Since my last post in late November a lot has happened. In mid-December we successfully closed our financing round with EAB Private Equity. This investment will provide us with the tools to respond to the rapidly growing market and increased customer demand. At the same time, last year was one, which will once be written in the history books as being the pivotal year in geopolitics, when Russia invaded parts of Ukraine and Europe was faced with an unprecedented energy crisis resulting from the reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
The fundamental forces of our energy infrastructure are in motion and the current world events will accelerate the energy transformation significantly. As noted by the recent IEA report, wind energy is expected to grow between 2021 and 2027 as much as it did between 2001 and 2020. These are not small numbers by any means and will certainly stretch our industry in terms of supply chain and human resources.
In its note on American Energy Transformation, the American Clean Power estimates that the clean energy workforce will double by 2030, employing over 1 million Americans by the end of the decade. This means almost 550,000 new jobs over the next 8 years or 65,000 / year or almost 6,000 new jobs every month for a decade. In the US alone. Let that sink in. This includes the jobs in solar and other renewable energy sources, but the point is that the current energy transformation will require a substantial number of new, qualified individuals, who simply do not exist today.
Bladefence will play its small role in all of this, and we are committed to providing our staff with the training they need to carry out their tasks safely and efficiently.
However, for the industry to respond, more is needed. In addition to the wind energy training programs and curriculums currently on-going and being prepared, we will need infrastructure for conversion training for individuals coming from other industries, as well as more standardization among the different industry players to streamline operations and to reduce costs, without sacrificing safety.
I am sure I will be writing about this topic many times over the coming years. In the meantime, check out our ongoing recruitment campaigns for North America and Europe. Should you have any blade maintenance or repair need, do not hesitate to contact our sales teams in North America and Europe.
