engineers who oversee the design, testing and maintenance of smart grid infrastructure including electronic equipment to control systems.

These are only some of the options available in this field, and considering it is an ever-growing service, companies continuously require engineers to get involved with renewable energy.

How Can I Get a Job in Renewable Engineering?

Companies such as BMR solutions specialise in pairing employees with the South West’s finest technical employers. Their main line of work is engineering recruitment, and they have an outstanding track record when it comes to tailoring your skillset to maximise your potential of getting a job within the renewable engineering sector. Relying on experts in the engineering industry provides you with the resources needed to really stand out.

Contact them today and get the ball rolling to play your part in helping this planet produce 90-99% less greenhouse gasses than coal-fired plants.