How VR Training is Revolutionizing the Energy Industry

Introduction

The energy sector—encompassing oil & gas, renewables, and utilities—is known for its high-stakes environments. Training workers safely and effectively is a constant challenge. With the rise of immersive technologies, Virtual Reality (VR) training has emerged as a transformative tool that reduces risk, saves money, and enhances preparedness. Here’s how it’s changing the game.

• BP’s VR training from immerse resulted in a 84% behavioral improvement when back on the job
• Avangrid Renewables reported a 65% increase in learning rates with their VR training compared to traditional onboarding.

Improved Safety in High-Risk Environments

VR allows workers to practice emergency responses, equipment handling, and hazardous procedures in a fully immersive, controlled environment. No real-world exposure is needed, which drastically reduces the chance of injury during training.

This is particularly valuable in the energy sector, where operations often involve dangerous conditions, high-voltage equipment, or elevated work environments. Trainees can make mistakes and learn from them in virtual scenarios without physical consequences, allowing for more thorough preparation before entering actual field environments.

• ExxonMobil, recognizing the power of VR training has their own immersive technologies group dedicated to creating cutting edge safety training for their employees.
• Shell reported a 45% reduction in safety incidents after implementing their VR training program.

Being able to simulate high-pressure situations,like offshore blowouts or electrical faults—prepares workers in ways that traditional training just can’t match.

Reducing Training Downtime and Operational Disruption

On-site training often requires taking equipment offline, coordinating with multiple departments, and halting operations. VR eliminates this issue by providing hands-on experience without interfering with production.

Reducing training downtime and operational disruption is a critical focus for the energy sector, where unplanned interruptions can lead to significant financial and productivity losses. For example, technicians can practice high-risk scenarios or complex procedures virtually, reducing the need to halt real-world equipment for training purposes

• Training can be scheduled anytime and repeated indefinitely without occupying live assets.
• Massively improves productivity by maintaining operational continuity.

This also means new employees can get up to speed faster, and refreshers can be conducted regularly without logistical headaches for training managers.

Lowering Costs of High-Fidelity Training Equipment

Creating physical replicas of turbines, control rooms, or offshore rigs is not only expensive but space-consuming. VR recreates these environments digitally, offering realism at a fraction of the cost.

Saving on costs is one of the best benefits of VR training because it’s an easy way to measure return on investment of a VR training program, and while VR training usually results in substantial financial savings in any industry, in the world of energy where costs can reach billions of dollars this becomes exponentially more beneficial.

• A physical simulator for turbine training can cost upwards of $500,000; a VR version might cost just 10–15% of that.
• Virtual simulators prevent damage to real equipment and can be scaled infinitely at a fraction of the price to creating multiple physical simulators, while maintaining high effectiveness.
• Updates to virtual equipment or processes can be pushed digitally, removing the need to rebuild physical props.
• Increased engagement effectiveness of safety training means staying in line with OSHA regulations and avoiding OSHA penalty costs, compared to conventional training.

The scalability and flexibility of VR makes it perfect for the ever-evolving energy sector.

Interactively learn about complex equipment in an isolated space

How is VR Training Currently Being Used in the Energy Industry?

VR training in the energy sector spans numerous applications, from basic orientation to complex technical procedures. Several energy companies have already used VR training with great results. Avangrid, a provider of green energy solutions, has incorporated VR technology into their training programs for wind and solar technicians at their National Training Center in Oregon. This allows trainees to get familiar with complex equipment and troubleshooting procedures in a safe environment before working with actual equipment.

The VR modules at Avangrid’s facility allow technicians to practice maintenance and operational procedures on simulated equipment, wind turbines and solar installations. This combination – VR simulations and hands on training with physical equipment like a 30 foot fall protection tower and an intact wind turbine nacelle – creates a complete learning experience that prepares workers for real world challenges.

Many energy companies already use VR for:

• Offshore orientation: Familiarizing workers with rig layouts before they step foot on-site.
• Emergency response drills: Fire, chemical leaks, and gas blowout simulations.
• Control room operations: Practicing system monitoring and alarm response.
• Maintenance training: Disassembling and repairing complex machinery in 3D.
• Safety Training: Refresh and onboard employees with all relevant knowledge, safety tips or best practice for safety.

SHIIFT Training, for example, created a VR Lockout/Tagout simulation that walks workers through PPE preparation, energy source identification, and performing LOTO procedures safely, which is highly relevant for the energy industry.

Future Use Cases of VR in Energy Training 

As VR Training for the energy industry continues to grow, less explored training opportunities will flourish with technology even more, including:

• Cross-site collaboration: Multi-user VR sessions could allow teams across locations to troubleshoot or train together.
• AI-driven dynamic simulations: Integrating decision-tree logic for simulations that adapt based on user actions.
• Environmental impact awareness: Training workers on ecological consequences of operational mishaps.
• Integration with digital twins: Live data from real equipment can drive real-time VR scenarios.

As the energy transition accelerates, VR can play a critical role in retraining the workforce for renewables and new energy systems.

Exploring an LNG facility in VR

Closing Thoughts

VR training isn’t a futuristic concept—it’s here, and it’s proving itself in the field. VR Training for the energy industry is a natural step in the future, where safety, uptime, and cost-efficiency are non-negotiable, immersive training offers tangible, measurable benefits. With continued innovation and adoption, VR is set to become the standard for workforce readiness in high-risk sectors.

If you’re in the energy industry and interested in virtual reality training for your business, send us a message with the link below and we’ll get in touch!