Joining Voltalia: a story about opportunities

At that time, utility scale solar was re-emerging in the UK market. Voltalia's position aligned with her personal ambitions to pursue solar development in UK: “So it was perfect timing, really. They were looking to enter the UK market, and I was looking to re-enter the solar market.”

“I was really excited about the growth and ambition of Voltalia. Both in the UK and internationally, it felt interesting to me. Most importantly, I felt immediately connected with the companys mission and the culture, which was presented during the interview process. Voltalia seemed to have an entrepreneurial spirit, and I was really impressed with their ability and vision to develop in new, challenging markets.”

She joined Voltalia as a project developer, knowing that she would quickly evolve within the structure because the UK market was growing fast. Three months later, she became Head of Development for the UK team.

“Today, my role is Development Director for Europe which extends beyond Europe! I primarily support the growing and future countries: Albania, Romania, Slovakia, Uzbekistan, and Egypt, whilst focusing on improving our internal processes and supporting the growth of the IPP business By improving global processes, we're able to allow the teams to focus on their projects and be more entrepreneurial with their approach to development.”

A glance at the journey: “In new countries like Uzbekistan, we rely on International Development teams and international bid teams who analyze new markets and competitive tenders. That's how we establish our presence there. In other countries such as Albania, we have a mix of localized government tenders, and local real estate teams who source and develop Greenfield opportunities for Voltalia. In February, I was with the team in Cairo, working on our green hydrogen project The Egyptian government is very proactive in their vision of utilizing their lands for green hydrogen production. A couple of years ago, they started entering MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with developers and along with our partner Voltalia was successful in signing an MOU for a 1GW project . My role is incredibly varied and every country presents interesting and often first of its kind projects.”

Looking back at her experience in Voltalia, we asked what the most challenging project was, the one that helped her grow as a manager and an energy believer:
“The most significant project for me was the Halen Battery Energy Storage Project. At that time, we had a great pipeline of solar projects in the UK, which were challenging but business as usual. I identified a great opportunity for battery storage in the UK. The market was accelerating quickly, and due to need for flexible assets there was was an immediate opportunity for Voltalia to be present in this market. So, I identified the project, completed the development process and took the project through to the investment committee. It is now operational. , This was the project that professionally challenged me the most. It took me out of my comfort zone in terms of technology and technical ability.”

“One challenge I faced was balancing my career and family aspirations I found it particularly challenging to reestablish myself in my roles after a period of time off, like many women do. I felt like I had to work a little bit harder to prove I was still dedicated to the company, my role, and valuable in performance, even when I was super tired all the time. Learning to balance the two jobs of being a mother and having a career is difficult. We do our best to try to have it all, but it isn’t easy. Now my children love hearing about my work adventures and Voltalia provides an incredibly supportive environment.

Regarding career advice; the best advice I was given early in my career was to always pay very close attention to where you are in your own growth zone. Its important be in a role where you are learning and growing. Early in my career, I often emulated other leaders without fully understanding who they were or what their journey had been. With experience I become comfortable with myself, I found it much easier to manage my own career and make progress which was true to me.”

Kelly managed to build her career in the renewable energy sector by seizing opportunities. Her first job introduced her to the sector, Voltalia UK helped her re-enter the renewable energy market, and gain valuable experience developing Voltalias first UK storage project whilst and creating solid foundations for Voltalia UKs portfolio growth.