Job opportunities are on the rise in the renewable energy sector, particularly in regional areas.
A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has shown more than 8.1 million people worldwide are now employed in renewable energy, up 5 per cent since last year.
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| Jarra Hicks and Nicky Ison with the two wind turbines, Gale and Gusto, at Hepburn Wind. Photo: Supplied |
"Renewable energy is a jobs-rich industry. It's an extremely dynamic sector in the midst of a rapid transformation," she says. "There's a huge amount of change happening, huge opportunity, huge innovation of learning. The sector requires a variety of skill sets, so everything from engineers to tradespeople to accountants and lawyers."
Ison says that when renewable energy projects are regionally based, it helps to stimulate local economies and employment in areas where the need for jobs is even higher. "Most of the renewable energy resource is in regional Australia. Community-owned projects generate more employment in the region where the renewable project is based," she says.
According to US research, jobs and economic benefits increase up to almost four times if renewable energy projects are at least partially local-owned.
Ison adds that some of the opportunities are unique while others are helping to advance the industry.
"There are jobs that have been done for 20 to 40 years but also those which have never been done before.
"There are direct jobs delivering projects and then there are jobs supporting and creating the sector."
She says the type of workers drawn towards renewable energy as a career are passionate about the bigger picture. "Climate change is the biggest challenge we face in society. This is one of the reasons why the renewable energy sector is attracting a lot of dynamic thinkers and entrepreneurs, people who are really interesting to work with.
"Australia has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. It's a huge competitive advantage that we hope to capitalise on if we want to address climate change."
Ison notes that work of this nature can be met with a variety of difficulties, however, the difficulties often lead to a further increase in employment.
"It comes with challenges. Community renewable groups specifically face a lot of barriers," she says.
"For example, Australia leads the world on rooftop solar per capita, but as a rental tenant, if I want to purchase solar power from my neighbour, I have to pay the same cost for using the grid even though I'm only using 20 metres of it.
"It doesn't make much sense at all, so there's a lot of regulatory barriers, but in turn, changing those — we will see policy and regulatory change which creates huge employment opportunities for policy makers."
Ison says she is excited for the future of the sector and says it will only get stronger. "Globally, the sector is growing really fast. 2015 was record breaking and workers will be in high demand in the next five to 10 years."
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