Who should be in the 21st century, if dad and grandfather are energy people?

Despite the relative slowness of the energy sector, in recent years new professions have appeared in it and new specialists are required. Meteoenergy, electric vehicles and designers of wearable power devices - perhaps today's children should dream to become them?

I will continue to dissect the “Atlas of new professions” - a forecast of what specialties will be in demand in the future in Russia (this is important, since many of them already exist in the world). Today we will look at power generation and power networks. The first part (medicine and biotechnology), which describes in more detail about the study, can be found here .

Power grids and power management

Professions that will appear until 2020

Marketer energy markets. Specialist with good knowledge of the global and Russian energy consumption markets, dealing with energy sales tasks. The need for this kind of specialists is associated with increased competition in the energy market and the emergence of a large number of private players.
So far, such specialists are not needed in Russia, but soon enough the issues of microgeneration and distributed networks will become really relevant. In the west, of course, everything is already there, they are taught this, and the demand for such specialists is great. Today, everything is extremely simple: OGK, TGK and ten nuclear power plants in generation and IDGCs in networks .
Therefore, in the story, what are the professions in the energy sector , the marketer is not yet designated. And in vain.
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Defender of the rights of consumers of electricity. Checks energy networks for compliance with safety, efficiency and other user requirements, and is able to provide expert advice in the field of energy saving legislation
In Europe and the USA, the protection of consumers' rights in the field of electric power industry is thoroughly worked out; there are many experts in this field. Specialists in this area generally advise how to pay less.
In Russia, there is a certain movement in this direction, but so far some kind of short-cut. So, I managed to find the September seminar about protection of rights and about options for reducing energy costs. For 12 thousand rubles . But it is clear that the service is necessary, not least to deal with benefits and subsidies, which experts even complain about the intricacies

Energy Auditor. Specialist engaged in auditing and consulting in the field of energy consumption. Checks private homes, residential complexes, individual buildings, factories on energy loss and energy optimization, gives recommendations for improving energy consumption
In general, it is strange that the profession turned out to be in the Atlas; even in Russia, no one will be surprised by an energy auditor. This is due to the fact that energy audit is a must-have for authorities and a number of companies . Hence, the interest is clear: there is guaranteed money, government contracts, etc. If the view that the energy auditors were in the Atlas due to the fact that there are problems with learning. Mostly offer 72-hour courses, which, if you look at the forums , it seems more for the crust than for real work. The Ministry of Energy launched the process of preparing energy auditors and plans that this year its courses will be held by about 30 thousand people.

Power network adjuster / controller for distributed power generation. Specialist with competence in the analysis of possible system failures, prediction of optimal operating conditions, ensuring the calculated safety of power grids and waste disposal. Owns methods of non-destructive testing, knows how to put into operation “smart grids”
Distributed energy in developed countries entered an active agenda in the early 2000s. In particular, in the United States after the 2003 blackout, a law was passed providing for substantial benefits to small electricity producers. From this point on, the share of centrally generated electricity is reduced. There are programs for the preparation and certification of engineers of distributed energy.

From here

In Russia, despite the fact that only two years later, the largest accident occurred , which was estimated to affect about 6.5 million people, nothing of the kind happened - unless the management of Mosenergo was removed. Nevertheless, it is clear that since the companies have not enough money to upgrade the trunk networks, the distributed power industry in Russia is a matter of the near future, which means that specialists will also be needed.


Professions that will appear after 2020

The developer of energy systems. A specialist in the design of energy systems in residential, office and industrial premises, taking into account the objectives of efficiency, safety and ease of management for the consumer.
System engineer of smart grids. Specialist engaged in the design and modeling of “smart grids”, microgeneration systems, “smart” energy environments for a particular task, as well as the development of technological and infrastructure requirements for systems throughout their life cycle
These two are working, in fact, on one question - how best to equip the power supply for the consumer, but the first decides it on the part of the consumer (what and how best to use to achieve goals, how to work with the most voracious objects, such as air conditioners, refrigerators, etc. .), and the second - from the generation and network side. Today there are companies abroad that provide such services (for example, Siemens with its SureGrid solution, Mentor with its devices, and others). Someday and to Russia sunk.

Electric Retailer Specialist who maintains infrastructure for refueling electric vehicles and other vehicles (for example, cargo UAVs)
It’s too early to talk about cargo drones, but Tesla is already possible to drive across the whole of America . So far, the map of electric stations looks something like this:

From here

In Moscow, judging by the MOESK-EV website , there are 27 filling stations, but the owners of electric vehicles say that with them everything, as a rule, is not thanks to God . On the other hand, zero import duties on electric vehicles can push the market up. In the meantime, better to charge at the stalls.

Power generation and energy storage

Professions that will appear until 2020

Power Generation System Modernization Manager. Manages the modernization of power plants: CHP, hydro, nuclear power plants; introduces modern methods of ensuring safety, environmental friendliness and efficient use of resources
It is clear that, despite the general trend towards diversification of sources of electricity generation, the lion’s share will soon be centralized. Production capacities are aging and wear out, so we need specialists who can implement the best practices in power plants and CHP.

The developer of microgeneration systems. Specialist in the development and design of new technological solutions related to energy microgeneration to the user's requirements.


The main reasons for the development of microgeneration today are the growth of ecological consciousness and a reduction in consumer spending. Therefore, there are already many microgeneration specialists in the west, and it will come to Russia in the near future. It is curious that in the USA precedents of struggle with such independent comrades are already arising. For example, in February, a Florida court ordered Robin Speronis, who had lived in her house for two years, disconnected from electricity and water supply systems, to connect to the city water supply , although, sighing, and recognized her right not to use it.

Recovery Systems Designer. Specialist in technological solutions for “capturing” the excess energy of moving vehicles, especially when braking, for example, road transport, metro, city electric transport
In principle, there is nothing revolutionary in energy recovery: on railway transport, on trams and trolley buses, regenerative braking is applied now . But it sounds good. Most likely, in the future, the demand for specialists who are able to create such systems will increase in demand.

Professions that will appear after 2020

Meteoenergetic. Specialist engaged in the optimization of operating modes of generating capacity, taking into account climatic conditions. Predicts the level of energy production depending on long-term weather forecasts


It looks fiction, but in general, since the 1990s, there have been passive houses in Germany that take into account the location of the house, the lighting, etc. They can be considered the first swallows in this topic. But in general, the existence of such a profession would probably help to solve a number of problems, for example, the same story with the accident in Moscow in 2005, when one of the triggers was a sharp increase in electricity consumption due to heat.

Specialist in local power supply systems. It is engaged in the development, implementation and maintenance of low-power generation systems (wind, solar, bio, atomic microgenerators, etc.).
I don’t know, I’m not sure about atomic generators, but it’s absolutely certain that scientists thought about using somehow the approximately 100 million GW of infrared radiation that our Earth emits into space. And the rest of the profession looks like packing "in the box" of those solutions that already exist.

Designer wearable power devices. Designer wearable power devices - designer of mobile / wearable generating systems, is engaged in the creation of goods for individual use (clothing, shoes, etc.) with the function of micro-generation of energy.


What can I say. It is a pity that this profession (which means mass production) is attributed by the authors of the Atlas for 2020. But people work. There are prototypes of micro-windmills , a dozen of which can fit on a grain of rice, and several hundred can be used to charge a smartphone, options for creating a fabric to generate electricity are being considered. We'll see.

Energy Storage Designer. Designer of energy storage systems: high-capacity batteries, heat accumulators, flywheels, etc., allowing to save energy for redistribution in “smart grids” between peaks and falls
Here everything is also clear. In addition to generation, storage solutions are required. For example, regenerative braking, used in electric vehicles, charges the battery, but often such excess energy is spent on space heating. Disorder.