Career development – Earth, wind and hire

The skills acquired and used by health and safety professionals within the traditional engineering, manufacturing, building and facilities-management industries are increasingly being sought by the ‘new technologies’ sectors, such as renewable energy, suggests Victoria Kenrick.

For decades, the UK’s energy landscape had three defining characteristics: an overwhelming reliance on coal, gas, oil and nuclear power; the pre-eminence of large, centralised electricity-generation projects; and dominance by a relatively limited number of large organisations. But a process of transformation is underway; concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, energy security and government policies have combined to bring about change in the form of a steady increase in the use of renewable energy.

Construction of new renewable energy sources continued to outstrip the new fossil-fuel power plants in Europe and the US during 2009,¹ and, from a health and safety perspective, the scale and speed of this drive towards a new energy economy offers significant opportunities. As new technologies emerge, new players are joining the renewable-energy industry, and smaller businesses are playing a greater role within it. In addition, new hazards are supplementing longer-standing ones associated with energy production and usage, while many familiar hazards are extending into new environments and contexts. As a result, new career opportunities for health and safety professionals are developing.

Wind sector

Wind has been the world’s fastest growing renewable energy source for the last eight years. Between 2000 and 2007, employment

in the wind-energy sector has more than doubled, while wind-energy installations have increased by 339 per cent. Across Europe, the wind-energy sector employs some 154,000 people – a figure that is forecast to grow to 212,000 by 2015, and to 328,000 by 2020. The current top EU-member employers are Germany (38,000), Denmark (23,000), Spain (20,000) and France (7000).²

The sector is also growing in the UK. For example, in March this year, work began on a mammoth offshore wind farm in Walney, near Cumbria, where the first 153-metre turbine has already been put in position. The turbines are the biggest in Britain and will be able to meet the energy needs of more than 100,000 homes a year. In addition, up to 240 turbines are planned for an offshore wind farm to the west of the Isle of Wight, which could generate electricity for up to 800,000 homes. If approved, construction would start in 2016 and create 2300 jobs, of which health and safety and maintenance could account for up to 11 per cent.

As the costs of generating wind energy fall and the urgent international need to tackle CO2 emissions and prevent climate change grows, these trends are set to continue. In light of all this growth, it is not surprising that many wind-energy companies have reported a significant shortage of skilled workers. Manufacturers in the sector, in particular, are highlighting a lack of health and safety and maintenance professionals. Those with experience in manufacturing and engineering will undoubtedly have transferable skills that are desirable in this sector.

The hazards, for example, are broadly similar to those encountered in heavy industry. According to the HSE,³ the main hazards include working at height, contact with moving machinery, electricity and fire. Offshore working is even more hazardous, as it includes danger from large waves, diving activities, positioning the turbines, and working from marine vessels. As wind turbines require regular maintenance, workers will be exposed to these frequently.

Although it is a rare occurrence, wind turbine blades have failed,⁴ and these or fragments thereof have been shown to travel over appreciable distances. Blades can also throw ice, and turbines are prone to being struck by lightning, which could cause damage and fire. Additionally, structural failures can occur – the HSE investigated two turbine collapses in 2007,⁵ and, in 2009, there were two deaths recorded in the sector in the UK.⁶

So, this is obviously a high-risk environment that poses new challenges for the health and safety professional. In addition to the risks to be addressed, there is a wealth of new standards,⁷ guidance⁸ and best practice to get to grips with. Maintaining safety standards will become tougher as the industry moves to ever-bigger machines and ever-widening markets and environments. This offers opportunities for the health and safety trailblazer to create and develop new guidelines and strategy, which are imperative for any emerging industry.

Marine energy

Investment in wave and tidal energy is expected to steeply increase over the next five years.⁹ In March this year, the Scottish government approved a tidal-energy project worth £40m, which will see the construction of ten underwater turbines in the Sound of Islay, a kilometre-wide channel between the Hebridean islands of Islay and Jura. The turbines will generate a total of ten megawatts, providing electricity for 10,000 homes. Once completed, it will be the largest tidal-energy project in the world.

Because the UK has some of the strongest waves and tidal currents in the world, marine renewable energy could provide up to 20 per cent of the UK’s electricity. Potentially, this could mean a large roll-out of marine renewable units around the UK coastline over the next 10 to 15 years, once technologies have been proved.

The health and safety risks – and therefore the expertise needed – are considerable. The construction and installation of marine-energy devices at sea will be fraught with danger, and there are also risks involved in other activities associated with marine energy, such as diving, operating large equipment, and laying cables to connect to the electricity grid. There are also myriad external risks posed by other marine activity and shipping.

Solar energy

The solar industry is growing by 30 per cent a year and world photovoltaic capacity is predicted to rise from 100MW to 40000MW by 2020. The installation of solar PV systems – on both new and existing domestic and commercial buildings – is on the rise in the UK. For example, Manchester’s CIS tower has one of the largest PV facades in the world.¹⁰ Furthermore, some 100,000 solar thermal systems have been installed in the UK, with about 10,000 more being installed each year.¹¹

The main health and safety risks associated with solar energy arise during the manufacture, installation and maintenance of solar devices. Also, although the PV industry uses far smaller amounts of toxic and flammable substances than many other industries, some of the chemicals it does use can present occupational and environmental hazards.

Training and competency are particularly important here, as plumbing skills and ‘Gas Safe’ registration may be required to allow integration with gas central heating. There may also be domestic electrical-safety issues associated with PV panel installation and integration with the National Grid. Working at height is also obviously a major activity and, therefore, concern in this sector.

The route to renewables

Two main routes of entry into the sector have emerged – a sideways move from a related industry, and coming directly from college or university. But as noted above, few people have the exact skills required, and fewer still have the exact experience, so recruitment can be difficult. Consequently, individuals with an effective mix of technical competence and business management experience will be in demand.

At the European Wind and Energy Association’s (EWEA) health and safety conference in March this year, a number of speakers highlighted the importance of transferable skills in enabling professionals from oil and gas, marine and engineering backgrounds to enter the renewables industry. Professionals working in health and safety in the likes of infrastructure, logistics, and civils installation, commissioning and production may be able to transfer their skills to provide expert health and safety advice in relation to planning, construction and operation of offshore wind farms and associated works.

Holding a NEBOSH Diploma, or equivalent, can certainly benefit a health and safety professional in applying for this type of role. For those interested in the design, installation, inspection and testing, commissioning and maintenance of renewable-energy systems, the NICEIC ‘Health and safety for installing renewable energy systems’ course is advisable.

The Bpec ‘Renewable energy awareness’ course covers all ‘micro’ renewable-energy technologies and is aimed at people wishing to gain more information about renewable energy technologies. There are also various onsite renewable-energy health and safety courses available, such as the Bpec Part L Energy Efficiency Certificate and the NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic Certificate.

Conclusion

It is evident that with the rapid growth of the renewable-energy sector within the UK and Europe over the coming years the demand for health and safety competence and expertise will rise concomitantly. To solve the current skills-shortage problem employers in the sector are likely to consider transferable skills and possibly invest in their own training schemes. It is to be hoped, too, that government help, in the form of incentives and financial support to stimulate upskilling, will be forthcoming. 

References
1    Renewable Energy Policy Network (2010): Renewables 2010 Global Status Report – www.ren21.net/REN21Activities/Publications/ GlobalStatusReport/GSR2010/tabid/5824/Default.aspx
2    EWEA (2007): Wind energy and the job market – www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ ewea_documents/documents/publications/factsheets/EWEA_FS-employment.pdf
3    www.hse.gov.uk/horizons/wind-energy.pdf
4    http://jp.dk/uknews/article1277616.ece
5    www.off-grid.net/2008/01/15/vestas-turbine-collapse
6    RenewableUK (2010): Annual Health and Safety Report 2010 – www.bwea.com/pdf/safety/RenewableUK_Annual_Health&Safety_Report.pdf
7    In the UK, the main standard governing wind turbines is EN 50308
8    RenewableUK (2010): Guidelines for onshore and offshore wind farms – Health and safety in the wind energy industry sector – www.bwea.com/pdf/HSGuidelines.pdf
9    http://tiny.cc/2b7o0
10    www.ukrenewables.com/news-1/january-2008/bright-future-for-uk-solar-pv
11    www.berr.gov.uk/energy/sources/ renewables/explained/solar/current-use/ page16374.html

Victoria Kenrick works for Allen & York.