I have a civil engineering degree in energy, environment and management from Linköping University, and last winter I left my job as a consultant to join the team here at Holmen Renewable Energy. I like to spend my free time with family and friends, and around now in the autumn, mushroom picking is a favourite weekend activity.
My workplace
I’m one of several project managers in the project development team for wind power here at Holmen Renewable Energy. We work in the early stages of a project, with a view to finding good areas where we can obtain a permit to build wind turbines.
Considering how much land Holmen owns, finding sites for wind power might sound like a simple task, but surprisingly only a small amount of the land is actually suitable. Identifying potential locations is like putting together a jigsaw surveying all the different factors, such as nature conservation, municipal plans, bird populations, wind conditions and much more besides. Once we’ve found a good project and applied for a permit, it all then has to pass through the County Administrative Board’s rigorous procedures and be given the go-ahead by the local municipality. A lot can happen in the course of this process!
Here are a few pictures from a windy day at our Blåbergsliden wind farm:
The towers are just over 120 metres tall and the blades are 78 metres long. They’re an impressive piece of kit!
One working day
Let us follow you on a day at work – tell us about a typical day (what do you do at work, what does your day look like).
A normal day for me is usually spent in the office, but last week was particularly exciting, because a group of us from Holmen Renewable Energy were off taking part in a consultation event. Consultation is a really important part of the wind power process, during which we invite local residents and the general public to an information meeting that takes the form of an open house. The consultation this time was for the Högaliden 2 project in the municipality of Robertsfors, which my colleagues are running. The purpose of the consultation is to inform people living locally, but above all to gather views on our project and further information about the area from those who spend their time there. This is what it looked like last Wednesday and Thursday as we set up at Hällgärdan community centre in Åkullsjön, when we presented Högaliden 2.
An estimated 40–50 people took part in the consultation. And afterwards we had a lovely dinner at Österlundstorpet!
With all the consultation and that satisfied after-dinner feeling you get from traditional potato dumplings, I certainly slept well that night.
Why Holmen?
To be honest, I had no idea the Renewable Energy business area existed before I applied to work here. I knew Holmen as a forest company and through the mill in Iggesund (if you’ve ever driven past, you’ll know the Iggesund aroma), but I was extremely interested to find out about Holmen’s ambitions regarding wind power. That’s what got me to apply here, and I’m so glad I did!
What I like best about my job is the combination of environmental, technical and community issues that wind power brings me into contact with. There’s a great team spirit at Holmen Renewable Energy, it’s like a little company within a company, which I really love.
Thank you
So that’s it from me. Thank you for reading about me and what my job involves here at Holmen.
Have a wonderful autumn!