Profile
Following university and an initial 12-month post with the Environment Agency, I spent over 4 years as a marine environmental scientist in a major, international consultancy working mainly on EIA’s of large marine developments including port developments and offshore wind farms. I then made a decision to gain more marine survey experience and joined a survey and consultancy company where I spent almost 3 years. However, it was always my intention to return to consultancy work at some stage and in October 2006 I joined RPS as a senior consultant working on offshore renewable projects.
Variety of Projects
As my title suggests, almost 100% of my work is concentrated on the offshore renewable energy sector, an area of work that is interesting and challenging in equal measure and also an area that never seems to be far from the news in this day and age of debates about climate change and energy supply.
I am currently involved in a range of projects including:
Gunfleet Sands 2 Offshore Wind Farm – Co-ordinating the EIA process for an offshore wind farm in the Thames Estuary on behalf of DONG Energy. Responsible for liaising with RPS staff from other offices and external sub-consultants and also for providing technical input to the project where necessary.
Tidal Stream Project – Acting as Project Manager for a high-profile tidal stream energy project which is proposed to be located off the west coast of the UK. Clients are E.ON and Lunar Energy and work undertaken has included site selection studies, tidal resource assessments, shipping studies and environmental reviews.
Lincs Offshore Wind Farm – Co-ordination of the ES for the Lincs Round 2 offshore wind farm on behalf of Centrica Renewable Energy Ltd. Also contributed technical sections to the ES.
Lynn and Inner Dowsing Offshore Wind Farms – Assisting Chris Jenner (Technical Director, Renewables) on providing environmental support and expertise to the Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farm project which began construction in April 2007.
Why choose RPS?
When I made my decision to return to consultancy after a few years within a survey/contractor environment, I wanted a company that could offer the following:
An opportunity to work exclusively on marine renewable energy projects;
An opportunity to work on major, high-profile projects;
An established, diverse client base;
Potential for overseas work;
Potential for personal career development;
A skilled and experienced work-force.
With my previous experience of working in a major engineering-based consultancy, I also wanted to experience consultancy from a different perspective, i.e. a non-engineering-based consultancy. When I considered all my requirements, it quickly became clear that RPS was by far the best option available.
