👷🏼‍♂️ Climate Tech Brief #009 — Skilled Labor

Tech gets the headlines. But there's a labor shortage threatening the energy transition.

January 24, 2023

Hello!

Technology and funding gets the headlines in climate tech, but its people that drive the energy transition.

The Inflation Reduction Act will provide more than $370 billion in subsidies to power the transition to solar, wind, and electric vehicles. But a labor shortage, as well as strict labor source requirements, could jeopardize progress.

There are non-technical solutions, like apprenticeship programs and on the job training. But since this is a climate tech newsletter, we’ll explore alternative solutions across field service and workforce management.

📣 Why it matters

People are needed to build the complex systems that make up renewable energy and electrification infrastructure. Without a sufficient number of skilled workers, construction of solar installation and EV charging will be delayed and costs will increase.

Field service, workforce management, and construction tech can help support existing workers while increasing productivity.

Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics

😬 Problem

Transitioning to renewable energy sources and electrification requires a significant amount of skilled labor.

Without the right people with the right skills, it is difficult to design, install, and maintain renewable energy systems, as well as support infrastructure.

🎯 Solution

Education programs like on the job training and apprenticeships, as well as other incentives, help to hire and retain employees.

Field service management, workforce management, geospatial intelligence, and communication software reduce reliance on manual labor while making existing distributed teams more efficient.

💪🏼 Innovators

  • Aurora Solar is a SaaS company that uses aerial imagery to assess solar installation projects.

  • BlocPower’s Civilian Climate Corps is building a climate tech workforce to power clean energy and building modernization

  • Terabase Energy is a web-based tool that reduces cost and deployment timelines by digitalizing the solar power plant.

  • Glint Solar can identify and analyze the best solar sites faster

  • Booster focuses on energy delivery, integrated logistics, and providing solutions for decarbonizing last-mile delivery via mobile fuel delivery.

  • Workyard provides leading workforce management software to construction, home services, and property maintenance companies of all sizes.

  • Unearth transforms field operations across critical infrastructure industries including transportation, energy, and telecom.

  • Sitetracker is a SaaS platform for deploying, operating, and servicing critical infrastructure and technology.

  • Raken is a mobile, cloud-based app that allows users to complete daily construction work flows directly from their device in the field.

  • Fieldwire is a field management platform that offers a wide range of device-agnostic features for general and specialty contractors.

⚡️ Opportunities

  • Apprenticeships, on the job training, and education for aspiring green tech professionals

    • Greenwork is building the skilled trades workforce that's tackling the climate crisis

  • Recruitment and staffing services to find labor

    • Workrise is a marketplace for on-demand services and skilled labor in the energy industry.

  • Advanced software using geospatial technology and drones reduce the frequency for on-site inspections

    • DroneDeploy is a cloud-based drone mapping and analytics platform to help businesses get things done.

    • Raptor Maps is a MIT-born startup that builds software to manage the solar lifecycle.

    • Scanifly develops a drone-based 3D modeling software that automates and centralizes the manual day-to-day tasks in the solar workflow.

  • Field service management software that focuses on a specific vertical or stage of the deployment cycle.

    • Scoop Solar does solar project management, sales/operations, data management, and workflow automation.

    • Solytic is a post-installation solar platform that helps stakeholders to drive profits, cut costs and extend lifecycles.

⚠️ Challenges

  • Renewable energy and electrification is an emerging industry. Many individuals may not be aware of the opportunities available or may not understand the skills and qualifications required for these jobs.

  • Renewable energy and electrification jobs face competition for skilled labor from similar industries, such as the oil and gas industry, that might pay better.

  • Renewable energy projects are often located in rural areas on a temporary basis. This can make it difficult to attract and retain skilled workers in these locations.

    • Traveling nurses are paid slightly higher rates for temporarily relocation

    • Provide temporary housing with pre-fab construction

  • Construction and physical labor comes with safety concerns.

    • Safesite is the #1 Way to Put Safety First

    • Newmetrix develops a cloud-based video management platform to reduce jobsite risk with the power of human and artificial intelligence.

    • Urbint predicts threats to workers and critical infrastructure to stop incidents before they happen.

🚀 Takeaways

  1. Skilled labor is crucial for the energy transition. Without the right people, you can’t design, install, and maintain renewable energy and electrification infrastructure.

  2. The skilled labor shortage poses a significant challenge to the energy transition

  3. Empower green tech professionals with education and training and maximize their productivity with field service, workforce, and communication software tailored to their jobs.

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