2nd September 2024
Meet Ethan Glennie, Electrical Engineer
Offshore wind was always on the horizon for Electrical Engineer, Ethan Glennie.
We caught up with Ethan to find out more about his role at Caledonia and how he has supported the project with its next significant milestone, the consent applications.
Can you describe yourself in three words?
Analytical, driven and inquisitive.
I’m very hard working and I’m always asking questions as it’s the best way to learn. These skills all contribute to my strong problem-solving abilities, which are so important in my role.
Did you always want to work in the offshore wind industry, or did you have other career ambitions?
Typically, as a young boy who was very into sport, I wanted to be a footballer. I played on pro-youth teams growing up, but soon realised that playing football for a living wasn’t a realistic option.
When it came to going to college, engineering stood out to me, so I applied for an electronic engineering systems course. I studied this for a year at Dundee and Angus College and then went on to the University of Dundee, gaining a first-class honours degree in electronic engineering.
I was first exposed to the wind industry in 2015 during my year at college. At the time, the Dundee Docks were at the very early stages of being upgraded for the offshore wind industry. It’s fair to say it grabbed my attention: I could see there was a lot of exciting potential and I was keen to be a part of.
Can you tell us about your role as an electrical engineer at Caledonia?
My role at Caledonia is to design and develop the full electrical system for the offshore wind farm. That includes integrating wind turbine generators, subsea array cabling, offshore substations, subsea export cable circuits, onshore export cable circuits, onshore substations, and grid connection cabling.
Electrical engineers like me sit on the development side and oversee the design work. This ensures that all the separate moving parts align where they need to, enabling the wind farm to be fully operational.
I also get involved with the ever-evolving grid connection process, ensuring that Caledonia will be grid code compliant throughout its lifecycle.
What is your greatest strength and how do you apply that to your role?
I’m a strong problem solver. I take things to pieces to understand exactly how they work. Once I understand the basic principles of what I’m dealing with, I can apply myself to the challenge.
This is a very transferable skill that doesn’t apply only to design problems, but also to DIY projects at home. I’m always taking things apart around the house and have done from a young age. I spend a lot of time ‘fixing’ things in the garage because I learn by doing – that’s something I apply to my role here at Caledonia.
What has been your career highlight at Caledonia so far?
The progression of the project, which was an idea in January 2023 when I first joined the team, to what it is today has been staggering. Being a part of the team to bring it to fruition is a huge highlight for me. It’s been amazing to watch it continue to progress and meet project milestones. The next will be consent applications in the autumn. I’m really looking forward to being a part of the team that brings it through to construction and beyond.
You’re relatively early on in your career, how has Ocean Winds supported your learning and development so far?
Ocean Winds have been great in supporting my career progression with good external and internal training. Something that really stands out is the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) training I was able to undertake. Although this isn’t something that is applicable to the project at this stage, it’s going to play a very important role in shaping the future of offshore wind connections. Exposure to that was great and really supported my learning and development as an employee.
I’m also getting exposure to new aspects of the project that I’ve never seen before. The grid connections process – initially something completely new and different for me – is now something I understand and can apply myself to for the benefit of the project.
Consent applications for Caledonia will be submitted in the autumn of this year, how does your role support this milestone in the project?
My role has primarily focused on the consent applications – it’s the main outcome to all the work I’ve done since I joined the project. It’s been a lot of work for the team but it’s a huge milestone and it’s been really rewarding seeing the initial concepts and ideas develop into fully formed consent applications. The design work forms a significant part of the applications and it’s been great to be involved, especially on a project this size where so many different consents for the offshore and onshore components are required.
What excites you the most about working in the offshore wind industry?
The offshore wind industry has the potential to be one of the biggest industries for engineers like me – both now and in the future. It’s developing at such a pace that new record-breaking milestones are happening every week. It’s great to be a part of and work in such a dynamic industry.
What is the best professional advice you can give?
You must listen to your intuition and trust your gut, even if this means changing how things are done or someone disagrees with you. You should always do things to the absolute best of your ability.
Tell us something about yourself that would be a surprise to most people.
Although not that surprising for someone with my background, I have a self-built campervan that I am always working on. When I’m not, I’m travelling round the North of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides and Ireland. I’ve also got two dogs that enjoy coming along for my adventures.