Maybe it’s because his passion is aligned with his career, but the recent accolade offered to Kevin O’Donovan, SVP European Wind & Solar at Statkraft, of Most Trusted Leader (MTL) from the Great Place to Work awards, is not that surprising. From the get-go, O’Donovan has been fascinated with renewables. The erection of a wind farm next to his west Cork home of Castle Haven made a big impression on him. It was the double whammy of being one of the first wind farms in Ireland and also coming off his schooling where he had been routinely taught that Ireland had no natural resources.
“Today we know it is quite the opposite and that is as a direct result of how we judge natural resources — Ireland may not have fossil fuels but we have lots of wind, water and yes solar.”
A farmer’s son who didn’t want to go into the family business, he got good advice from his father who recommended two areas of life to work in: food or energy.
“His rationale was that those were always going to be critical areas in which to work. I took his advice.”
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O’Donovan pauses at the point in our conversation. “Do you realise,” he asks, “that Statkraft is building 500 megawatts of solar projects currently in Ireland? And, moreover, at one stage during last summer, Ireland actually got about 10 per cent of its total electricity demand at one point from solar — and that is going to grow year on year.”
His enthusiasm is infectious. He explains that he studied engineering in his primary degree but went on to do a Masters in Renewables directly afterwards and now 23 years later he has devoted himself to the sector.
“Earlier on, my focus was on reducing Ireland’s dependency on fossil fuels as we didn’t have any natural resources, but now the focus has changed to maximizing our resources, saving billions in costs and reducing emissions as a result.”
His passion is more than a job. O’Donovan thinks in terms of helping the country and while others may see climate change as a problem, he sees it as an opportunity.
“I think it is really important to help give people a perspective. Ireland has done really well in certain areas, especially in the renewable electricity generation, particularly with wind energy. Our advances in solar, batteries and offshore wind are significant. We might not be hitting the ambitious targets set by the government, but we are making significant advances and to be leading a company contributing to those goals is very exciting.”
O’Donovan sits on the European management team at Statkraft which gifts him a wider appreciation of what Ireland is doing within the European scene.
“The real challenge for all countries is the implementation of agreed policies. It is hard and complicated and challenging. But what we are trying to do with renewable energy in Ireland is a once in a generational change here. I see it as a great opportunity to transform the country so we don’t need to rely on overseas fuels and as a result, bring greater stability to domestic electricity prices. And that’s good for people in their homes, but also for our businesses and for our economy.”
O’Donovan has teams on the ground and he encourages positive engagement with local communities. Statkraft as a corporation has invested $450 million (€415 million) into building and developing projects in Ireland over the past five years. There are seven different projects under way and O’Donovan has witnessed an overwhelming response to these activities. He credits this response to a combination of people wanting what is best but also educating communities on the overall benefits, both locally and nationally.
“It is all about building trust. And sharing the same vision. And then aligning the team to follow through on that strategy.”
According to O’Donovan, everyone in the company are believers. People want to work with Statkraft when they see the company investing 100 per cent in renewables.
“We have three values; we grow together, we act responsibly, and we make an impact.”
As part of that process, O’Donovan believes it is vital that he is open, honest and clear with people across the organization.
“I am committed to delivering on our vision.” It’s that passion that inspires his colleagues and makes his parents very proud.