Tuesday 5 March | 10.00am
Over one hundred women from the renewable energy sector gathered in Belfast this week to discuss increasing diversity and inclusion ahead of International Women’s Day 2024.
RenewableNI’s Women in Renewables event, in partnership with A&L Goodbody is the only all-female event in UK and Ireland in the renewable industry. Returning for the second year, the event provides a valuable platform to champion female voices and highlight role models.
Women in Renewables was opened by a keynote speech by Kate Nicholl MLA, Alliance Party spokesperson for Early Years and Childcare. Kate drew on her personal experience as a working mother, addressing the challenges a lack of childcare provision is causing.
The speakers for this year’s panel discussion were:
- panel chair Ruth Forbes, Senior Associate, A&L Goodbody;
- Eimear O’Reilly, Head of Professional Services and Projects, Everun;
- Sam Mc Closkey, Country Director, Simply Blue Group;
- Zoe Crowe, Head of Renewable Electricity, Department for the Economy.
We will also feature a special speaker on overcoming Imposter Syndrome after 89% of last year’s attendees said they had experienced it:
- Jane Fleming, Mindset Coach, 3Lead Consulting.
Photographs from Women in Renewables 2024 can be downloaded from TJ Torrens Photography https://tjtorrensphotography.pic-time.com/-womeninrenewablesni
Women In Renewables speakers
Ruth Forbes, Senior Associate, A&L Goodbody.
Ruth is a Senior Associate in the Energy team at A&L Goodbody in Belfast.
Ruth acts for clean energy developers specialising in site assembly and land strategy for energy and infrastructure projects, including on shore wind, solar, anaerobic digestion and energy storage. Her expertise includes negotiating complex contracts, managing risk, and ensuring compliance with regulations.
In addition to her legal work, Ruth is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the renewable energy sector and is an advocate for advancing women in renewables. Ruth is also a member of the RenewableNI Small Scale Working Group.
Jane Fleming
Empowering Imposter Syndrome, 3LeadConsulting
Jane Fleming is a mindset coach at the forefront of personal development, with a rich background in psychology, education, and business. As a consultant for the Proctor Gallagher Institute, Jane brings a unique blend of expertise to the realm of mindset coaching, helping individuals unlock their true potential and achieve lasting success.
After 15 years in Education, Jane embarked in her own personal development journey. Having rediscovered her passion for all things Psychology and how the mind works, Jane trained as a Mindset Consultant and launched 3Lead Consulting two years ago. Through her coaching programmes, Podcast and speaking events, Jane is passionate about sharing with women practical strategies to navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth, fostering a growth mindset.
In a world where empowerment is not just a buzzword but a transformative force, Jane guides individuals to break free from their limiting beliefs and build their confidence propelling them towards success and achieving their goals.
Zoe Crowe,
Head of Renewable Electricity, Department for the Economy (DfE)
Securing sufficient renewable electricity generation is essential to deliver on net zero targets and ensure self-sufficiency and affordable electricity for Northern Ireland. The NI Executive’s Energy Strategy outlines the pathway to deliver net zero for Northern Ireland, Zoe and her team are responsible for developing the policy frameworks to facilitate the increase in renewable electricity necessary to meet anticipated demand and to maximise the potential for economic growth.
Zoe has over 20 years experience in public service, including roles in policy development, operational delivery, learning and development, change management and communications. She is CIPD qualified and holds a PgCert in Public Administration. Zoe has been working in Renewable Electricity since 2019.
Sam McCloskey BSc, MSc, CEnv, FEI,
Country Director, Simply Blue Group
Sam joined Simply Blue Group on a full-time basis in January 2023 to head up the Northern Ireland office and has responsibility for a project portfolio including Nomadic and Olympic floating offshore wind farms.
She has a 25+ year career in environmental and sustainability including 18 years in senior consultancy roles for WYG and Tetra Tech and 10 years as Director of the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy. .She has been intrinsically involved in project management in the offshore renewable energy sector for over the past decade, leading projects in tidal energy research and on secondment to Simply Blue Group in an advisory capacity through her role as Director of Sustainability & Climate Resilience for Tetra Tech.
Sam has led a number of multi-million pound sustainability projects for a range of private and public sector clients and within academia and she has insight on ESG issues from the boardroom to the construction site. She is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and is a member of the Northern Ireland branch committee.
Eimear O’Reilly
Head of Profesional Services and Projects, Everun
Eimear O’Reilly has over 12 years in the renewables and environment industry and a background of delivering onshore wind energy projects. Head of Professional Services & Projects at Everun, Eimear leads a team of project and asset managers, managing over 100 wind turbine generators across multiple portfolios as well as managing Everun’s project work, such as the delivery of commercial EV and solar systems and smart motor projects across NI and ROI, and consultancy services which includes wind farm pre-development support, bespoke technical solutions for generators, and screening and feasibility for new RE developments.
Promoting Women
A key feature of the Women in Renewables evnt is promoting female speakers for renewable energy events.
The Switch List is a directory of speakers to help the industry ensure diversity at their events. A free to use resource, we encourage you to register as a speaker or to search the database if you are arraning an event.
You do not have to be a senior member of your company to be a registered speaker, all stages of career people are welcome.
Find out more on our Switch List page.
