Niamh Kenny

Project Director

Niamh Kenny is Project Director for North Channel Wind. Niamh is a leading expert in the renewable energy field. Commencing her career in community and regional development she became the CEO of rural development organization Blackwater Resource Development at just 26. She spearheaded a number of environmental initiatives while at Blackwater including the innovative ‘eco-village’ concept which the company went on to co-develop with Cork County Council. She established consultancy firm Exodea Consulting in 2004 during which time she grew the research and innovation part of the business and began her work with renewable energy organisations and companies.

She joined Irish renewable energy developer DP Energy in 2012, while there she gained experience in all elements of project development including greenfield development, project acquisition, joint ventures, conflict resolution, contract negotiations, leading financial close and asset operation in Ireland and abroad. Niamh led the team which built a portfolio of 3GW of offshore wind in the Republic of Ireland, which is now being jointly developed by DP and Iberdrola.

Andy McCrea

Project Developer

Andy is Project Developer for North Channel Wind, focusing on property and grid management. Andy brings over 40 years energy industry experience to the North Channel Wind project, working for over 30 of those years in Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE). In the 1990s he managed the NI Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NI NFFO) and subsequently the NI Renewables Obligation (NIRO). In 2003 he established Action Renewables – a joint venture between NIE and the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment – and was the Managing Director and CEO until 2011. He then joined international engineering consultancy, AECOM as a Grade 1 Director in the Belfast Office.

Andy subsequently established his own renewables consultancy company, Renewables Connect, working on a range of gas and renewables projects. This included acting as the NI manager of onshore wind development company Windy Fields for several years. He has also managed contracts in gas, landowner services, project economics, PPAs, contract and consultant management. Andy is a recognised renewables expert and environmentalist and was awarded an MBE for services to the electricity industry.

Fiona Stevens

Stakeholder Manager

Fiona is North Channel Wind Stakeholder Manager, with responsibility for facilitating engagement with local communities and other stakeholders. Fiona has worked in renewables for nearly 20 years. Prior to joining North Channel Wind Fiona worked for RES, where she led the development of multiple onshore wind farms and energy storage projects in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland.

She formerly managed communications for RES in Northern Ireland. Before RES, Fiona held programme management positions at Action Renewables and NIE, focused on facilitating the development of the local renewables industry. Fiona has a master’s degree in environmental management and is a practitioner member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

Melanie O’Driscoll

Project Coordinator

Melanie is the North Channel Wind Project Coordinator. Melanie will coordinate all of the data requirements of North Channel Wind including a detailed CRM system and supplier’s portal as well as providing support to the overall team. She is a dedicated and motivated business professional with expertise in Business & Data Analysis and Data Protection.

Melanie has a background in Business Systems and Data Analysis and brings over 15 years of experience to the role. She has a passion for lifetime learning and is an expert in data management.

Cian Conroy

Head of Project Development, UK & Ireland

Cian Conroy is Head of Development in the UK & Ireland for SBM Offshore, where he manages a portfolio of floating wind projects, including the North Channel Wind Project.  A leading innovator in Renewables for 15 years, Cian has been at the forefront of emerging technology and development in the Floating Wind Sector since its inception. He first began working in renewables in 2008 and quickly moved exclusively to Offshore Wind in 2010. An early adopter, Cian has dedicated his career to working on projects that deliver sustainable long-term solutions that ensure energy security and independence.

In 2014 Cian joined the ORE Catapult where he began to focus on foundations and balance of plant. Very quickly he moved into floating wind, Cian lead the way in developing the technology road map for the United Kingdom, publishing the floating wind strategy roadmap the UK which subsequently lead to the establishment of the Floating Wind JIP (Joint Industry Project) between Government and Industry in 2015.

A key part of his work has been innovative foundations. Cian first worked with Niamh Kenny in 2015 on the FS Found Project in Blyth. Since then, Cian has had a variety of roles leading the way in the world’s largest floating wind farms, including the largest Offshore Wind leasing round, ScotWind in Scotland.

Julien Prieur

Technical Manager

Julien focusses on designing the technical solutions for floating offshore wind projects at SBM. He is responsible for liaising with the development team to ensure that all technical elements of the project are correct and acting as an interface between the technical team and the development team.

Julien has a background in naval architecture and hydrodynamics and has more than 20 years of experience at delivering engineering expertise around floating solutions for the oil and gas and renewable industries.