Experts in the Field
In the Field is a video series featuring experts from across the offshore wind sector. Each episode highlights an expert’s experience, key lessons learned, and the skills needed in the field.
The series highlights the variety of jobs involved in the offshore wind sector. Beyond that, it helps students explore career paths and understand the skills required to become and offshore wind expert, and offers professionals insight into other disciplines and perspectives.
Covering topics such as interactions with fisheries, the role of local communities, and environmental impacts on birds and bats, In the Field aims to strengthen collaboration and inspire the next generation of offshore wind experts.
Episode 1: Emily Ogier
Key topics covered:
- How the fishing industry intersects with offshore wind in Australia
- Key concerns of fishers surrounding wind energy
- Opportunities for co-existence and co-benefits between industries
- Advice for young offshore wind professionals on understanding fishing communities
In this episode, Emily Ogier discusses her experience at the intersection of the fishing industry and the offshore wind sector. As an Associate Professor at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania), her research explores how the fishing industry can coexist with the emerging offshore wind sector as they share the same marine space.
Emily explains that the fishing industry has often been displaced, both spatially and economically, by other marine sectors. Although offshore wind development in Australia is still in its early stages, the fishing industry is already expressing concern and anticipation about its potential social and economic impacts.
Therefore, Emily outlines several key concerns of the fishing industry regarding offshore wind, including “spatial squeeze,” noise and industrial activity affecting target species, and increased vessel traffic and shipping interactions.
At the same time, Emily emphasises opportunities for coexistence and co-benefits between the two sectors. She notes that Australia is still at an early but promising stage of recognising these opportunities. Emily encourages future professionals to understand that the fishing industry is open to collaboration and innovation. When approached in the right way, it can become a valuable partner for the offshore wind sector, resulting in benefits for both sectors.
Episode 2: Michelle Voyer
Key topics covered:
- Local community responses to the introduction of offshore wind energy
- Contributions of various disciplines to offshore wind development in new regions
- A practical example of an interdisciplinary challenge in offshore wind development
- Advice for students and future professionals in the offshore wind industry
In this episode, Michelle Voyer discusses her experience at the intersection of community and policy within the blue economy. As an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong, her cross-disciplinary research explores how changes in the use and management of ocean spaces shape relationships with local communities.
Michelle first explains how she became involved in the offshore wind energy sector. In Australia, offshore wind is still an emerging marine industry, and her research focuses on understanding the confusion, resistance, and controversy that arises in local communities as this new sector develops.
She highlights the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in addressing these challenges. Using the example of migratory whales, Michelle illustrates how multiple disciplines come together to respond to the complex environmental and social issues.
Finally, she advises students and future professionals to remain flexible and adaptive, as offshore wind and marine industries are dynamic and evolving fields. According to Michelle, solutions to ocean space challenges cannot come from individual disciplines alone; they require interdisciplinary understanding, collaboration, and open discussion.
Episode 3: Fran Tattersal & Lambros Argyris
Key topics covered:
- Environmental challenge of bird and bat collisions with wind turbines.
- How bat and bird monitoring systems work in practice.
- The expertise and skills required to develop and operate these systems.
In this episode, we meet Fran and Lambros, two professionals developing and working with bat and bird monitoring technologies. They explain how monitoring systems are used to minimise collisions between birds, bats, and wind turbine blades, supporting the positive environmental impact of wind energy.
Fran discusses the challenge of reducing the negative effects of wind turbines on bat populations and explains how government regulations require wind farms to limit bat collisions. She describes how acoustic monitoring devices help wind farm developers and operators track bat activity and ensure compliance with governmental restrictions.
Lambros explains how the bird detection system developed by his company works and how such technology contributes to the positive environmental impact of wind energy. He highlights how different areas of expertise come together in developing these systems and emphasises that jobs in this field are continuously evolving, requiring knowledge from multiple disciplines. Therefore, he advises future experts to build skills across diverse fields such as IT, environmental science, and biology.
Episode 4: Stephen Holleran
Key topics covered:
- How wind data is collected and used to estimate electricity production
- The role and work of a wind analyst
- Collaboration and communication challenges between wind analysts and other experts
- Advice for future professionals interested in working with wind data
In this episode, Stephen Holleran discusses his experience in analysing wind data. As a Co-Founder of BrightWind, Stephan supports wind energy developers in early-stage decision-making by providing energy production estimations based on wind data.
Stephan first explains the steps required to gather and process wind data. This process is essential for accurately estimating electricity production and, consequently, assessing the potential revenue of a wind farm. Moreover, he discusses the work of a wind analyst and his project, where he works together with wind analysts from other companies to standardise the use of wind data. Stephan believes that this would project will help to move the wind energy industry forward by improving communication and collaborations between organisations.
Finally, Stephan shares his vision for the future of digitalisation in the wind energy sector. He believes that wind data analysis will become more standardised, with common formats that enable the development of automated tools. He mentions that a helpful first step for students entering this field is to develop digital skills, such as learning programming languages like Python. This experience can open opportunities to collaborate with other experts and work with their data.
Episode 5: Sedef Budak & Mariya Trifonova
Key topics covered:
- Examples of career paths in the offshore wind energy sector.
- The expertise and skills required by students to tackle wind energy challenges.
- Advice for students and future professionals in the offshore wind industry.
In this episode, we meet Sedef and Mariya, two dedicated women with different backgrounds and unique career paths leading to their current roles in the wind energy sector. They share how they entered the industry, the lessons learned along the way, and insights from their current work.
Sedef shows a great example of how a passion for making a positive environmental impact can inspire a career change into wind energy. Coming from a different sector, she explains how diverse backgrounds and skills are essential in the multidisciplinary sector of wind energy.
Mariya explains that her entire career she has been involved in different organisations within the energy transition, including state-owned companies, NGOs, business, and now academia, where she researches the social perception of new (wind) technologies.
Mariya and Sedef both highlight that wind energy is a multidisciplinary domain involving interrelated issues. Therefore, a broad range of skills will be crucial for future professionals contributing to Europe’s energy transition.