Darren Davidson is Vice President of Siemens Energy UK&I and Siemens Gamesa UK. Born and raised in Newcastle, he started work as an apprentice engineer before going on to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering. His 35-year career has seen him work across the globe.
Today he is responsible for a team of more than 6,000 people, working on some of the UK’s biggest energy transition projects including grid and offshore wind. Here he addresses what the UK needs to do next to forge a green future, including how support for the supply chain is vital if the government is to deliver on its clean energy mission.
What are the challenges that the UK energy industry faces in combating climate change?
The UK is the first leading industrial country to phase out coal power and be a leader in offshore wind. If we’re to achieve our net zero targets, it’s mission critical this momentum is maintained.
The demand for energy is increasing; the population is growing, and the number of energy-consuming devices we use grows. Our habits are becoming more energy-intensive. A data centre processing a search using AI uses in the region of 20 times as much energy as a simple search-engine. Our challenge as an industry is to ensure enough energy supply, with continuity of supply, while also delivering the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables.
How can the government help the supply chain and deliver the jobs promised in its clean energy mission?
It was a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Keir Starmer to our Siemens Energy site in Berlin, on his first bilateral trip after taking office. The first 100 days of this new Labour government saw the importance of energy clearly highlighted, including the creation of GB Energy and a new Mission Control team tasked with delivering clean power mission by 2030. In October we saw the launch of a consultation on the first Industrial Strategy for the UK in seven years.
To progress we need consistency, engagement and more clarity on project pipelines so that the private sector has the confidence to invest. Combine this with a robust and joined-up approach to education, training and skills, and we can move the dial forward.
Siemens Energy is the biggest supplier to the UK energy industry. That includes wind power, grid technologies including transformers and interconnectors, electrolyser solutions, gas and hydrogen-ready turbines. Siemens Gamesa is part of our business. We operate a wind turbine blade factory in Hull, employing over 1,300 people after recruiting more than 600 new employees over the last 12 months. We understand what it is to grow our business by investing in local people and businesses, partnering with local colleges and universities to create a sustainable workforce and develop and grow a local supply chain where we can.
What are the most critical skills gaps in the green energy sector?
As I’ve said, there is a clean energy supply chain in this country, and we are proud to be part of it. But it is not as well-developed as it could be. To turn that around we need clear and consistent messages from government, and a long-term plan. That means providing much more certainty about the project pipeline so that we have the confidence to invest. For example, we are looking to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to commit to minimum budgets in the auction process for offshore wind in each year until 2035.
In the UK we have become good at providing people with the skills to do service-sector jobs. Our track record on turning out people with the necessary skills to become engineers, scientists, researchers or designers hasn’t kept pace. The whole arc of education needs to be addressed. I benefitted from an apprenticeship and then an engineering degree once I had been working in energy for a while, but it’s not common.
How can these gaps be addressed?
The UK has talent in abundance. What’s needed is to nurture and promote it, whatever route it finds into the industry. At Siemens Energy in the UK we’ve established a global centre of excellence for grid transmission in Manchester; a centre in Lincoln developing and demonstrating industrial-scale use of renewable hydrogen in gas turbines; and centres of expertise in subsea technologies in Ulverston in the Lake District and in Aberdeen. The energy transition needs the brightest and the best delivering it, and employers and government need to work to make these careers attractive and sought after.
Are you positive about the future, net zero and the energy transition?
We need to think in terms of energy systems, not energy silos; we must accept that without an overhaul of the grid, there can be no energy transition. We must accept that there cannot be energy transition without gas until the low carbon technologies are built up to a level that satisfies national needs. The task of delivering energy transition is so interconnected and reliant on so many moving parts that an unprecedented level of cooperation is essential.
You often hear talk about the challenge of the energy transition. For me, it’s the opportunity of the 21st century. In the UK we’ve done about half the job of getting to net zero. Our power generation has transitioned from coal to cleaner fuels. Now’s not the time to slow down. I am convinced, with government and the private sector working together, we have the right people and the right technologies to get there.
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