19th MARCH
Meet Aleks Schmidt-Sweetingham, Offshore Consents Manager
Aleks’ passion for nature and dedication to tackling the climate emergency are just two of the reasons he’s ideal for his role as Offshore Consents Manager for Caledonia.
We caught up with Aleks to learn more about the inspiration behind his career in sustainability, the importance of adaptability when working in offshore wind and his advice for those considering a career in the industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your career journey so far?
I’ve loved being outdoors and exploring the natural world from an early age, and after watching a local screening of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ – a documentary about former US Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to educate people about global warming – I was eager to learn more about climate change and the solutions being developed to tackle it.
I studied Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University during which I had a ‘year in industry’ working on developing Environmental Management Systems. Following this I secured a scholarship with an energy company to do an MSc in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh. I have since worked in a variety of sustainability-related roles which included environmental management for large manufacturing sites and working for Scotland’s environmental regulator, SEPA.
I then joined the offshore wind sector as an Environment Manager where I supported the development of offshore wind projects across the globe, from Japan and Taiwan through to Brazil and the UK.
In 2022, I joined Ocean Winds’ UK Business Development team to explore new opportunities in the sector through the developer’s ambitious project portfolio.
I’m now focused on progressing Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm as Offshore Consents Manager, where my main focus is supporting the submission of the project’s consent application later this year.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in this field?
This industry delivers projects that can provide green energy at scale to tackle one of the world’s toughest challenges – who wouldn’t want to work in renewable energy?
Tell us about your role on Caledonia.
I lead the offshore consenting activities, supporting Ocean Winds to develop and deliver a commercially successful offshore wind project, while reducing environmental and community impacts as far as possible.
I’m currently focused on securing the consents and permissions needed to start project construction and to operate the wind farm for years to come.
What are the key lessons you’ve learned working in offshore wind so far?
Adaptability. With technology, stakeholder priorities, government policy and macroeconomic conditions constantly changing, you must be open minded, curious and able to embrace change quickly. This keeps the job interesting.
What would be your advice to others looking to pursue a career in offshore wind?
The sector offers a variety of roles which are suited for people with different skill sets and specialisms, including finance, engineering, marketing, economics and project management. If you want to start a career in offshore wind, reach out to people working in the roles you’re interested in to learn about the opportunities available.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I love playing sport, trail running, hill walking and playing guitar. I’ve also recently become a father so that’s keeping me very busy outside of work at the moment!