Energetica India Magazine January-February 2021

NEWS MARKET REPORT Renewable Jobs to Attract at Least a Third of the Oil & Gas Workforce in 2021: Report With Right Govt Support, India Could Compete with China in Solar Module Production The jobs in the renewable energy sec- tor are likely to attract more than a third (37 per cent) of workers in the oil & gas sector in 2021, said the Energy Outlook Report. The report was jointly launched by Oilandgasjobsearch.com and glob- al manpower company Brunel, and shared recruitment insights into a sector in transition, and points to a number of interesting trends based on data gath- ered from more than 22,000 energy in- dustry professionals across oil and gas, mining, power and renewables. The report also indicated that, just over half of the people surveyed believe in- creased interest in renewables would lead to reduced demand for oil and gas. Commenting on the report, Alex Fourl- is, Managing Director of Oilandgasjob- search.com said: “We’re really pleased to be able to share an accurate picture of a sector changing more rapidly than ever before. As the sector adapts to overcome major challenges such as climate change, COVID-19, and politi- cal instability, our report offers insights and analysis that will help people on all sides of the recruitment conversation as they navigate this period of upheaval and plan for the year ahead.” Also, in North America, the average renewables salary has been higher as compared to any other part of the ener- gy sector, at USD 97,000, it added. “Following one of the toughest years on record, and against the backdrop of the energy transition, the energy sector is faced with additional challenges such as declining economies, lower invest- ment, travel restrictions and skills short- ages. The Energy Outlook Report 2021 provides a platform to share insights about the future direction of the sector and will help all stakeholders under- stand the threats and opportunities that lie ahead,” said Jilko Andringa, CEO, Brunel. The report took a deep dive into three key themes; health and safety, future outlook and winds of change, uncover- ing the trends that will shape the next twelve months of recruitment in the sec- tor. The report indicated that 73 per cent of Energy professionals are looking for new opportunities both in their current sector and across the other Energy sectors. India can compete with China in solar module production with the right gov- ernment support, finds a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Re- search. The report ‘Viability Assessment of New Domestic Solar Module Manufacturing Units’, finds current production capacity in India is only able to meet 35 per cent of total annual domestic demand. IEEFA’s Vibhuti Garg and co-author of the report, said that “we found capacity utilisation rates of solar module domestic production facilities in India running at only 40-45 per cent and estimated op- erational capacity of only about 7 GW, despite having an installed domestic PV module manufacturing capacity of about 15 GW. Clearly India has the capacity to do much better.” China is out-performing India in a num- ber of areas, in both manufacturing and research and development. JMK Research’s Jyoti Gulia and co-au- thor of the report said that “China utilises between 1-3 per cent of gross revenue for solar module R&D every year. In con- trast, India’s leading players provide little R&D investment.” The report finds that in terms of profit margins, Chinese module suppliers are able to absorb larger shares of profit (on average 4.3%) from operational reve- nues compared to Indian suppliers who earn an average profit income of less than 3%. “This is because Chinese module man- ufacturers have larger-scale production facilities and a low dependence on im- ports,” says Garg. “China also has completely integrated facilities producing modules, cells and wafers complemented by robust R&D and favourable government support.” In terms of technology adoption trends, China’s more advanced mono-Si PV modules were reaching two-thirds of the share of the entire global PV production chain in 2019 by GW volume. The report noted that many Indian solar module manufacturers have announced plans to expand existing facilities. 61 energetica INDIA- Jan-Feb_2021