ESBI Executive Director, Michael McNicholas, tells Bernie Healy that further integration with the UK is inevitable and this should be viewed as an opportunity for ESB to grow. A strong focus on growth and developing emerging green technology is keeping ESBI very busy.
Forging ahead
The recent environmental and energy package that came from Europe setting targets for renewables, energy efficiency and reductions in carbon has highlighted how right ESB was in making the decision two years ago to start focussing on emerging renewable technologies, according to Michael McNicholas, Executive Director, ESB International.
“We’ve recently invested heavily in renewables, particularly wind and ocean energy and have just made a substantial investment in Marine Current Turbines (MCT) – a company that has just deployed its first commercial scale tidal current power generating device in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland,” he told EM. ESBI works closely with the Marine Institute and provides significant R&D funding to both UCC and University of Limerick.
ESBI is also researching large scale energy storage, which offers the potential to allow full penetration of renewables in Ireland. Pumped storage, compressed air storage and electric vehicles are among solutions that the business line is looking at. “Transport is one of the leading contributors to CO2 in Ireland and if all the transport was to switch to electrical vehicles, emissions could drop by 70%,” he says.
Michael confirmed that ESBI is clearly focussed on the UK market. “By 2018 I expect the UK and Irish electricity markets will be fully integrated through large scale interconnection. In advance of that we need to develop a foot hold there. This will deliver material growth to ESB and will facilitate further expansion and growth as the markets integrate.” ESBI has opened a London office and is actively pursuing investment opportunities. ESBI already has a presence in the region with investments in Corby and, most recently, the Marchwood power plants.
“We’re a small utility in EU terms and we’re finding ourselves competing directly with big utilities like EON, RWE, EDF, etc. for projects in the UK. We have to be very focused and determined to win, but I believe our Investments team is up to the job.”
ESBI is also looking to increase its foothold in Europe where they plan to build 1600MW of power plants. The Amorebieta project in Spain has put ESBI on the map in Europe and the focus now is on Spain, the Benelux countries and Poland, where ESBI’s analysis shows there is maximum potential for their expertise. In Spain, the team is developing a second CCGT in the northwest of the country and is also looking at the opportunity to invest in midmerit plants, wind farms and potential solar energy projects.
ESBI has been involved in international consultancy for over 30 years. “In turnover and profit terms our International Consultancy business is small but its value is in how it enhances ESB’s brand and our reputation as a truly international business,” says Michael. “Our work brings us into contact with major investors, technology providers and indeed competitors. The business line has secured €20million in contracts this year alone including a major engineering contract in Bahrain and a consultancy contract in South Africa for Eskom, the South African electricity company. The projects we undertake very often go beyond just business and truly help developing nations get back on their feet. We need more people from core ESB to get involved and share their knowledge and experience, in return for the unbelievable personal reward that it can bring.”
ESBI wants to double its Facility Management (O&M) business by 2015. Currently they operate and maintain almost 5000MW of power plants worldwide, in Ireland, UK, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Africa and Spain. Some of these are plants that the company part owns and some are plants owned by international clients.
“We have built a very strong capability in this area through a combination of ESB expertise and the expertise of experienced managers that have joined ESBI,” acknowledges Michael. “Today we are looking at pulling this knowledge and capability together into an integrated package that we can offer to any client who wants their facility operated to the highest technical, safety and environmental standards. We also think there is an opportunity to provide this service to clients who have a portfolio of wind farms and will be looking to grow this as part of our business into the future.”
Michael believes that the competitive advantage of ESBI is really the expertise and capability of its people. “We work with a lot of companies globally, our partners, clients, international agencies, investment banks, etc., have all told me many times how impressed they are by the expertise, capability and professionalism of our staff. They also recognise the strategic value of our strong technical and engineering staff base in ESBI Engineering. We currently have over 500 professionals and we are actively recruiting to meet our growth needs.”
ESBI is also looking to attract the highly qualified engineering staff from ESB to spend some time with ESBI and take on the challenge of being part of the international operation. “ESB’s strategic framework to 2020 will require massive engineering input. Our job in ESBI Engineering is to build on the existing resources and systems to ensure we have the engineering capability to support each of the business lines in ESB Group in achieving their targets.”
“The objectives set for ESB International under the ESB Strategy to 2020 are very ambitious but I believe our people have the ability not alone to achieve, but to exceed those targets.”
EM
