Interconnection: Renewable Energy USA
Welcome to Megawatt Recruitment’s monthly newsletter to keep you connected to what’s going on in the renewable energy industry in the United States and provide more insight, knowledge, and connection to the people and companies who drive our industry.
What People Are Talking About
- Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) launched a USD 10 billion renewables growth fund called Growth Markets Fund II focusing on large scale solar PV, battery energy storage, power-to-X, and on/offshore wind in Asia, Latin America, and EMEA.
- The US installed a record 7,322 MWh of energy storage capacity in Q3 2023 bringing the total this year to 13,518 MWh so far.
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released a new, comprehensive database mapping out large scale solar projects across the USA.
- Duke Energy’s first floating solar project in Florida reached commercial operations this month. The project is on top of a cooling pond owned by the company for its Hines Energy Complex.
- National Grid Renewables announced plans to build a 160MW solar project, set to be Kentucky’s biggest, when it comes online in 2024.
- Uplight, a software company servicing energy providers, agreed to acquire AutoGrid, a VPP and DERMS (distributed energy resource management system) provider, and will combine their platforms to provide grid-scale flexible capacity management to utilities and energy providers from grid scale batteries down to devices in individual residences.
- Following the cancellation of Orsted and Avangrid’s offshore wind projects earlier this year, this month, the Department of Energy revoked $37M in grant funding for Icebreaker Wind, a demonstration project, after a 14 year battle to develop the project.
- Massachusetts ruled that gas utilities must submit climate compliance plans every five years starting in 2025 outlining how they will transition away from gas.
- The Genius Renewable conference for Geothermal took place in Las Vegas from December 5-7th, 2023. Some of the big topics discussed were how to create a cohesive geothermal industry given the vast differences in project scales and scopes (ex: drilling 100 feet versus 10,000 feet) and how to attract talent to the industry.
- Fervo Energy reached commercial operations on a 3.5MW geothermal plant in Nevada that it developed and built for Google.
- Texas General Land Office has opened up land tract nominations for their next Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Lease Sale, with nominations due by close of business on Thurs, Feb 1st.
Recent Personnel Moves and Promotions
- Brian Hayes will take over as CEO of Key Capture Energy LLC, a developer, owner, and operator of battery energy storage systems, owned by Korea’s SK E&S, effective January 8, 2024. He was formerly EVP of Asset Operations and Transmission for EDP Renewables based in Texas.
- Omnidian, a solar performance analytics company, appointed Minesh Shah, an industry outsider, as President, based in California.
- Ecosave, an energy efficiency consultancy in New York, appointed Patrick Towbin as Chief of Engineering and Construction and Joseph Ahlquist as VP of Generation Development.
- Also in the energy efficiency space, Samuel Henry joined BrightCore Energy as Construction Superintendent, formerly with Drex Corp in a similar role.
- Equinor promoted Ana Fisyak from Community Engagement Manager to Director of Community Engagement for the Beacon Wind Project, a 1.23 GW offshore wind project near Massachusetts.Shoals Technology Group gained a new eMobility Sales Engineer with the hire of Andrew Rafalowitz, formerly with Galooli as a Sales Engineer for AI-enhanced energy efficiency analytics.
- Zach Finucane announced his decision to leave Orsted after 5 years in order to join Wood Thilsted, a Danish offshore wind engineering consultancy, where he will be Head of USA following the retirement of Matt Palmer, recognized Offshore Wind Trailblazer.
- Michael Canada, formerly COO of Sion Power, a lithium battery company, has joined KORE Power, another lithium battery manufacturer as COO.
- Liz Qually, formerly Associate General Counsel for Bloom Energy, a hydrogen project developer and manufacturer of solid oxide fuel calls, joined Heirloom, a carbon capture company, as Head of Legal.
- Backfilling Josh Dale who moved from CIBC Capital Markets to Rabobank in October, Ines Serrao joined CIBC as Managing Director and Head of Renewables for US Corporate Banking.
- Making the jump into banking from project development is Aksheya Chandar, who became Vice President at DNB (Den Norske Bank), Norway’s largest financial services group, after previously working as Director of Distributed Energy Resources at Endurant Energy.
What the market is talking about: Outcomes from COP28 (Nov 30 – Dec 12)
COP28 concluded with a global pact signed by almost 200 countries that explicitly calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” While some believe this is a step back from the original draft that called for a “phaseout” of fossil fuel use, nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, China, and many African nations would not agree to eliminate fossil fuels by 2030.
The pact also calls on nations to triple the amount of renewable energy installed globally by 2030 which was criticized by emerging countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America who cannot afford renewables at current interest and inflation rates. There was talk about developed nations doing more to invest in developing nations to support their transitions but no firm agreements were made. Also, a criticism of the pact is that it has no enforcement mechanism for countries that fall short of their targets.
Other interesting areas talked about were the global reduction of methane gas, support for people displaced by climate change, creation of more sustainable food systems, and protection of forests. The Santiago Network of Loss and Damage, created in 2019, will connect developing countries with technical assistance, knowledge, and resources in order to address, minimize, and avoid loss and damage caused by climate change. At COP28, USD $700 million was pledged to the Network, though experts predict the world will incur over $580 billion in climate-related damages by 2030, and the US and Japan were criticized for their small contributions as compared to the UAE and Germany.
Talent Acquisition Insights: Geothermal Jobs Heating Up
This year, we have seen positive legislation to promote the use of geothermal energy across the U.S. from states such as Colorado all the way to New York.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot Analysis believes enhanced geothermal (the kind that uses a man-made reservoir to produce electricity) could reach 90 GW by 2050 and power 65 million households in the USA.
Unlike utility-scale solar where you can knock out a few hundred megawatts per project, residential geothermal projects are generally only in the kilowatt range. Thus, it is not surprising that according to Statista, the job market for geothermal technicians is expected to grow by 8.2% through 2026.
We are also seeing demand for pan-efficiency engineers who can integrate geothermal into commercial, industrial, and multifamily buildings while also looking at things like LED lighting, sealing and insulating the building envelope, water efficiency, and gray water recycling.
To be competitive for jobs within geothermal, we are seeing employers seek undergraduate degrees in civil, mechanical, structural, or geotechnical engineering along with a Professional Engineer license and qualifications specific to geothermal such as Certified GeoExchange Designer or Certified Geothermal Inspector.
Hot jobs!
- Geothermal Engineer, Northeast
- Business Development Manager, Solar Testing & Certification, California
- Partner/Junior Partner, Law Firm focused on Renewables and Cleantech, Remote
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Thank you for joining us for another issue of Interconnection: Renewable Energy USA. We hope you enjoyed it and we look forward to keeping in touch and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions. If you are a company considering hiring, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or reach out to us to discuss your background, skills, and future aspirations.