Energy knows no bounds

by David Quarg, Head of Recruitment and HR Development at RWE Innogy

The energy business is truly international: we invest wherever the conditions are optimum for renewable energies. Climate,wave conditions, wind speeds – depending on the type of generation, those are all decisive criteria in siting a plant. So apart from Germany and the UK, our target markets also include Spain, France, the Netherlands and central eastern Europe, to name just a few examples.

University graduates who want to take responsibility and get something moving are ideally suited for the energy industry. A secure supply of energy is the lifeblood of any economy. So increasing the efficiency of a coalfired power plant or enhancing the performance of power grids can be just as exciting as optimising a wind farm. All of these endeavours count towards a secure and above all sustainable and efficient energy supply. Anyone specialising in the evolution of renewable energies can expect an especially dynamic industry. To cite just one example: in the past 15 years, we have succeeded in halving the costs of wind power.We can already assume today that wind energy will become competitive over the next few years.What was once a niche technology has long since blossomed into a globally booming industry.

And we’re only at the tip of the iceberg regarding the opportunities that energy generation from renewable energies offer.Whilst hydropower has been a self-evident element of our energy mix for over 100 years,we still have major development potential in the areas of wind and biomass, for example. The same applies to solar and geothermal as well as wave and tidal power plants.We need to leverage these technologies, because the political goals for expanding renewable energies and reducing CO2 emissions across Europe are ambitious. So as a leading energy supplier, RWE is planning to save up to 15 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2015 through the use of renewable energies and combined heat & power generation alone. That equates to around half of the CO2 volumes emitted by trucks in Germany in 2005 or the annual CO2 emissions of four coal-fired power plants.

To do so,we will be investing at least one billion euros every year until 2012, mainly in generating energy from wind,water and biomass. In addition, we will be dealing intensively with solar and geothermal as well as with wave and tidal power plants. For instance, with our partner MCT we are planning the world’s first commercial sea current power plant off the coast of North Wales.These power plants work in a similar way to wind farms, but below the surface of the sea. In total, our goal is to more than treble our generating capacity to 4,500 MW by 2012. For 2020,we are even planning more than 10,000 MW. One focal point of our activities is the identification, securing and development of sites.

Our employees should be open to new developments and be able to imagine the impossible; we are investing not only in classic research and development, but also in promising young technology companies. Financing companies in the start-up or growth phase by providing them with equity or similar funding for a limited period thus occupies centre stage in our strategy.

What do you need to do to get your foot in the door in this exciting field? When it comes to system development, a solid education, for example in electrical or mechanical engineering, is a very good place to start. You can then specialise after graduating; that will not be difficult for a good engineer or natural scientist. Furthermore, we are seeking people who are prepared to extend their comfort zone beyond German borders and who, apart from their technical qualifications, also bring a high degree of cultural sensitivity.

The people we are looking for are as diverse as the business units of our company. This year alone, we want to hire around 150 employees at our sites in Essen, Hamburg and Swindon (UK): from venture capital managers and engineers to project managers,we call upon people with a diversity of skills to tackle the challenges. Because energy is literally boundless.