Q: Tell us your background and when you first became interested in energy?  

A: I’ve always wanted to make a difference, and growing up seeing the need to transition the UK’s energy markets away from fossil fuels felt like a compelling challenge. Growing up in Somerset, the debate closer to home centred on the implications of building a proposed tidal barrage across the River Severn, or building Hinkley Point C. The scale and ambition of the tidal barrage and lagoon proposal excited me. It made me aware of the complexity and wide-ranging factors that needed consideration – all against the backdrop of an increasing need to act.  

Q: How did you first hear about the Energy Institute and what motivated you to join?  

A: I was about to start my teacher training after finishing my degree when I went to a careers fair and saw that the University of East Anglia had just started a Masters in Energy Engineering accredited by the Energy Institute. I didn’t do an undergraduate degree in engineering – I studied natural sciences, so I’ve always taken a more multi-disciplinary view of challenges. I liked how the Energy Institute spanned the application of different skillsets and sectors to deliver a specific purpose.  

Q: How has being a MEI benefitted you in your career?  

I’ve had different stages of membership with the Energy Institute since I was doing my Masters 14 years ago, when I was initially an AMEI. Having access to rich resources within the Energy Institute really helped as an AMEI as I could contextualise a lot of what I was learning. As a MEI CEng, I dip into subjects outside my specialism and the deep expertise available helps back up any operational decisions needed.

My journey culminated with me getting my Chartership, and MEI, in 2021. Having MEI means that there’s a huge resource in terms of experience and lessons learned that I can bring into what my employer SSE Renewables (SSER) does. Oil and gas has gone through so many of the same challenges we see coming up in offshore wind, and there are Energy Institute-led working groups building best practice so we deliver a ‘right first time’ solution for our assets.  

Q: Tell us about your current job and industry, and how your work is contributing toward a just transition to net zero?  

A: When I moved to Norwich for university, I heard more about the offshore wind farms being built off the coast of East Anglia and thought supporting them could be how I could get involved in energy.  

I am now a Senior Project Manager in SSER’s Offshore Operations Readiness team. My role involves inputting into future asset design, working with designers, original equipment manufacturers, lenders – a range of stakeholders really – to ensure that the assets that SSE builds are ready to be operated and maintained in an optimised manner. I’m fortunate to get to spearhead internal initiatives looking at in-house capability development and a robust, risk-based approach to enabling life extension. The G+ Safe by Design reports are some of the first things I get new team members to review.  

Before this role, I worked as an Engineering Manager in the Operations and Maintenance team, leading a team of engineers and project managers who manage the technical and commercial risks relating to the wind turbine and substation foundations. As a team we had a wide remit – from delivering zero-carbon uncrewed seabed surveys, through to monitoring structural fatigue with installed sensors; using drones to monitor coating degradation and managing cable repairs with over 100 personnel involved, vessels up to 150m long and in water depths as deep as 50m. It was a broad remit but really rewarding and I couldn’t be prouder of what we deliver.  

Q: What advice would you give to an aspiring energy engineer?

A: The one message I relay to engineers starting off their application is not to rush. The process of compiling and revising your application and assessing your own strengths and weaknesses is the most valuable aspect, and it may highlight areas where there’s more opportunity to gain more experience. The potential pitfall I initially fell into when applying for chartership was thinking I was expected to be all things to all people, but the opposite is true.  

The most important aspect I learned from my mentors is that chartership is about having faith in your own abilities, but also having a very clear understanding about your own remit and limitations. Most work is best conducted in teams, with a range of skills and backgrounds. All employers and organisations require effective team players who know exactly what skills they can provide.  

In an operations environment, no single skillset can be applied without an implication for others; a lot of the projects I’ve managed in the last few years have required an array of technical niches to work in parallel. For example, a subsea cable repair requires vessel specialists, geophysical survey and UXO ALARP [unexploded ordnance as low as reasonably practicable] skills, mechanical interface for bending radiuses, and electrical jointing and termination teams.  

As an engineer it’s easy to get too embroiled in some areas over others or favour your area of comfort over others you feel less comfortable with. The revelation for me was to know ‘enough’ and step back from the detail to let specialists lead the packages of work and manage the interfaces and risks.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.