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Renewable energy engineer Green Job

Renewable energy engineers research and develop ways to generate sustainable power from wind, solar, hydrogen and biomass resources.

Annual Salary

£31,000 to £61,000

Average UK salary in 2024 was £37,430
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 42 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends; away from home

4.3%
Future employment

There will be 4.3% more Renewable energy engineer jobs in 2029.

Day to day tasks

As a renewable energy engineer, you could:

  • research ways to harness renewable sources of energy
  • work on increasing energy production trials to a larger scale
  • do studies to see if a location can be used as a potential generation site
  • help to design and build power plants, instruments and equipment
  • advise companies on how to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy
  • find ways to make current technology like solar panels and batteries more efficient
  • collect, analyse and present data on energy production
  • manage maintenance and service schedules, fix problems and co-ordinate staff

We've identified this as a green job

As a renewable energy engineer, you'll develop news ways to generate power using sustainable resources. This can have a positive impact on the environment.

Find out more about green careers

Working environment

You could work in an office, in a laboratory, at a power station or on a rig.

You can get into this job by studying for a degree qualification.

University

You can do a degree in an engineering or a scientific subject. Some employers might expect you to have a postgraduate qualification.

Relevant subjects include:

  • energy engineering
  • Earth sciences
  • environmental engineering
  • geophysics
  • renewable or sustainable energy

Getting work experience during your studies through a summer internship or year placement scheme can give you an advantage when you start looking for work.

Your university careers service can help you find opportunities.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including maths and a science for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
  • university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/

More information

Professional and industry bodies

You can join the Energy Institute for training and professional development opportunities. You can also apply for chartered engineer status, for recognition of your skills and expertise in the industry.

Further information

You can find out more about working in renewable energy from:the Energy Institute; The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA); RenewableUK

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With experience, you could become a senior engineer or asset manager. You could be responsible for a number of power generation sites across a particular area, for example a wind farm.

You could also move into:energy planning; policy development; contracts, bids and tenders for renewable energy technology; freelance consultancy

How does this job help to address the impacts of climate change and protect wildlife and nature in the West of England?

Energy Engineers are are needed to work on the design, development and maintenance of low carbon energy systems in the West of England region.

Examples of post-16 courses you could study at local schools or colleges

  • Maths, Sciences A-levels
  • T Level Engineering and Manufacturing at City of Bristol College
  • Level 1-3 Engineering

Click here to find a local provider

Apprenticeships you may be able to take with local employers

  • Level 3 Electrical, electronic product service and installation engineer (Energy & Power)

Click here to search for a local apprenticeship

Examples of post-18 courses you could study at local higher education providers

Click here to search for other university courses

For more information on the different routes you can take to get into working in engineering, take a look at the 'Routes into this job' section above. 

Click here for an explanation of the different course and apprenticeship levels.

Local employers 

  • Jacobs
  • EDF
  • Atkins

For more local employment opportunities see the 'Live job vacancies by region' section above.

Click here for a profile of Rosie Buzova, Graduate Process Engineer at Atkins Ltd.

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Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • knowledge of engineering science and technology
  • maths knowledge
  • analytical thinking skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
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