An Insightful Interview with Siemens Energy North America

In June, I had the pleasure to interview Richard Voorberg of Siemens Energy North America or “SENA” When I was attending the Global Energy Show in Calgary, During our 4-minute interview that you can find on our Youtube Channel, we spoke about a range of topics, including a look towards the future of the energy industry, and how them and their parent company Siemens have been around for over 175 years. If anyone understands the energy industry and the transitions we have to make over time, it’ll be the people over at Siemens & Siemens Energy North America, as they have felt and dealt with technology improvements, political crisis and cultural changes. As Mr.Voorberg stated, “If you are not open and you are not willing to change (in the energy industry) Your company is dying”.

SENA always looks towards the long-term perspective of the industry without trading their company for short-term gains. This positive outlook on a company’s future is very inspiring, as there are plenty of companies nowadays that take the easy route for some quick cash while burning out relatively quickly. Because of their insightfulness and focus on the future, Siemens over the past 200 years has become one of the biggest energy companies in the world with over 300,000 active employees worldwide. When you play the long game and look toward the future, your company will have a far higher chance of succeeding.

Richard also gave me powerful insight on how SENA spends 3% of its annual revenues on Research and Development (R&D) for the company’s future growth, while also explaining how the general public may not understand how difficult the transition between natural resources and renewable energy truly is, how it cannot happen overnight, and how it must be a transition, not a straight switchover. Mr.Voorberg also said he has a “Trillema” he calls the “Affordability, Reliability, and Sustainability Balance” and how you have to balance those 3 problems with caution in order to succeed. He also gave me a statistic from the United States in which, when you compare their greenhouse gas production from 2005 to 2020, it’s cut down by 20%, not many people recognize this achievement of GHG reductions.

Richard explained to me how the shift from coal to gas has happened and is happening, but it’s time to start looking toward the future and making that shift to renewable energy. It may be a slow process, but it must be done. As time goes on, Richard explained, “For the first time in my career, Energy is a ‘sexy’ topic to talk about” because of the new perspectives that Canadians (including me) have gained in recent years. For me personally, YCR has helped build my knowledge of the different energy sectors Canada has and the ingenuity present in each one.

Overall, I feel like this interview I conducted was very insightful for me and all Young Canadians. To hear from such a highly touted and highly respected individual in the energy industry such as Richard Voorberg speaking on a highly important subject to Canadians from coast to coast was very enlightening. The subject of a future Canadian energy transition is an important discussion, and from the looks of things, it’s very positive for the future of Canada’s Natural Resource and Renewable Sectors as they will be around for decades to come.

Natural Resources Need Energy!

And Energy Needs Natural Resources!

If you would like to see the full-length interview, click the link below!

An Interview With Richard Voorberg from Siemens Energy North America.

About The Author: