Renewable energy prices plummet whilst the job market skyrockets

It’s not a secret that energy costs are soaring around the world but, in some regions of the United States, an anomaly occurs; prices are plunging below zero.

But why is this happening? In some locations on the power grid, with an excessive collection of wind and solar energy, low-voltage lines are causing power to back up and fail to transfer to the demanded location. As this effect builds, power plant owners are forced to pay users to take the excess electricity.

In recent reports, Yes Energy confirmed that in 2021, the wholesale price dropped below negative on over 200 million occasions across the seven US grids. Continued analysis from Yes Energy has revealed that records will be broken in 2022 as grid transmission blockages worsen on three renewable-rich power grids in Texas, California, and the Southwest.

The solution to this? A Princeton study indicates that the US needs to spend an estimated $2.4 trillion on the power grid by 2050 to manage the expected load increase from renewables. “We don’t have the right big transmission infrastructure”, – said Cliff Rose, product manager at Yes Energy.

So, what does this look like for talent acquisition and the gas and power job market?

As we look forward to 2023, we anticipate continued demand for the technical and engineering skill sets that will develop the United States’ power grid and energy infrastructure.

Energy.Gov reported that jobs in the transmission, distribution and storage of energy have increased, estimating over 22,000 new jobs in the industry. However, areas with heavily affected power and gas companies, such as California, have gained over 29,000 new jobs to control energy efficiency. Whilst following closely behind, Texas has gained over 30,000 net jobs, including the creation of almost 7,000 jobs focused on the commitment to developing their areas’ power grid efficiency.

Furthermore, changes to the US power grid will have huge knock-on effects in the traded markets, and we expect to see continued hiring in areas like analytics, risk, trading, data science, and machine learning.

If you are a company considering hiring, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or contact us to discuss your background, skills, and future aspirations. We always look forward to networking and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions.

Sources:

David Byrne

Managing Director | Partner, Americas

+1 832 623 0114

david@aurexgroup.com