QUT’s postgraduate courses in renewable energy systems are preparing the next generation of engineers to lead Australia’s decarbonisation efforts.
As Australia pushes towards decarbonisation, engineers in the renewable energy sector are facing increasing pressure to turn ambitious targets into tangible outcomes.
The Federal Government has committed to producing 82 per cent of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2030, with states also subject to specific targets. With the Queensland Government’s commitment to generating 70 per cent of the state’s energy from renewable sources by 2032, and 80 per cent by 2035, the demand for expertise in designing, operating and maintaining renewable energy systems across the state is growing rapidly.
Through its postgraduate courses in Renewable Energy Systems, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is playing a key role in positioning engineers at the forefront of the clean energy transition, helping to equip both recent graduates and engineers in the field with the tools to create change.
Addressing the realities of renewable energy projects
The steady increase in renewable energy projects cropping up around the country presents exciting opportunities for more Australians to rely on clean energy.
In Queensland alone, there are over 70 large-scale renewable energy projects currently in operation or under construction, including solar and wind farms, hydro projects and bioenergy systems.
The success of these projects in helping the state reach its decarbonisation targets hinges on the ability to integrate and maintain these systems in a safe, cost-effective way.
This is challenging given that many project owners are working with untested tools and systems, said Nigel Hough, Director at GPA Engineering.
“We’re doing novel projects with novel technology, new suppliers, nascent or immature regulation and with no standard, typical designs [to imitate],” he told create.
“One of the biggest issues is that a lot of the proponents for these projects are unaware of the issues around the systems for integrating and delivering projects. It starts at a base level where, if you’re not aware, then you might present the cost and the business case for your project based upon some overly optimistic assumptions.”
With project owners eager to innovate, their planning also sometimes fails to account for regulatory compliance.
“[For example], there’s a standard called AS3000 that’s getting a lot of hydrogen and renewables projects into trouble at the moment because there are some very specific interpretations of how you must comply with that code. I think a lot of the new energy projects are getting caught out on the systems integration aspects because they don’t quite have a handle on how to meet those requirements.”
This is part of the reason there is increasing demand for safety and risk engineers as well as electrical engineers in the renewable energy sector, particularly in areas such as hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels, which deal with high temperatures and toxic substances, he explained.
The next generation of engineers working on these projects will need the ability to assess projects and solutions from every angle to ensure they account for legal, financial and technical issues that could arise.
“To deliver these cool ideas in a pragmatic sense requires an understanding and appreciation of a lot of real-world issues. It’s about acknowledging those [aspects] and planning in a holistic way before you start your project to ensure that you’re mitigating those risks,” Hough said.
Cultivating a renewable-ready engineering workforce
Addressing the critical need for engineers with the skills to ensure the reliability and sustainability of renewable energy systems will require strong links between industry and academia, Hough said.
To that end, QUT has sought expertise from Hough and his team at GPA Engineering as industry advisors to its postgraduate programs in Renewable Energy to help ensure they remain aligned with the real-world challenges faced by engineers in the field.
“This is us standing up and putting our money where our mouth is. We’re saying, ‘We’re not just going to talk about what people need to do. We’re going to help them to do it,’” he said.
QUT’s Graduate Certificate in Renewable Energy Systems and Master of Renewable Energy cover not only the technical aspects of clean-energy technologies but also the economic, social and environmental impact of their implementation.
“You’ve got to understand the idiosyncrasies of how different techniques produce energy and how you can use them. So it’s about how you go about selecting the best technologies, [assessing] the readiness of those technologies and understanding the risks.”
The Graduate Certificate, designed for graduates with three to five years of professional engineering experience in energy systems, takes a systems approach to renewable energy, training students to assess how different technologies – from photovoltaic panels to thermal energy – can be integrated into industrial processes and energy grids.
The curriculum is designed not just to familiarise students with established technologies but also to train them in evaluating emerging systems – an essential skill in a rapidly evolving field.
“I would expect someone who has completed this program, will have an excellent understanding of how to make good, analytical, data-based decisions about particular aspects of energy for any technology.”
QUT’s Master of Renewable Energy program dives deeper into the challenges of designing renewable energy systems capable of withstanding energy variability.
The program includes two streams to achieve this, Bell said: Renewable Power, with a focus on grid integration and electrical systems; and Renewable Energy Systems, which targets engineers working with energy generation and transformation technologies, energy utilisation and efficiency.
“This is a renewable energy-based masters, but it is also a systems engineering masters,” Bell said. “It’s about the ways in which we can produce renewable energy and how you can integrate that renewable energy into, say, a grid or a process.”
In an industry evolving as rapidly as renewable energy, the need for engineers who can assess, design and implement complex systems has never been greater. Through specialised, industry-backed upskilling in renewable energy systems, engineers can be part of the solution to one of the world’s greatest challenges.
Find out more about QUT’s Graduate Certificate in Renewable Energy Systems and Master of Renewable Energy.
