Before an offshore wind farm can be built, significant preparation is needed, often over five years or more. This includes the engineering design of the wind farm based on the site conditions, assessing the impact it may have on the local environment, getting permission to construct the wind farm (known as consent) and selecting the wide range of companies who will be involved in the project’s implementation. What does it take to start a career in development and consenting? There are opportunities for both graduates and non-graduates within the development and consenting process. To give you an idea, these are just a selection of the roles required: oceanographers, hydrologists, geologists, marine biologists, environmental and marine scientists, and onsite technicians. Who does what in development and consenting? Development manager A wind farm developer leads the whole process, which is usually one of Europe’s large energy utilities. The development work is divided up into packages such as site identification, consenting, licensing, foundations, substations, cables or turbines. There are a number of development managers who will work for the project director. They will usually have an engineering or environmental science degree and will manage (for example) the delivery of specific environmental surveys, analyse the results and help to adapt the project in response. You can join the team as a project engineer with a relevant engineering degree (it could be mechanical, civil or electrical) and ideally a renewable energy qualification. From there, you can work your way up to be a package manager, coordinating the work in that area and finding the right company to supply the components to the project. Beyond this you can take on more and more responsibilies