ALL IN A DAYS WORK
engineering work, he was asked to co-ordinate the introduction of renewables for the whole of South Africa.
As Project Manager, he worked together with a number of professionals from the legal and financial community and supported the South African government’s stake holders (National Treasury and Department of Energy primarily) to come up with a renewables programme for the country. Traditionally South Africa had been a ‘dirty producer’ as the majority of its electricity supply comes from coal so this was a major shift in the country’s energy mix.
Work started in 2010 and within 3 months, Christos and the team came up with a renewable programme to cover: wind/ photovoltaic/solar thermal/small hydro/landfill gas/biomass/ biogas for the whole of the country.
Following its launch, the programme is arguably one of the most important renewable programmes in the world and has allowed for a huge window of opportunity for prospective renewable developers. Following the success of the first two rounds, round 3 is currently open with evaluation of bids expected at the end of August 2013. Christos feels honoured to have been part of the successful emergence of a renewables market in South Africa.
TYPICAL DAY
No such thing as a typical day. Working with a team of 25, communication is paramount. He plays a part as the ‘glue’ between the regional offices, line management and undertakes weekly meetings. He also attends conferences, and undertakes interviews for various publications (ours included!). Based in Glasgow, his role takes him all over the word, Taiwan, USA, South Africa and Europe.
EWEA
As a board member of EWEA he attends quarterly board meetings and supports a working group for financing of the association. He feels it is important to give something back to the industry and his passion is clearly evident when speaking with him.
INSPIRATION
His inspiration comes from many different things in life, from his clients, learning what experiences they have had to go through to make things happen, to the simple joys in life, such as spending time with his daughters. Such experiences put things into perspective.
MENTOR
John Porter, who has been with Mott MacDonald for many years (now semi-retired), has been almost likened to a father figure. John was a mentor to Christos and helped him get to grips with the requirements of project financing. Christos states he is one of the few people in the world who knows how a lender thinks.
MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE
His role dictates much travel and wide range of duties, one such experience, almost surreal, was when he ascended one of the wind turbines on the Prinses Amalia wind park. Upon opening the hatch he was met with a bird’s eye view of the great expanse of the North Sea, on a beautiful day a memory not to be forgotten. This was particularly poignant as it was the world first wind project to be non-recourse financed by the banks.
Christos was the lenders’ technical advisor on this project and was involved in due diligence for a small part. However, his main responsibility was to monitor the progress of the construction on
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk 41
Fliss Chaffer Wind Energy Network
Mott MacDonald
www.mottmac.com
behalf of the banks. It was imperative that a good rapport with the project’s management was established. Should problems be flagged, it was his responsibility to work together with the project’s management and agree solutions to ensure the project was kept on track. Christos has a similar role for the Thornton Bank project, the first 1 billion euro ‘project in the water’, as well as another three concluded project financed offshore wind farms.
RELAXATION
It is an acquired art to achieve the balance between professional and personal life, however he strives to be home at a reasonable hour to spend time with his wife and two young daughters.
AIMS & ASPIRATIONS
“To change and progress; to ultimately achieve my potential - with a caveat - without compromising my personal life”
It is evident Christos is passionate about his role within the industry. He states the world is buoyant with endless opportunities – and that sometimes we forget the positive impact renewables have on the world. He feels it is this generation who have the ability to right the wrongs that have been previously done too our planet. This, he goes on to point out was due to lack of knowledge then. However, we know now how not to compromise the future for our children.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116