Wind Today - Q4 2008 - (Page 75) Industry Profile Years in industry: 15 Born: Glasgow, Scotland Family: Married Education: B.Eng Mechanical Engineering; M.Sc Materials Engineering—both from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Career: Joined Renewable Energy Systems in 1993 where I ran its meteorological tower fleet. In 2002, upon moving to Canada, I became a founding director of WindShare, Toronto’s urban wind energy co-op. I was then invited to join Zephyr North Ltd. to work with Dr. Jim Salmon in 2004 where I co-designed Erie Shores Wind Farm (now owned by Macquarie) for AIM, and I also worked on EPCOR’s Kingsbridge project. I then joined EPCOR in 2006 as its wind technical lead, and, within the last year, I joined AIM Powergen’s operations’ associate, AIM SOP Phase I LP. I was elected to CanWEA’s board in 2007. My personal key to success: Stay interested; the wind industry has a hugely varied set of skills and roles, and it is an important in-demand sector. My biggest challenge: Understanding organized opposition to the wind industry. The same arguments against wind energy have been dragged out since I joined the industry, and we still stumble over them. I meet that challenge by: Finding the root causes of discontentment and researching the arguments and facts. The best new wind product/service: Tower elevators. When I started in the industry, towers were little things you could climb with a lanyard and workbelt. Now the climb seriously impacts the crew’s ability to work, and it prevents very experienced senior technicians from diagnosing operational problems. What I like about the wind industry: The fact that we can take the power of the wind, capricious as it is, and harness that power into steady, reliable grid power. Key to growth of the industry: Development of appropriate-scale projects— typically as smaller projects with direct community financial involvement. The biggest trend in the industry: Safety awareness. There’s still a bit of a disconnect between some of the industry and utility standards. What I predict for the industry in the next three years: Better aligned state RPS schemes, more acceptance of feedin tariffs, and socialization of grid connection costs. Personal highlights: Being a part of the Toronto WindShare Co-op. Having a wind turbine on the Toronto lakeshore is a great monument to the efforts of the community co-op. It really helped spur wind power in Ontario. Hobbies: Blogging, photography, and playing old-time banjo. tew Stewart Russell AIM SOP Phase I LP Director of Operations 410-105 Commerce Valley Dr W Markham, ON L3T 7W3 905-886-7471 srussell@aimsopphaseilp.com AIM SOP Phase I LP Stewart Russell has served on the Canadian Wind Energy Association’s board of directors since 2007. “In my time in the industry, wind power has gone from being a fringe alternative to the mainstream. Those wonderful eccentric pioneers got us where we are today.” —Stewart Russell 75
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