Careers in Renewable Energy

A number of my clients have expressed interest recently in pursuing their careers in one of the renewable energy sectors (solar, wind energy, etc.). Below are a number of resources I've been able to dig up to help them kick off their own research into this fascinating area:

Renewable Energy / Energy: working with new ventures or established companies to develop alternative energy sources (wind, water, solar, thermal etc), increase the efficiency of existing energy technologies (e.g. more efficient turbine engines), or more efficiently use energy in existing operations within major corporations. The development of social ventures that combine environmental with financial benefits is an area of increasing interest for venture capitalists, social entrepreneurs, and energy utilities. (from Columbia University Social Enterprise Program Web Page - http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/socialenterprise/careers/resources/areas.html

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/education/careers_renewable_energy.html - DOE Fact Sheet on Careers in Renewable Energy - Good resource list at bottom of page; rest of material seems to be aimed at a younger audience.

http://www.greenenergyjobs.com/ - International Search & Selection for the Renewables Industry

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/jobs/index.cfm - Green Dream Jobs

http://www.usregroup.com/index.html - US Renewables Group - mission is to develop, acquire and manage the largest and most profitable renewable power and fuels fleet. Owns and operates Landfill Methane, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, ethanol and biodiesel projects. US Renewables Group's primary focus is on the acquisition of operating assets, however, on a selective basis, US Renewables Group invests in the development of projects or expansion opportunities at renewable energy facilities. - NOTE: VC's can be good sources of information about which young renewable energy companies are hiring)

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/home - Renewable Energy Access - general info. & "community" website

http://www.martinot.info/organizations.htm#webdir - Renewable Energy information

http://www.energy.ca.gov/ - California Energy Commission

http://www.acore.org/ - American Council on Renewable Energy - focused on accelerating the adoption of renewable energy technologies into the mainstream of American society through work in convening, information publishing and communications.

http://www.awea.org/ - American Wind Energy Association - Wind energy equipment manufacturers; project developers and dealers; individuals from industry, government, and academia; interested others. Works to: advance the art and science of using energy from the wind for human purposes; encourage the use of wind turbines and wind power plants as alternatives to current energy systems that depend on depletable fuels; facilitate the widespread use of wind as a renewable, non-polluting energy source by fostering communication within the field of wind energy and between the technical community and the public.

http://www.environmentalmarkets.org/ - Environmental Markets Association - The mission of the Environmental Markets Association is to promote market-based trading solutions for environmental management. The EMA facilitates professional networking among traders, brokers, utilities, government officials and academics.

http://www.bcse.org/ - Business Council for Sustainable Energy

http://www.ceert.org/ - Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies - Mission is to promote public awareness and attainment of the air quality improvement and other public benefits available through increased utilization of energy conservation and nonpolluting electricity generation and transportation technologies.

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/ - Renewable Fuels Association - the national trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry

http://www.seia.org/ - Solar Energy Industries Association - the national trade association of solar energy manufacturers, dealers, distributors, contractors, installers, architects, consultants, and marketers.

http://cleantech.com/ - Cleantech Venture Network - a membership organization bringing insight, opportunities and relationships to investors, entrepreneurs and service providers interested in clean technology. Cleantech organizes Venture Forums, provides deal flow, publishes its Venture Monitors and offers related services to investors and entrepreneurs.

http://www.electronicsee.com/Finance/Environment_and_venture_capital.htm - List of venture capital and private equity funds focused on energy

http://energyhedgefunds.com - Energy Hedge Fund Center - mixture of pricey and free services regarding information, news, analysis, and insights into energy, environmental, and hedge funds.