RWE has underlined its commitment to delivering renewables and decarbonisation across key UK regions with the appointment of a first East Coast director for Net Zero.
Corrine Barry has been tasked with aligning the European energy giant’s ambitions with those of the Humber, Teesside and surrounding areas. A leading figure in the former’s emergence as a leading offshore wind hub, having worked for James Fisher and RES out of Grimsby, she was named Humber Renewables Woman of the Year in 2021.
She now takes on the challenge of driving the growth of RWE’s impressive local portfolio of renewable and low carbon projects - with offshore wind and gas-fired power generation with carbon capture and solar all being developed across the patch.
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Corrine said: "I am privileged to lead such an important initiative from RWE. With its diverse generation portfolio and its pipeline of innovative projects, RWE can provide solutions that will enable the region to not only decarbonise, but also benefit from major local investment opportunities. These will support the creation of new jobs, help develop a new future skilled workforce, and benefit the supply chain and local communities.
"The UK’s East Coast is emerging as a true super-power for clean and low carbon electricity and will play a key role in the energy transition over the coming years. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and helping RWE play a key role.”
Corrine sat as a director of Grimsby Renewables Partnership prior to its merger with Team Humber Marine Alliance, and played a key role in the formulation of the area’s green tech strategy, chairing the Humber Offshore Wind Cluster Business Environment Group.
She has also been recognised for her high-energy ambassadorial role and work on STEM skill encouragement, while passionate about supporting local suppliers and developing new skills and training opportunities. In her new role, the remit includes seeking opportunities for further renewables deployment and decarbonising the energy and industrial sectors.
RWE operates Triton Knoll and Humber Gateway offshore wind farms from its Grimsby Hub operations and maintenance facility, which is currently being expanded to accommodate the company’s 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind farm.
It is also behind two Dogger Bank South offshore wind projects, with a potential total installed capacity of 3GW, which could also be operated from the same facility. Onshore, RWE also operates several wind farms in the East Coast region, and is developing a portfolio of solar projects at Tween Bridge, and a pipeline of projects via its newly acquired JBM Solar company.
It has also announced two major carbon capture and storage projects in the region, involving a £1 billion new build at Stallingborough, and the existing Staythorpe gas fired power station, just across the Lincolnshire border in Nottinghamshire. Both projects are central to Harbour Energy’s Viking CCS project, and are described as playing a key role in the UK’s future energy stability and security. RWE is also exploring further low carbon initiatives, involving hydrogen and battery storage.
