Renewable energy boom stares at talent blackout

A lack of trained manpower is proving to be a major bottleneck for Indian renewable energy companies which are struggling for new hires as they expand capacities. Companies say they are either forced to send executives overseas to be trained, hire expats or poach employees from other players.

“The scale of the opportunity is something that is very exciting … but there is a lack of talent and it is one of the challenges,” said Sumant Sinha, chairman and chief executive of ReNew. In the next seven years, India will have to add 60 GW of renewable energy capacity every year to meet its aspirations across power and green hydrogen, and trained manpower is needed for this, he added.