If you work in clean energy, you’ve probably noticed the same thing we have: new projects are landing across Europe at a rate that would have been hard to imagine five years ago.
Battery storage, green hydrogen, charging infrastructure, and electric mobility – it’s all moving at once. But the part that surprises people isn’t the technology. It’s the regulation that comes with it.
What used to be an occasional policy update has turned into a steady stream of requirements from Brussels, national regulators, certification bodies, and safety authorities. Some of these changes shift timelines. Others reshape entire programmes. All of them create new pressure on organisations trying to scale.
Many companies built their hiring plans around technical delivery. Far fewer prepared for the amount of regulatory expertise they’d need to keep those programmes on track.
A Regulatory Landscape That Won’t Sit Still
Clean-energy regulation no longer moves in steady cycles.
Battery storage projects face evolving safety expectations. Grid-connected assets face shifting connection codes and system operator requirements. Hydrogen projects must meet strict certification frameworks. Renewables come with evolving permitting and environmental requirements. Charging and electrification follow different standards from one country to the next.
For companies working across multiple European markets, the challenge multiplies. A solar-plus-storage project in Spain won’t follow the same rules as hydrogen infrastructure in Germany or charging networks in the Nordics.
When teams rely on assumptions, projects slow down. Accurate interpretation keeps them moving.
Where Skills Don’t Match the Pace of Change
Almost every clean energy business we speak to says the same thing: “We know what we need to build. We just don’t have enough people who understand the regulatory side.”
There’s no shortage of bright engineers or ambitious project managers. The challenge sits in the overlap between technical knowledge and policy literacy. Very few people sit comfortably in both worlds.
Roles that used to be considered niche now sit at the centre of major initiatives:
- Grid compliance engineers who understand connection codes, curtailment rules, protection settings, and TSOs/DSOs.
- Battery storage safety and certification specialists with hands-on knowledge of BESS systems.
- Environmental permitting and impact assessment leads for solar, wind, and hybrid projects.
- Hydrogen safety and regulatory professionals familiar with local approval processes and operational standards.
- EV charging installation and standards specialists who know how rules differ across Europe.
- Technical authors and documentation leads who can keep pace with evolving legislative requirements.
These aren’t optional hires anymore: they directly influence whether programmes progress smoothly or hit repeated delays.
What SR2 Clean Energy Is Seeing Across Europe
Because we’re embedded in clean energy hiring every day, patterns tend to show up early. Over the past year, we’ve seen three clear shifts:
- Organisations are hiring regulatory expertise much earlier.
Instead of waiting until the final documentation stage, teams want compliance specialists in the room from the start. - Cross-border experience is becoming a major advantage.
Someone who understands how regulations differ between Germany, the Nordics and Benelux is far more valuable than someone who has stayed within one market. - Technical credibility matters more than ever.
Regulatory generalists struggle. The people succeeding here understand the assets themselves: turbines, substations, batteries, charging systems, electrical infrastructure, hydrogen equipment.
Regulation isn’t slowing down.
As clean-energy projects multiply, so do the rules that govern them. Organisations that invest in compliance early tend to move with fewer surprises – they make clearer decisions, avoid late redesigns and win tenders others can’t.
Compliance is part of the core structure of modern project delivery. And the people doing this work shape everyday progress: the approvals that land on time, the documentation that avoids pushback, the engineering choices that keep a programme on track.
If you need people who understand both the technology and the ever-evolving rulebook behind it, we can help.
Speak to the SR2 Clean Energy team
SR2 Clean Energy focuses on talent at the intersection of engineering, compliance and project delivery.
