A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...
Simon Render works for E.ON as a Senior Environment Advisor supporting a range of power stations to ensure continued compliance with relevant permits and consents as well as assisting with all aspects of emissions monitoring. Simon has a background in emissions having been an Industrial Emissions Team Leader prior to joining E.ON.
A “Typical” Day
What I enjoy most about my job is the variety each day brings – no two days are the same owing to the ever changing face of Environmental Legislation, the diverse businesses I support, and the constantly changing energy industry. In my role as Senior Environment Advisor, I am responsible for supporting E.ON’s Business Heat and Power Solutions (BHPS) business which has a portfolio of 11 power stations of varying technologies, from standalone 50MW CCGT power stations, CHP plants providing steam to industrial clients and Waste Incineration plants. Whilst I am based at E.ON HQ in Coventry, I spend the majority of my working week travelling to various power stations in the BHPS fl eet.
When I am not travelling and am in the offi ce there is never a shortage of work to catch up on! A day in the offi ce can include any or all of the following:
08:00 – 09:00 Admin & Organisation
Each day in the offi ce usually begins with checking through any emails, making sure that I have replied to any pressing matters and prioritising my tasks for the day. My role is very varied and I have a range of responsibilities and areas where I provide support so it is important that I keep on top of my calendar and upcoming deadlines.
09:00 - 10:00 Environmental Permitting Support
The majority of BHPS power stations are regulated under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), which is European Legislation developed to reduce emissions and has come into effect for existing plant in 2016. This has entailed years of planning to understand the upcoming changes and co-ordinate a consistent approach to re-permitting resulting in new Environmental Permits for our power stations being issued at the end of 2015. I have been responsible for reviewing the issued permits to ensure they are accurate and refl ect the information provided during the application process and confi rm the new reporting requirements. The new permits include Improvement Conditions and it is my responsibility to ensure these are delivered on time and to a high standard to demonstrate E.ON’s continued commitment to improving environmental performance.
10:00 - 11:00 IED CEMS
Along with new Environmental Permits, the IED has brought new, lower Emission Limit Values (ELVs) and harmonised reporting requirements. This has required an upgrade of all our CEMS systems across the fl eet to refl ect this. I have been responsible for ensuring that our MCERTS reporting software is compliant with the requirements of the new site permits and is capable of delivering reports in the most recent format. This has involved working closely with software suppliers and industry working groups to develop the reporting requirements and ensure they are captured in the site systems. Whilst the hard work has been completed and the systems implemented, I am still required to maintain the systems and ensure each site system is confi gured correctly and is generating reportable concentrations with a high level of confi dence associated with the measurements.
13:00 – 14:00 Procedure / Training Development
Following on from the implementation of IED permits and updated monitoring systems, I am developing updated procedures for the fl eet to refl ect the changes with the systems and ensure that a consistent approach is applied across the business and provides a robust methodology that can be used by any member of the site teams. The changes also necessitate updated training materials, and it is my role to ensure these are developed and rolled out to the relevant personnel to ensure that all staff who have a role in emissions monitoring are familiar with the recent changes and confi dent with updated permit requirements.
12.00 -- 13.00 Lunch
As my job is demanding and involves a large deal of travel, it is important to me to maximise my work life balance. Having recently become a father, I always take the opportunity if I am in the offi ce to go home for lunch and spend time with my wife and son.
Pros and Cons
I really enjoy my role at E.ON for a range of reasons. First and foremost, I am proud to work for a company that is committed to minimising its impact on the environment wherever possible, and where employees are treated well and encouraged to develop and succeed. I have been able to expand my knowledge and competence since joining E.ON, broadening my horizons as I work towards becoming a fully rounded environmental professional. I certainly don’t fi nd time to get bored and am constantly challenged, the diverse nature of my role ensures each week is different and I get to meet and work with a wide cross-section of people and am constantly learning and developing. My colleagues are a further pro to the job – I am privileged to work alongside highly competent, supportive and passionate teams both within the central Safety, Health and Environment team and across the BHPS business.
As far as cons to the role, the only downside is that the ever- changing business and area of Environmental Regulation means that there is never a lull in the workload and there are seldom enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I would like to achieve.
11:00 - 12:00 TNP QA
Moving into the new IED compliance regime, E.ON’s large combustion plants have entered into the Transitional National Plan (TNP). The TNP is a compliance route under the IED for those operators who wish to operate under the IED but are not able to move to full compliance from 2016. The TNP means each operator has an allowance of emissions and there is a trading scheme whereby excess allowances can be traded between other operators. For me, this means that E.ON must be able to report emitted mass emissions to a high degree of certainty, as it is important that in a trading environment 1 tonne of NOx from one operator is equivalent to one tonne of NOx from another operator. This means that I dedicate suffi cient time at the end of each quarter to generate the TNP reports for each site and collate data from other sources to validate the reported mass emissions concentrations prior to submitting to the Regulator.
SIMON RENDER
15:00 - 16:30 EMS Maintenance
As a business, E.ON places a high priority on Environmental and Safety performance, and is committed to continually improving the management systems which are in place. As such, I commit a large proportion of my time to develop and maintain the ISO 14001-certifi ed Environmental Management System (EMS) implemented across the BHPS business area. This means time is spent developing objectives and targets for the business to meet and exceed its compliance obligations, co-ordinating the internal and external audit schedules, conducting and writing up internal audits, tracking any actions related to non-conformities, observations or opportunities for improvement identifi ed to completion. I am responsible for sharing learnings across the business from any hazards or near-hits identifi ed and conducting investigations if required. It is also my role to maintain the procedures which form the backbone of the system in place to make sure they remain up- to-date and relevant to the business and complied with.
Author Contact Details 14:00 – 15:00 Presentation Preparation
As part of my role, I participate in a wide range of forums across the E.ON business and this means that I am invariably producing presentation material to deliver to a range of stakeholders across the business. This could be providing environmental updates to the senior leadership team, raising awareness of Environmental requirements to safety reps, bringing environment on a par with safety, presenting technical updates to site Environmental representatives, presenting training and awareness material or producing summary information for management reviews for the Environmental Management System.
Simon Render Senior Environmental Advisor E.ON UK Westwood Business Park Westwood Way Coventry CV4 8LG United Kingdom
• Email:
Simon.Render@
eon-uk.com • Web:
www.eon-uk.com
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