Recruitment Report - RES
Renewable Energy Systems (RES) has been at the forefront of wind energy development since the 1970s and has completed more than 60 wind farms worldwide. Part of the Sir Robert McAlpine Group of engineering companies, RES is currently working on the development and construction of projects across the UK, Europe, North America and Australasia, including the Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farm off the coast of Skegness.
The company is active in a range of renewable energy technologies for providing on-site heating, power and cooling, including biomass, ground source and solar and sustainable building design. It is also a holder of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise and was recently listed in the Sunday Times Top 25 Green Businesses.
The potential for ‘green-collar’ jobs’ is now widely recognised. In June the Government unveiled a renewable energy plan to produce 15 per cent of the country’s energy from green sources by 2020, a multi-billion pound investment that could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Much of this will come from wind power, with significant growth expected in offshore wind, particularly in the North Sea. By 2020 over 20 per cent of the UK’s electricity requirements could be met by clean, secure, renewable technologies and the use of renewables to supply heat is also expected to increase. RES is looking for good engineers from all disciplines and preferably with backgrounds in the renewables, utilities, oil and gas, marine, electrical power system, aeronautical or environmental sectors.
Karen-Anne Duguid (senior wind analyst) and Simon Barker (operations and maintenance engineer) talk about the work they do at RES:
: Where are you based geographically?
Karen-Anne: Our Glasgow office.
Simon: Beaufort Court headquarters (opposite page).
: What is your job title - how many do a similar job?
Karen-Anne: Senior wind analyst. I’m part of a team of six wind analysts.
Simon: One of three operations and maintenance engineers.
: What does this role involve?
Karen-Anne: My role involves working for the Wind Analysis Team Leader, managing the wind analysis team here in Glasgow on a day to day basis. This involves liaising with the technical managers in the different markets, planning and prioritising workloads and ensuring deadlines are met.
Simon: Keeping the turbines spinning - everything from making sure we pay people to making sure work is done safely.
: How long have you been at RES?
Karen-Anne: Seven years. I started as a permanent staff member in 2001, but did a summer placement with RES in 1999.
Simon: Two and a half years.
: What is your background?
Karen-Anne: I have an MEng degree in Civil Engineering and came to RES straight from university. Having already worked with RES for a summer I knew the company and the staff already.
Simon: Mechanical engineer to Masters level.
: What sort of projects/technologies do you work on?
Karen-Anne: I work in onshore and offshore wind and have been involved in the Inner Dowsing Offshore wind farm, the recent Hydro-Quebec tender in Canada, and the Puketiro project in New Zealand.
Simon: All onshore sites - from little 300KW machines that are 15 years old to brand new 2.5MW machines.
: Where does the work you do fit within the overall project/technology you work on?
Karen-Anne: Wind resource assessments serve two purposes. They are used to predict the long-term energy yield for a project (which impacts on the project economics), and they are also used to determine turbine suitability based on the measured and predicted wind climate at the site.
Simon: We buy the project from construction and sell the power.
: Do you work with outside clients/suppliers/consultants?
Karen-Anne: All our wind resource assessments are subject to independent due diligence, so we do work with external consultants. This often requires us to discuss projects with the due diligence engineer and review the approach they have taken internally.
Simon: We work with them all so there is a lot of building relationships.
: What projects are you currently working on?
Karen-Anne: We are currently working on projects throughout the development process - from sites where we are doing the initial assessment to inform decisions about the site, to updating predictions at sites where we have additional measurements, right through to carrying out predictions for sites which will be going through due diligence in the coming months in advance of financial close. We are also working on Climatic Conditions Reports for sites which are at the turbine procurement stage.
Simon: Rolling out BWEA wind turbine safety rules across RES sites.
: What deadlines and timescales do you work to?
Karen-Anne: Timescales are driven by projects needs e.g. financial assessments prior to a site being submitted for planning. As we work for a number of different markets it’s not uncommon for people to need analysis work done at the same time. This is why we need to prioritise work and plan for it in advance wherever possible.
Simon: When a site turbine is offline you can calculate how much money its costing an hour. From this you prioritise and get the big stuff done first.
: Are you working nationally or internationally in this sector?
Karen-Anne: Internationally. The wind analysis team in Glasgow are responsible for wind resource assessments in the UK, Ireland, France, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and in other potential new markets.
Simon: UK and Ireland.
: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Karen-Anne: Getting planning approval/winning a tender and ultimately seeing a project you’ve worked on get built. Each project has a designated wind analyst so you get a real sense of attachment to your projects and nothing beats seeing pictures of ‘your’ wind farm being constructed.
Simon: Facilitating a difficult job that gets a wind turbine or wind farm back online. Site visits are good because they’re in really beautiful parts of the UK.
: Have you seen changes over the last few years and how do you see the future for the renewables sector?
Karen-Anne: I’ve seen a lot of changes in RES since I joined. We’ve expanded significantly - for example, the staff numbers in Glasgow have gone from six when I was a summer student to 25 now, and we’re still growing. We’ve also expanded into new markets and things continue to look positive for the future.
Simon: The main challenge will be expanding companies quickly enough to meet demand. Getting enough good technicians to look after the sites will be difficult.
: What advice would you give to a graduate or someone thinking of entering the sector?
Karen-Anne: Take the time to investigate the various jobs on offer in the industry and when you find one that interests you be sure to highlight your transferable skills in your CV. My civil engineering background isn’t a typical route to a job in wind analysis, but my degree gave me a number of useful skills which I use everyday in my job - problem solving and analytical skills, time management, project management, communication skills and leadership skills. Don’t expect a future employer to know what skills you could bring to the job - tell them!
Simon: Learn as much as you can from the BWEA website. Go to a BWEA conference if possible as this is where I first learnt of RES (BWEA 27).
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