He’s a Project Engineer working within our Distributed Energy & Power (DE&P) sector of Centrica and we met with him to look at what it takes to be an engineer!
What do you love most about your job?
I’ve always been very active, and enjoy time outdoors either exploring or playing sport. When I think about it, it’s clear to see how these hobbies influence my passion for engineering. It’s all about team work, and developing solutions to overcome challenges thrown up by the environment around you. Engineering has led me to the cutting edge of powering Britain’s energy future, and it keeps the lights on for Britain’s homes every day.
What’s interesting about your role?
Every day presents a different challenge and a huge variety of work with time spent in the office, on site, at different manufacturing and engineering facilities.
I learn something new every day and work with a wide range of people from different engineering disciplines, industry experts, skilled labour force and teams from overseas and gain so much from meeting and working with this range of people.
I currently working as a project engineer managing the installation of a new gas pipeline and high voltage electrical cable connection to one of Centrica’s first fleet of new 50MW distributed generation plants.
As renewable energy generation accounts for a larger proportion of the UK’s energy market, the new power plant will be able to provide power for up to 50,000 homes, operating in the fast response market for the times when the demand for electricity cannot be met through other means (wind drops or sun stops shining).
I have been with Centrica through the Summer Placement Student Scheme and then following that, 3 years on a graduate programme and am now moving into a substantive role.
Do you feel your role has a social impact?
The energy industry is constantly developing, updating and discovering – finding new solutions to battle the demand for electricity in the modern world. It was an industry I knew I wanted to be a part of and help shape for the future.
Alongside my day job, I also work with the social enterprise society, Enactus. Last year, I was able to travel to Tanzania to re-design and implement a manufacturing technique for a more efficient clay cooking stove, reducing both fuel use and smoky emissions.
Everyday three billion people cook their food over smoky open fires or inefficient stoves and inhaling these fumes is the equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day causing more deaths per year than HIV and malaria combined.
Being thrown into a community where there are no tools, materials or even a common language was a real challenge but the work the team completed is making an amazing difference to the community.