JOBS AT THE HEART OF THE GREEN ENERGY REVOLUTION

Britain is undergoing an energy revolution. In every part of the country, clean green energy projects are being built which will help power the country into a net zero age.

With this transformation comes the promise of jobs – thousands of them, for young people at the start of their careers andthose looking to reskill.

ScottishPower has been at the heart of Wales’ renewable revolution for 30 years. When it opened Llandinam windfarm near Newtown in Powys in 1992, it was not only one of the first in the UK but one of the largest in Europe.

Since then ScottishPower, which used to operate coal-fired power stations, has undergone a green transformation of its own. In 2018, it became the UK’s first integrated energy company to generate 100% green electricity from its onshore and offshore windfarms.

Around the UK, ScottishPower is pushing ahead with world-leading green energy projects. It has recently joined forces with Shell in a plan to build windfarms in deeper water than ever thought possible.

This will be achieved by using pioneering floating wind platforms on a scale never seen before, more than 60 miles from shore. It’s part of a £6 billion investment in UK offshore wind which will also see the creation of

East Anglia Hub, one of the biggest offshore developments anywhere in the world, supplying enough green energy to power 2.7 million homes and supporting 7,000 jobs.

All this will benefit everyone looking to be part of the green jobs revolution employment. People like Tom Connell, who has worked for ScottishPower for more than 30 years.

Most of that time was spent working in coal-fired power stations. But with the closure of Longannet coal-fired power station in Fife in 2016, Tom considered a role in renewable energy instead.

Happily, ScottishPower Renewables was able to transfer him to Whitelee windfarm south of Glasgow. He now finds himself part of a team that operates one of Europe’s largest renewable fleets, with more than 1,450 wind turbines, and has become a strong advocate of the shift towards a lowcarbon generating system.

“I see windfarms as being part of the future. While I spent the first part of my career in coal-fired power stations, I now really appreciate working in the clean energy environment of a wind farm control centre,” he says.

“We can look outside the control centre windows and see the Whitelee turbines turning – it’s a constant reminder that we are part of something positive. My career change from coal plants to windfarms has been a great adventure, a new chapter in my life and a great challenge.”