Environmental Advisor

Environmental Advisor working on onshore wind projects across Ireland with SSE Renewables What did you want to do when you were 16? I wanted to be a farmer. I grew up on a farm and loved animals and the outdoors. I became a vegetarian quite young, much to my parents’ dismay, which meant that I didn’t want to send animals to the factory, so that made farming a difficult choice. Back then, I also wanted to see more of the world. Today, I’m living on the farm where I grew up and I work on wind farms, so it worked out well and I’m never too far from my wellies. What kind of qualifications do you need for your job? Secondary school was difficult for me, and I left school at 17 with poor Leaving Cert results. I repeated the Leaving Cert when I was 24 and then went on to college. From then on, I loved studying because I was doing what interested me and it was outside the traditional school environment. Now I have a BSc in Environmental Science from NUI Galway, an MSc in Ecosystem Conservation and Landscape Management from UCC and a PhD in Wetland Ecology from the University of Ulster, Coleraine. Before I joined SSE, I worked as an ecological consultant* and biodiversity officer.** What kind of career opportunities do you have? There are many opportunities in wind energy now, both in Ireland and internationally. The existing onshore industry is still growing, and the offshore industry is rapidly emerging as we aim to meet climate action targets by the end of the decade. It’s a great time to join the industry in any role. For me, there is potential to move within the industry to growing areas like offshore wind and sustainability. Ecology is my area of interest and expertise, so I’d like to stay close to nature and the outdoors in any future role. Best part of your working day? I work with a wonderful, diverse, and talented group of people. There is a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration across all teams and throughout the wider SSE group. I really enjoy visiting our wind farm sites, many of which are in remote and beautiful parts of the island. Something that might surprise people about your role? I think the diversity of the role is surprising. We deal with biodiversity and habitat management. We also implement environmental management systems and obligations, including waste management, emergency response, drainage, noise, shadow flicker, and many other environmental considerations. We work closely with other teams on environmental education programmes and are involved in offshore development, too. There’s never a dull moment. As part of obtaining planning permission for a wind farm, the project will typically have environmental conditions and require a Habitat Management Plan. An Environmental Advisor works closely with civil, mechanical, electrical engineers, and other specialists to ensure these conditions and plans are delivered. – Want to learn more about jobs in planning and sustainability?

• An ecological consultant’s main role is to conduct ecological surveys for Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (EIAR) and other ecological assessments required by law for many developments under European and Irish law. Ecologists often specialize in areas such as flora, birds, bats, mammals, freshwater invertebrates, or marine ecology. The number and type of ecologists needed depend on the project.
• *Biodiversity Officers work within local authorities to implement biodiversity strategies across all activities. They develop and implement the County Biodiversity Action Plan to identify and protect habitats and species of biodiversity value through cooperative management with landowners and stakeholders.