Do you feel as if you are helping in some small way to make a difference to the world? It’s a question that few of us ever consider, but the very nature of our industry lends it validity. In this issue’s exclusive ‘My vision’ interview, we put this and a selection of other, more philosophical questions, to Günter Laubinger, Head of Contracting and Procurement at BBB in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
PES: Welcome to the PES, can you firstly explain a little about your role, and how it relates to the wind industry?
Günter Laubinger: BBB Umwelttechnik GmbH is one of those small sized enterprises which maintains entrepreneurial spirit in its best sense, even after 15 years of operation, which we are celebrating this year. BBB offers professional service within the whole life-cycle of wind energy projects.
Our team of motivated specialists performs a wide variety of services, ranging from Technical Due Diligence (TDD), planning and engineering, wind measurements and bankable yield assessments, supervision of construction works and operation management. Within the company I am Head of Contracting and Procurement and therefore review all contractual documents within a TDD-process, commenting on them and proposing alterations which improve the projects’ profitability. I give valuable advice to our clients
who are mainly investors, banks or project developers.
PES: How did you first become involved in the industry?
GL: Actually I graduated from university as a mining engineer, and was in those days much more familiar with the extraction of solid fossil fuels in underground or open-pit operations. My career path led me than through some project management roles in the civil works construction industry and the aeronautics industry. It has now been eight years since I entered in the wind industry on behalf of one of the major global manufacturers of wind turbines.
PES: Which part of your job excites you most?
GL: The most exciting part of my job is the fact that we know, on a representative basis, what is state of the art in wind energy projects. With this knowledge our TDD and consulting activities serve to pave the way for the capital to be invested in the most efficient projects. That is a very thrilling view on wind power business.
