Solar boss worries about depth of renewable energy talent pool

Sonnedix chief executive Axel Thiemann is clear about the energy transition challenge that keeps him awake at night: people.

"What we're building is not that complicated – it’s steel, copper, glass and silicone that we use efficiently," says the solar company boss who manages over 9GW of capacity across 10 countries.

"But when it comes to the people that make that happen - that navigate these challenges - access to talent is really the key thing that that I'm worried about in the short term."

During an exclusive interview at Enlit Europe 2022 in Frankfurt, Thiemann tells Renewable Energy World journalist John Engel that two other factors weigh heavily: regulatory certainty to plan and deploy with confidence, and permitting.

"What we're really looking for is certainty on the development permitting front so that national goals get translated in development policy to allow us to deploy at speed to help the energy transition and with energy independence."

Also of interest:
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Watch the rest of Thiemann's interview for his insights on the urgent need to enable flexibility and grid balancing, key markets he has been eyeing and Europe's crucial need for an industrial policy to coordinate supply chains.