Matt Newbury – #TeamRenewables

Our team at RES work together to produce as much clean energy as possible, and every team member has a part to play.  In this month’s Team Renewables, we speak to Matt Newbury, Senior O&M Manager in UK&I – Solar and Storage. Matt has been with the company for six years and is currently responsible for ensuring the sites we manage across the UK&I are maintained to a high quality and standard for our clients.

Matt didn’t have a traditional route into the renewable energy sector, it was only when he later qualified as an electrician and started to work in the industry, that he realised how passionate he was about leaving a legacy behind by playing his part in creating a more sustainable future.

Read his story in the latest #TeamRenewables:

Career Journey

I trained in mental health at the beginning of my career, working in psychiatric hospitals. The switch in my career came about when I decided to retrain and put myself through evening classes at college to qualify as an electrician, which I did in 2009.  During this time, I worked in heavy power, underground and shop fitting until 2012 when I started working in renewables.

I’ve always had a keen interest in how renewable energy works. Given my background in motors, invertors that I work on now share the same type of technology, so it feels like familiar ground. Electronics and engineering have always really interested me so getting fully qualified and entering the renewable energy sector has really helped hone my passion and subsequently shape my career.

One of the main benefits of working in the renewable energy industry is that I get to leave behind a more sustainable planet for the next generation, and RES is helping to play a key part.

What are you most proud of at RES?

A career highlight for me was watching the O&M vision grow over the last five years. I enjoy the variety of projects that I’ve worked on, and a key highlight has been the diversity of the styles of work and the systems.

I’m most proud of the journey of our O&M business – from 2016 to where we are today. In 2016 there was only a small O&M dept within RES, fast forward six years and we now have nearly 1GW of solar and storage in our portfolio as well as wind O&M and OFTO. The full support of the senior management team has allowed the development of all the engineers and teams to bring us to a position in the market where we are seen as a leading competitor.

Where do you see your career in five years’ time?

When I look to the future, I see myself very much staying at RES in the O&M team, as well as working to grow the business, obtain more clients and sites, and strive to become market leaders.

The Role

As an O&M manager at RES, I’m responsible for a team of 60 people. With specialists in civil engineering, electrical engineering and condition monitoring that work on fixing the plants, I work alongside other managers to ensure that the day-to-day operations are kept up to date and complies with RES’ agreements, as well as safely managing RES’ portfolio of assets.

Typical services that my team work on include 24/7 remote monitoring and fault reset – and performance warranties – providing O&M services for over 80MW of energy storage in the UK&I alone.

One of the best parts of my job is collaborating globally with other RES teams on how to optimise projects. This is a part of the job I thrive on as I get to speak to and work with different people each day.

A day in the life

So, what does a typical day in the life look like for Matt?

No one day is the same! My role can really vary. One day I’m on site working as a control engineer and the next I’m working from our Exeter Office where our Spares Management Warehouse is located, helping them identify stock levels for new projects.

I also undertake the managerial tasks, working with clients, giving them weekly updates on how the projects are performing. A lot of my work is focused on problem solving.

Tell us about your favourite hobbies and interests

I’m a keen snowboarder, fitness enthusiast and generally enjoy tinkering about on my motorbike. Anything adrenaline filled is generally where you will find me!