It’s back, and it’s better than ever before. Once again, we’ve asked some of the most incisive and intelligent commentators from the world of wind to contribute to our roundtable debate – the most talked-about feature in PES. Our experts are here to offer invaluable analysis from the forefront of the industry.
PES: Welcome to the magazine. Can you tell us a little about yourself and how your organisation serves the wind industry?
Janusz Bialek: I am DONG Energy Professor of Renewable Energy at Durham University and Fellow of the IEEE. My position is supported by funding from DONG Energy, one of the leading offshore wind farm developers in the world (however I am an independent academic and all views expressed below are my own).
I am based at Durham Energy Institute (https://www.dur.ac.uk/dei/) which covers the spectrum of energy research with wind energy being one of our core expertise. My colleague Dr Simon Hogg is the Principle Investigator and Project Manager of EPSRC Wind SuperGen consortium. My own research interests are not in wind energy technology itself but rather in integration of renewable energy (including wind) in power system operation and design. So my view is that of the “big picture” rather than technological details.
Neil Robertson: I joined Energy & Utility (EU) Skills as Chief Executive in May 2012, after roles including Director of Training at Babcock International, Chief Executive at the British Institute of Innkeeping and as a senior civil servant in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), before it became the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
EU Skills is an employer-led organisation working to provide the sector with the skills and training it needs for its current and future workforces. We are the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the gas, power, waste management and water industries, licensed by Government and working under the guidance of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).
We believe this sector is fundamental to the success of the UK economy and are working with power and renewables employers, as well as sector stakeholders, to develop and deliver skills and training – including apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities – of an assured standard. Our aim is to prepare the industry with the knowledge and experience its current and future workforces need, to achieve targets in low-carbon energy solutions, such as wind power generation.
