Occupation: Offshore Environment & Consents Manager, Energia

Background: Energia provides up to 18% of Ireland’s total electricity requirements and 23% of the total wind power through a portfolio of on and offshore wind farms, solar, bio-energy and energy storage projects.

In a job that is as varied as it is demanding, Dr Caroline Roche looks after the environmental and consenting elements of Energia’s potential offshore wind energy projects. 

The work covers all forms of permissions needed, licences to carry out surveys, pre-planning consents, in addition to the planning permission itself. “A core part of my role is to set out how we can protect the environment and implement mitigation measures throughout all stages of our projects' development," Dr Roche says. 

"This environmental protection and satisfying Environmental Impact Assessment Report requirements is fundamental to our approach. We want to ensure that we can deliver clean renewable electricity in a way that protects the environment.”

With an academic background marrying a degree in Marine Science with a PhD in Benthic Ecology, she admits to eventually finding a job that best suited her chosen career direction. 

She explains:

In my college days I didn't even know what an offshore wind farm was, and I never envisioned this particular role. But I did know that I always wanted to have some role in making sure that manmade activities, whatever they are, were done in a way that is not out of balance with what the oceans can tolerate — hence the subject of my PhD. 

“In that sense this role in Energia is the perfect role for me — I'm making sure our offshore wind farms will have a positive impact not only on the climate but on the marine environment and biodiversity — two things which I am passionate about.”

When the Government last year announced moving to a plan-led regime for offshore wind, projects that Dr Roche had been working on for a number of years effectively ceased. “Fortunately for Energia, one of the sites we had identified and carried out significant work on was also identified by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) as being the best site to take forward for the next Offshore Renewable Energy Support Scheme auction. Personally, it is very satisfying to know that all the hard work, investment and expertise that went into identifying a suitable offshore wind site has been verified by DECC identifying largely the same area.” 

Energia is currently working to leverage their understanding of the site in advance of the upcoming auction, and from there the real work will begin again. “In my role, I will be leading the consenting activities for the project to get through the planning process and to enable Energia to build out in the early 2030s.” 

The Government's Climate Action Plan is ambitious — particularly within the designated timeframe: “The Climate Action Plan is ambitious, and it needs to be, as it sets out a pathway towards achieving Net Zero in 2050. 

In my opinion, we have many of the fundamental requirements in place to reach this 2050 target, such as a clear goal, the pipeline of projects and required investment, to name a few. 

"Now it will be a case of ensuring we can accelerate this overall transition process across onshore, offshore and other renewable energy opportunities to the benefit of communities at a local and national level.”

As a result of the recent cost-of-living challenges and various issues internationally, Dr Roche believes the public have come to understand the benefits of being able to produce our own electricity and not to rely on importing fossil fuels. “Developing renewable energy gives us energy security, supports jobs and the economy as well as investment in local communities. 

"Overall, I believe there is a growing awareness of the threat posed by the climate emergency as well. People understand how important it is to cut our carbon emissions and there is no better way to do that than building new wind farms and investing in other renewable energy projects.” 

The wind energy sector is increasingly an area future graduates should be looking at for sustainable and rewarding careers, she adds: “Without a doubt. I think some people think that to have a career that is rewarding from both a sustainable and environmental perspective that they must focus on environmental or ecological areas — but that is so not true. The sector needs a wide variety of skills, not just science-based, but also in the areas of engineering, legal, finance, HR and communications to name a selection.” 

Wind Energy Ireland currently have a campaign, for which Dr Roche is an ambassador, promoting the variety of jobs available in the sector — workinwind.ie.

Offshore wind

In relation to our EU neighbours, Ireland is already a leader in onshore wind energy — no other country in Europe gets a greater share of their electricity demand from onshore wind farms than we do. “However, offshore wind is still in its infancy in Ireland — we were slow to the starting line whereas some of our EU neighbours have wind farms operational for the last 20 years. 

"This does have some positives in that we can take advantage of the cheaper costs and benefit from the lessons learned over the past two decades in other parts of the world, but it also leads to challenges as we seek to attract supply chain to a nascent market.” 

Offshore wind is key to combating climate change and will be critical for Ireland in achieving our carbon emission targets, she says: “We are heading in the right direction now and significant progress has been made in recent years. There is a real sense that things are speeding up and it's an exciting time to be working in renewable energy.”

Day-to-day work

In a position where no two days are the same, Dr Roche travels the country, meeting people in all the localities where potential sites may be found. “I love getting to visit sites around the country and meeting the local and fishing communities, and understanding the uniqueness of each site and what is important at a local level. 

"Energia is deeply committed to community engagement along every step of the way, and we know and understand that many Irish coastal communities are coming to terms with offshore windfarm developments for the first time. Therefore, we want to listen and share discussions and viewpoints where, as a leading Irish energy provider, we're committed to ensuring that local communities and all areas of the local economy can thrive in parallel with offshore wind.”

As the sector continues to develop, the day-to-day variety keeps things interesting and enjoyable: “There are always new challenges and deadlines and new things to learn, but the bigger picture is knowing that I'm working in an area that can make a real difference. It's great to have the opportunity to be part of something really meaningful, to make a difference and contribute to Ireland's decarbonisation efforts.”