October 1st 2024 – Action Renewables Scholarship interview
The Action Renewables Scholarship was brought to my attention by Caterina Brandoni, the course head of the Energy Storage MSc at Ulster University. She kindly advised me to apply for the scholarship, explaining to me all the potential benefits. Shortly after completing my application, I was invited into Ulster University to interview for a scholarship position. The roundtable format interview consisted of a number of wide ranging questions from representatives from both Action Renewables and Ulster University. Terry Waugh, CEO and Lana Moore, Head of Charity Delivery were present from Action Renewables, and the Ulster University representatives were made up of Caterina and the head of school.
October 2nd 2024 – Selected as AR scholarship recipient
Only a day after my interview I received an email notifying me that I had been selected to receive a scholarship from Action Renewables, alongside my MSc classmate Gavin McParland. The scholarship covered the course fees for Energy Storage MSc and included also included a healthy stipend to support me in my studies. Naturally I was over the moon to hear the news and very grateful for the quick response.
October 31st 2024 – Introduction to Action Renewables
Upon accepting the scholarship, I was invited into the Action Renewables offices to meet the team and learn a bit more about the business. Everyone was very welcoming, and I was made to feel at home immediately as I was introduced to department heads and staff around the offices. During this meeting it was stressed to me that there was no expectations from me and Action Renewables were not expecting anything in return from me for the scholarship.
January 8th 2025 – Wind Turbine Ofgem audit
Large scale site visit to a 250 kW wind turbine outside of Ballycarry with Tommy Boyd for the purpose of an Ofgem site audit. Interesting experience meeting the site operator and seeing inside of the turbine and meter cupboards. Learned lots through this site visit, mainly on the inner workings of an Ofgem audit – what is the purpose of the audit and what is required to pass the process. Unfortunately, on this occasion the auditor crashed her car on icy roads, so the audit was rescheduled for the following week.
January 14th 2025 – Action Renewables catch up
On this day I was given a chance to meet and chat with the team at length, whilst being taught about the inner workings of the Large Scale Team. Tommy Boyd was particularly helpful as he allowed me to shadow him at his desk and explained numerous new concepts and processes to me in an easy, digestible way. I was also able to meet team members who were previously unavailable.
January 15th 2025 – Wind Turbine Ofgem audit
The rescheduled site visit for the prior audit. This time I was able to meet the auditor and gain further insight into the auditing process and the operation and maintenance of wind turbines.
March 13th 2025 – Energy Institute Dinner
I was invited to be a guest of Action Renewables at the energy institute dinner where I got a chance to learn about the institute and the energy sector on the whole through meeting people and listening to speeches throughout the night, one of which was given by Lana Moore. The event was great fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed the food and company. The idea of doing my dissertation in conjunction with Action Renewables on Community Energy in Northern Ireland was discussed at this event, thanks to my course head, Caterina Brandoni, who was also in attendance.
March 28th 2025 – Meeting with Neal – Grant Thornton
Action Renewables set up a meeting for Gavin and I with Neal Shanks from Grant Thornton to give us the opportunity to learn about Neal’s work and ask questions at will. Neal shared his wealth of knowledge on the energy sector with us and the meeting was a great success. Neal gave us particular insight into the financial side of the energy sector in Northern Ireland, which was very interesting and led to a greater understanding of the sector on a whole. Neal’s optimism and passion shined through and left Gavin and I with an element of excitement for the future of the sector.
April 1st 2025 – Meeting with AR Charity Committee
Again, this was a chance to meet new faces on the charitable side of the organisation. This meeting allowed me to learn about the good that Action Renewables are doing around Northern Ireland as an energy charity. This meeting was very helpful as I learnt lots from ongoing charity projects and plans for the near future. Getting to different department gave me a whole picture of Action Renewables.
April 16th 2025 – Large Scale site visit
Another large scale site visit to a 150 kW wind turbine outside of Greenisland with Tommy Boyd and TJ Kemp. Despite driving wind and rain, another enjoyable, informative site visit with insights from both the site operator and turbine auditor.
May 16th 2025 – Balmoral Show
An enjoyable day out at Balmoral Show, spending time at the Action Renewables stand in the sustainability village. Hearing Ian and James from the business development team interact with the public provided great insight into the work of Action Renewables and the energy sector in Northern Ireland on a whole. Brian and Gillian on the second shift shared the work of the microgeneration team with me, allowing me to learn more about the business.
May 22nd 2025 – Diss – Community Energy meeting
The first dedicated meeting to a community energy dissertation. The meeting was set for Lana, David, Jack and I to discuss my dissertation project and brainstorm ideas for the writing of the piece, with the main aim of setting a title and rough structure. At this point it was made clear to me that I would be getting huge amounts of guidance and help with my dissertation from the Action Renewables consultancy team. Their wealth of knowledge on community energy and network of connections was made readily available to me. The dissertation title that was chosen was ‘Community Energy in Northern Ireland: The past, the present and the future.
June 3rd 2025 – Professional photographs
Gavin and I were invited into Action Renewables to have our photos taken professionally for use in the company’s marketing.
June 25th 2025 – ELN Event – Bright Futures
As I had chosen to do my research dissertation on Community Energy in Northern Ireland, I was invited to attend the Action Renewables community energy event in Belfast. This event acted as a platform for the discussion of all thing’s community energy in Northern Ireland, with numerous guest speakers in attendance offering invaluable information in their speeches. This event was a great chance to meet people working in the sector and learn first hand what I would be basing my dissertation on. The event was wonderfully out together by the team and the passion for community energy was evident.
July + August 2025 – Dissertation meetings and interviews
During this period, I met frequently with Jack and David from the Action Renewables consultancy team to discuss the writing of my dissertation. These meetings allowed me to ask plenty of questions and ensure I was clear on the topics that were being addressed in my writing. The team were a huge help throughout this time as they always made themselves available and went above and beyond to help me through the process. In this time, I also conducted 6 interviews with professionals in the community energy space across the UK, which were setup and facilitated by Jack for the execution of my dissertation methodology.
- July 25th 2025 – Interview – Phillip Morris – Ashden & ELN
- July 28th 2025 – Interview – Anne Ford – Drumlin Co-op
- July 29th 2025 – Interview – Darragh Keenaghan – Community Energy Scotland
- July 29th 2025 – Interview – Lydia Godden – Community Energy Wales
- August 4th 2025 – Interview – Megan Blyth – Centre for Sustainable Energy
- August 4th 2025 – Interview- John Begley – Advice NI
- August 12th 2025 – Formal job offer – Large Scale Team
On this day following a chat with CEO Terry Waugh, Kevin Graham, head of the Large Scale Team formally offered me a job. Naturally, this was great news as I had been keen to continue on with the company beyond the completion of my MSc course. It was agreed that I would begin employment on September 1st immediately after the submission of my dissertation on August 30th.
- August 14th 2025 – Offer of Contract of Employment signed and delivered
- August 30th 2025 – Final dissertation submission
- September 1st 2025 – Beginning of employment
Upon completing my dissertation, I reported to the Action Renewables office to begin my new job as a project support officer on the Large Scale Team. Since then, things have been going great and I have, again, been welcomed with open arms, with assistance always on offer and a great team spirit.
Receiving the scholarship for my Energy Storage MSc at Ulster University helped ease a financial burden and allowed me to focus more on my studies, with less weekly hours in a part time job. I was able to allocate more time to my study in order to get the maximum out of the MSc course. I will always be grateful to Action Renewables for this and admire the company’s charitable work. The past year has been a success for me, and I attribute much of this to Action Renewables. To any eligible prospective student of the Energy Storage MSC course I would strongly recommend applying for this scholarship as it has helped me greatly.
I cannot thank the Action Renewables staff enough for making this past year a success. With special thanks going to Lana Moore and Terry Waugh for their devotion to not only me, but the energy sector in Northern Ireland.
Author: Robbie Johnston