Aaron and Shay Devine – #TeamRenewables

Many of our colleagues at RES say the team is like a family, but none more so than brothers Aaron and Shay Devine. To keep turbines turning, the two lived and worked together in Donegal, Ireland, during lockdown to keep our projects running successfully.

In this month’s #TeamRenewables we speak to the pair to find out what it is like to work with your sibling at the world’s largest independent renewables company.

The Role

Aaron joined RES back in 2018 and is a Maintenance Support Engineer, while Shay joined in 2019 and is a Major Components Technician.

Before joining RES, Aaron was an O&M technician for another business. Shay, meanwhile, spent five years as a car mechanic before moving into the renewable energy sector, utilising his practical skills and upskilling to move into the maintenance and repair of the technology providing the country with clean energy.

A day in the life

As with most of the roles at RES, there is no typical day for Aaron and Shay. Aaron spends a lot of time planning and preparing for projects, both for RES and for external customers. He maintains turbines to ensure maximum efficiency and reduced downtime. That can involve anything from changing the gearbox to turbine blade replacement and more routine day-to-day maintenance.

Aaron said: “I speak to people from different teams a lot throughout the day – whether it is asset managers, site managers or clients, to ensure that we deliver the projects on time and meeting the high standards that we set ourselves as a team.”

As a Major Components Technician, Shay’s day can be anything from servicing a wind turbine close to home in Letterkenny or travelling across Ireland and the UK for larger projects.

Being on site so much, Shay adds the weather can often present big challenges and so the plan for the day can change almost instantly depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Covid-19 Challenges

As with most people and businesses, Covid-19 has presented challenges that we’ve worked hard to overcome across the business.

Aaron said: “One issue we found was managing the large numbers of personnel needed to carry out projects while trying to maintain social distancing protocols. With cooperation from the whole team, we were able to work in smaller groups to limit exposure and keep our projects running successfully.”

As brothers living in the same household, there was no question that the two should pair up and work together throughout lockdown.

Shay adds: “We live together, so it was easier for us to travel in the same vehicle, work in the same space and, thankfully, complete a few large component changes together!”

Job Highlights

When asked what they enjoy most about their job, the brothers were ironically unanimous in their answer – variety.

For Aaron, the opportunity to work on various types of machines including Vestas and Siemens assets makes his day.

Shay, meanwhile, said the nomadic nature of the job presented a rather unique opportunity.

“I like getting to travel about and see the country, going to remote places and seeing views and scenery from the tops of turbines that people wouldn’t normally get to see.”

Being part of #TeamRenewables

As part of #TeamRenewables, it is no doubt that Aaron and Shay are proud to be involved in the work that RES is doing to provide clean energy.

Aaron adds: “The work we are doing to reduce the carbon footprint on this planet gives me a great sense of pride. Coming from a largely rural setting in the Sperrin mountains of County Tyrone, I have always been interested in wildlife and the physical geography of the area I grew up in. To see the efforts and advances that RES has contributed to provide green energy and help conserve the environment as we know it is a great privilege.”

Shay adds: “At RES I am most proud of the fact that every day we are working towards making the world a better, cleaner and more sustainable place.”