Adam Cronin, chief operations officer of renewable energy consultancy DP Energy, shares his life and business lessons.
DP Energy is an Irish company that develops large renewable energy generation projects across the world.
Headquartered in Cork, Ireland, and operating for over 30 years, DP Energy has enabled 1.5GW (1,533MW) of renewable energy generation through 21 significant infrastructure projects worldwide.
“Ireland has some challenging targets for onshore wind and solar, as well as offshore wind, and we are working hard to grow our business at home”
DP Energy was founded with a commitment to using the most sustainable and environmentally responsible methods in all its energy developments. This commitment remains at the core of the company’s activities today.
Tell us about your background, what journey did you take to arrive at where you are?
I am a civil engineer by trade, but my career to date has been in the marine/environmental space, developing infrastructure in Ireland and internationally. I joined DP Energy in 2021, initially leading on the development of offshore wind in Ireland. Currently, I am the chief operating officer for the company. We are headquartered in Cork and have a number of global offices and teams across The UK, Australia, and Canada, so lots of early mornings and late nights are part of the role!
“Our main goal is to deliver projects that decarbonise our economy and contribute to meeting national, European, and international renewable energy targets”
Why are you doing what you are doing? What need are you meeting? What’s your USP?
DP Energy is one of the pioneering renewable energy developers in Ireland and our purpose is to develop renewable energy projects using the most sustainable and environmentally responsible methods possible. We do this whilst also minimising our impact on other species, including marine mammals.
We started off 30 years ago developing onshore wind projects in Ireland, and we now work internationally on a wide range of renewable projects including wind and solar (onshore and offshore), batteries, hydrogen and ocean energy.
Projects developed by DP Energy in recent years include the 317MW Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park, a hybrid wind and solar project in South Australia, and the 64MW Deerfoot and Barlow Solar Parks in the Canadian city of Medicine Hat.
Currently, we have an immediate pipeline of 9.7GW of renewable energy projects across Ireland, the UK, Australia and Canada. These include Euston Wind Farm, a 700MW wind farm located in New South Wales, Australia and Callide Wind Farm, a 430MW wind farm located in Queensland, Australia.
Our main goal is to deliver projects that decarbonise our economy and contribute to meeting national, European, and international renewable energy targets. Our USP is that we have over 30 years of understanding and expertise in the renewable energy sector. We have extensive experience identifying and developing potential new markets and jurisdictions in a timely manner. Many of the newer renewable energy companies do not have the same knowledge and awareness that we have acquired over the last 30 years, and our extensive portfolio of projects, both in Ireland and globally, reflect this.
How did you fund and start the business and what are your growth plans?
The company started with private funds invested by the company owners and today, we largely fund from our own balance sheet. For larger projects, especially offshore wind, we typically partner with utility scale companies to share the development costs. More recently we partnered with SBM offshore for the development of Nova East Wind in Nova Scotia, Canada’s first offshore wind farm.
Our plan is to double our current renewables pipeline by 2028. This will involve entering new markets and jurisdictions and increasing our footprint in our existing territories. Ireland has some challenging targets for onshore wind and solar, as well as offshore wind, and we are working hard to grow our business at home.
What are your key skills and qualities that set you apart?
In my role as COO of DP Energy, I am responsible for the Operational and Service Delivery functions across our entire portfolio of onshore and offshore renewable energy developments. Team leadership is a significant part of my role, but also the ability to bring people with me on a journey.
There are multiple key stages when developing a large-scale renewable energy project, and it’s vital that you’re able to share the final vision with key stakeholders and maintain their commitment and interest from start to finish.
As I have worked both as a civil engineer and as a technical and engineering manager, I have extensive experience bridging the gap between technical and non-technical.
In DP Energy, it’s crucial that there is collaboration and communication between our technical side, which includes engineers and developers, and our non-technical side, such as our marketing and communications team. Bridging this gap enables us to foster mutual understanding and ensure that we work effectively as a team and utilise our diverse skillset.
I am also a strong believer that perseverance in business always delivers – never take no for an answer!
“Staying focused and being open to change are two very positive traits on the road to success. Be aware of your surroundings and always look around you to see what’s going on”
What (or whom) has helped you most along the way? Who was your greatest mentor/inspiration?
My family has helped and supported me the most along my business journey. My father definitely fostered the salesperson in me and my mother had an extremely a strong work ethic.
I’m also lucky to have worked with some great teams and amazing people over the years. The founders of DP Energy, Maureen and Simon De Pietro, and their commitment to renewable energy, sustainability and marine mammals have also been a huge inspiration for me and have inspired me greatly in my work.
What was the greatest piece of business advice you ever received?
There is one piece of advice that always comes back to me time after time – “Work the Contract”. A former mentor taught me this when I was a young engineer and it has served me extremely well. Once you deviate from a contract, without agreeing those changes, you’re on a slippery slope.
What circumstances/qualities/events can mark the difference between success or failure in life or business?
Success and/or failure in life or business can be influenced somewhat by luck or circumstances. However, I believe that if you focus your efforts and resources on something you want to achieve, then you can most definitely get there. Staying focused and being open to change are two very positive traits on the road to success. Be aware of your surroundings and always look around you to see what’s going on.
What was the most challenging aspect of either starting or growing the business?
The passion of DP Energy’s founders, Maureen and Simon Di Pietro when starting the business, and the emerging awareness of the environment and renewable energy at that time were important factors in the start-up success. Growing the business today is of course a challenge. As with all privately owned companies, cashflow has to be carefully managed. The cost of developing renewable energy projects has risen significantly, as has all infrastructure development, so access to capital is important. At a project level, national policies and consenting processes are slow and hugely impact on the project progress. On our journey to net zero, we need more streamlined consenting processes and agencies.
“Hindsight is great, but of course that’s not available for business planning”
How did you navigate your business through the pandemic and what lessons did you learn?
The pandemic was obviously a significant challenge for everyone. From a human perspective, all the teams worked from home and while there was a settling in period, we quickly got used to working and meeting remotely. Renewable energy projects take many years to develop, so the pandemic did not have a significant impact on our projects progressing.
How has digital transformation been a factor in your scaling journey and do you believe Irish firms are utilising digital technologies sufficiently?
Technology is a huge part of how we conduct our business at DP Energy. Working Internationally, digital communication with our teams, partners and stakeholders is common-place as it is for most companies these days. We handle and manage significant amounts of data and information, all cloud-based and accessible to everyone in the company at any time. Undertaking surveys of our project sites is largely done by remote technology. This can include drone aerial surveys and un-manned marine survey vessels. In our sector, Irish companies have embraced technology fully. You simply couldn’t run this type of business without it.
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Hindsight is great, but of course that’s not available for business planning! There is nothing major I would have done differently; I believe everything that happens in our business journeys happens for a reason.
Who inspires you in business today?
Personally, I don’t get inspiration from the typical well-known business leaders. I get inspiration from people in business who we deal with on a day to day basis, and I see them delivering. I’m also always impressed by those within Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, who do fantastic work on behalf of businesses in Ireland.
“There is no doubt that AI will help drive energy transition in the future and I think ultimately, it will be transformative in how we do business”
What advice/guidance do you give new hires and how do you nurture talent in your organisation
My advice to new staff or indeed anyone setting off on a career in the renewable energy sector is to work hard and be determined and focused on what you do. We try to instil loyalty in our staff by being loyal to them, paying them well and making their career with us interesting and rewarding. We’re mindful of the shortage of good people in this sector and the constant attempt at poaching, so we work hard to make DP Energy a great place to work with real career and growth prospects. Our new Graduate Development Programme includes exciting roles such as Renewable Energy Engineer and Power-to-X Energy Innovation Engineer. This programme has been designed to formalise training, learning, and work experiences, offering a direct path into the heart of renewable energy innovation and project development for graduates.
What business books do you read or would recommend?
There is a myriad of business books out there with new ones being published all the time. For me, I can learn about business from many types of books – books about psychology or human behaviour and biographies about business leaders such as Warren Buffett or Steve Jobs. But there are business lessons to be gleaned from a much wider range of books. Anything by Dale Carnegie is always useful.
What technologies/tools do you use personally to keep you on track?
My primary tool is Outlook as it’s so much more than an email tool. I use it for keeping notes, calendars and collaborating. Its invaluable to me in my everyday life. As a company we use other tools such as Sharepoint for information management and Tractivity as a CRM tool. I also use a paper diary for taking notes during the day.
What social media platforms do you prefer and why?
I’m a big fan of LinkedIn and it’s the primary business social media platform I use. As a company, we also use Instagram and Twitter. I leave those platforms to the younger folk!
What are your thoughts on where technology overall is heading and how it will apply to business generally and your business particularly?
The obvious new kid on the block technology-wise is AI. We use AI during research and report preparation, but it has so much more potential. There is no doubt that AI will help drive energy transition in the future and I think ultimately, it will be transformative in how we do business.
Finally, if you had advice for your 21-year-old self – knowing what you know now – what would it be?
The number one piece of advice I would give my younger self is to take holidays. Yes, work hard, but don’t forget about time-off and recharging your own batteries!
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