How will Inflation Impact the Renewable Energy Sector and Green Energy Recruitment?

Aurex Group brings you its industry specific report for the renewable energy market (and our insights into renewable energy recruitment) to provide a deeper understanding of the factors and events influencing the industry for talent and businesses in the green energy market.

What are people talking about

Orsted received Taiwan’s EIA approval for Xu Feng 2 & 3 while postponing the commissioning of Changhua 1 & 2 due to COVID-19-caused delays.
COP submitted proposals for the Midwest Offshore Wind Farm, a 3GW project off the coast of Western Australia; this follows its earlier proposal for Leeuwin OFW also in Western Australia.
Equinor and PetroVietnam initiated discussions to collaborate on offshore wind, hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture & storage projects.
EDF Renewables and Taiya Renewable Energy partner to bid in Taiwan’s next round of offshore wind auctions.
AES Corp is said to intend to develop a 4GW USD $13B offshore wind farm in Vietnam.

What we are currently working on

For the full job descriptions regarding the roles below, please click the role to follow the hyperlink:

Head of Grid Connections, Taiwan
Senior Project Manager, Solar, Taiwan
Commercial Engineering Manager, Solar, Taiwan
Project Finance Analyst, Singapore

Click here for more jobs

Is Support for Renewable Energy Waning?

As inflation soars and people feel the pinch in their pocketbooks, many wonder if the extra costs for the renewable energy transition are worthwhile or if the transition can be delayed until a time when the global economy stabilizes. In places like South Korea and the United States, we are seeing a shift in sentiment at the highest levels of government, impacting renewable energy recruitment in these spaces.

In case you were not aware, earlier this year, South Korea elected a president who will include nuclear in his definition of renewable energy meaning a portion of South Korea’s quota for transitioning to renewable energy will be satisfied with existing plants versus new development of technologies such as wind and solar.

In the US, in July, the Supreme Court ruled to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to limit CO2 emissions from power plants without approval from Congress. President Joe Biden had hoped to use the agency to shut down coal-fired power plants across all US states even though the US Congress had previously rejected the EPA’s proposals to limit carbon emissions in the past. If Biden is successful we anticipate seeing an increased need for green energy recruitment in the sector and a transition of talent away from coal.

Even in ASEAN, the fast uptake of renewable energy is now facing backlash as environmental groups question the benefits of clearing forest and agricultural land as well as the changes to biodiversity for the sake of installing solar and wind.

Insights into HR in APAC

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MoM) has released additional eligibility criteria for new Employment Pass (EP) holders that will kick in on September 1st, 2022, having a knock on effect for renewable energy recruitment and hiring. These are separate and in addition to the previously announced changes that will occur from September 1st, 2023 under the new COMPASS framework (Complementarity Assessment Framework).

From today, September 1st, 2022, new applications for EP holders will not be approved unless they meet a higher qualifying salary threshold. While the MoM website does not give specific numbers, it says that the EP qualifying salary “will be benchmarked to the top 1/3 of local PMET salaries by age” with PMET referring to professionals, managerial executives, and technical occupations. Typically, this is further broken down into SSOC groups (Singapore Standard Occupation Classification) such as construction, manufacturing, financial services, and other groups. If you are unsure where your role sits within this new criteria, please reach out to myself (a specialist in renewable energy recruitment) or one of our recruitment experts for a discussion.

The same criteria will apply against EP renewals from September 1st, 2023 onward.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, Malaysian Human Resources Minister, M Saravanan seems to be in conversations with the Upper House and pushing for the official work week to be reduced from 48 hours to 45 hours from September 1st, 2023. While this is great news for workers, it has left business leaders scrambling to figure out scheduling and costs with overtime wages kicking in sooner.

According to Channel News Asia, the Minister said there will be additional announcements regarding days off, flexible working, and enforcement of the new working hours in the coming days, with anticipated repercussions for the green energy recruitment sector.

Market Moves

Neil Arora has left his role at Macquarie Capital, where he was the Head of Asia.
David Cullerier has changed roles within ENGIE. He was previously President of Indonesia, he now holds the title of Head of Business Development for Africa, Middle East, and Asia.
Greg Allen has left his role as Director at Hydrostor, to join Vestas as their Development Director.
Baoqing Miao has taken on the role of M&A Manager at TAQA Group, previously he held the title Director of Asia at Voltiq – Renewable Energy Finance.
Cato Cheng has moved from Star Energy, where he held the role of Project Construction Manager, to Air Products as their new Project Construction Site Manager.
Yusang Kim has left his role as Regional Director, Renewable Energy at Enel X, to join ENlighten as the Managing Director.

Eduardus Jonathan Sutanto has joined Aboitiz Power as the Director for International Project Development, he was previously at Surya Utama Nuansa (SUN) where he held the title of Head of Business Development.
Bongju Kim has accepted the position of Director at Bright Energy Partners. He was the Head of Project Development Division at S-Energy.
Andre Ang has accepted the role of Investment Manager at Octopus Renewable Generation; he previously held the title of Senior Investment Manager at Amarenco.
Kuan Chung Sheng has left his role as Project Manager at IBC Solar and accepted a new role as Project Manager – Development and Delivery at Greencells Group.

We always look forward to keeping in touch and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions about renewable energy recruitment. If you are a company considering hiring in green energy, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities in renewable energy recruitment. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or reach out to us to discuss your background, skills, and future aspirations.

Amy Marietta

Consultant

+65 9424 0023

amy.marietta@aurexgroup.com

EA 18S9493 | R1878463