How to Become a Renewable Energy Engineer

Renewable energy is vital to our energy infrastructure and will only become more so as we transition away from fossil fuels. As such you’ll find few more stable industries than the renewable energy sector.

So how do you become a renewable energy engineer? What does the job entail? And what kind of salary can you expect?

Renewable Energy Engineering

Let’s start with the basics. What does a renewable energy engineer do?

Well, their responsibilities can vary a lot but the core of the job is about planning, design, and oversight. For example, a local government may be looking to build a new solar or wind farm. A renewable energy engineer’s job would involve assessing the land options and viability, designing the site within constraints such as budget and weather predictions, and – assuming the project went ahead – they might even monitor the installation to ensure that the design was met.

On the day-to-day, this does mean a lot of office work, running simulations, analysing data, and staying up-to-date with regulations. Beyond that the specifics of the job will depend a lot on the company you work for.

Most renewable energy companies will specialise in one area be that solar, wind, hydropower, bio-energy, or even just energy storage. As such your choice of company will have a huge impact over the specifics of your practical work. That said, the same fundamental engineering will be relevant no matter who you’re working for.

How to Become a Renewable Energy Engineer

Most start their journey to becoming a renewable energy engineer with a bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, or civil engineering. That said, you can also do a specialised degree in renewable energy if you already know this is the field you want to go into.

A specialised degree is good because it means you’ll need less training on the job. On the other hand there are advantages to casting a broader net with your degree, in case you change your mind about your career path down the line. It’s all up to you.

It’s also fairly common – though not always required – to do a master’s in renewable energy, sustainable energy, or energy systems. This is particularly valuable for those with a more general bachelor’s.

As with many careers in the UK, it’s also worth noting that you can do an apprenticeship instead. Similar to a Renewables degree, it’s an excellent option if you know what you want to do but it does limit your opportunities a bit more. That said, the major advantage is that you earn as you learn and you won’t have to deal with any debt on the other side.

Renewable Energy Engineer Salaries

In the UK, salaries for renewable energy engineers are quite competitive. Entry level roles typically start in the region of £31,000 although that number may be a little lower for those taking the apprenticeship path. However, when you factor in the time it takes to get a degree, apprentices ultimately earn more, often starting their career with a solid set of contacts in their network and sometimes even a job lined up.

After a few years of experience, earnings usually rise to somewhere in the region of £50-60K and can even go higher for those with specialist experience and responsibilities.

One of the best parts of being a renewable energy engineer is how structured the career path is with roles generally divided into junior, mid-level, and senior roles. Later in your career you may choose to specialise between the highly technical side of things and the non-technical side.

If you follow a more technical route, you’ll be focusing on tasks like system optimisation and design whereas a non-technical route would lead to more planning, organisation, and liaison between teams and departments. Given the intersection between business and government in the engineering industry there’s a high demand for people with strong networking skills and detailed technical knowledge.

Long term, this career offers solid prospects for progression and mobility along with the chance to make a real impact on the environment.