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Published at 12 / junio / 2019

Engineering in renewable energy

Posted by Toni Marin
Engineering in renewable energy

  

An attraction pole for future engineers

During the last few years, engineering has undergone a technological development that has made students who feel attracted by this study branch think of which direction they should focus their studies on, given the deep specialisation of technical engineering degrees.

Engineering in renewable energy

Nowadays, engineers have available a broad range of engineering studies in which to enrol. This great amount of possibilities where to choose from make really hard making the final decision. We could even say that future engineers might be tempted to take IT-related studies instead of enrolling for the traditional engineering ones.

But the truth is that engineering has never been so much in fashion as it is today. This kind of studies are in complete transformation due to the technological advances in application fields. In fact, it is now when we can see how different disciplines such as robotics and electronics (renowned industrial engineering degrees) apply to the renewable energy field, which is gradually gaining ground and stands as the energy of the future.

new renewable energies

In addition, engineering currently counts on computer applications that solve complicated system-simulation models or systems for the generation of this clean energy. All of this helps shorten business amortisation terms at the same time that investment groups or other interested companies also see how their profit-making periods become shorter too, thus making them more interested in participating in this kind of business models.

 

Renewable technical engineering in the first decade of the 21st century

It was during these years when renewable energy-related studies became popular in the labour market and in the renewable energy sector, where especially solar and wind energies started struggling to have the best market shares in the energy sector.

Academic institutions started to design studies that could provide future engineering students with the best training so that they could give support to the booming renewable energy market, and the State even rewarded with discounts those kW generated from renewable energies.

With the crisis, the political system regularised those energies that were in use and those which the lobby prioritised over other kinds of power.

 Studies in renewable energy

 

Renewable energy engineer’s profile

An engineer who chooses to be trained in renewable energies will probably end up working in public bodies, which are in charge of regulating the national market or managing public project financing. Investigation or teaching could also be other job prospect options.

An engineer specialised in renewable energies might also end up working in the optimisation of large facilities by applying the latest technologies such as the new photovoltaic cells, which are less polluting, developing projects for making the most of solar power and other clean energies, or working in the adoption of different approaches on energy valuation.

 

Environmental impact

One of the main reasons for the increase of research studies related to this kind of engineering is the high level of concern for environmental issues. Every day, engineers try to optimise natural resources as much as they can in order to minimise the impact that humans have on nature and on the environment when transforming matter. That’s the reason why Research, Development and Innovation programmes are every day more common at companies whose aim is to lead the renewable energy sector.

Environmental impact

The main goal of clean energies is to invent and develop new ways of energy consumption that don’t damage the environment and to achieve a balance in the transformation of renewables by means of different kinds of engineering that can help improve the use of limited resources.

 

The most important renewable energies in Spain are:

  • Photovoltaic energy
  • Wind energy
  • Solar thermal energy
  • Geothermal energy
  • Energy generation and storage technologies

 

How to specialise in Renewable energy engineering

There are several bachelor’s degrees one can take to specialise in a specific kind of engineering, such as a degree in energy engineering (this kind of degree is taught in many universities throughout Spain). For a later specialisation, the engineer can take a master’s degree in renewable energies.

 

Renewable energy in industry

Significant advances in renewable energies open up a new market making technology and engineering go more hand in hand than ever before. This makes companies from the energy sector, such as the electric one, try to ally themselves with other markets such as the automotive, and, at the same time, these companies try to establish new relationships with Big Data or technology network sectors.

Renewable energy in industry

Energy engineering currently sees itself reflected in all technologies, even in cars and rockets’ batteries. During the last years, several milestones have been achieved, for example, in the thermal field, by using new methods which are less invasive and polluting.

We know for sure that engineering will be filled with interesting moments in the short term, and that future engineers will face new challenges, making of this profession the engine of the world’s economy.  

 

Europe’s northern countries: the driving force behind renewable energies

Europe’s northern countries have always been more aware of environmental issues. These countries’ economic stability and living standards have allowed them to invest in research for finding out new energy resources. As a result, they have obtained new formulas for contributing to environmental protection.

As a consequence of these environmental policies, new kinds of environmentally-friendly energies have arisen.

It is widely known that the Netherlands is another of the countries investing more R&D resources in this kind of engineering as well as in finding out how to apply them. Its preferential position has made this country become a voice of command when it comes to giving advice on offshore energy efficiency, even though it also stands out in other fields such as:

  •  Bio-fuel production engineering.
  • Offshore wind power engineering.
  • Offshore industry engineering.
  • Biomass incineration and gasification engineering.
  • Solar photovoltaic energy engineering.
  • Greenhouse agricultural engineering.
  • CO2 capture and transformation engineering.
  • Heavy industry engineering.
  • Marine engineering.
  • Combined Production of Electric Power and Heat engineering.

 

The future of energy entails, in the first place, making the planet sustainable by avoiding any kind of environmental disasters. In the second place, administrations and companies need to reach an agreement on what to prioritise, either their own interests, or our environmental future.

 

Tags: Engineering

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