About Us

Damian Bettles is the regional manager for Canada/North America. Damian has been with DP Energy since 2012. During that time he has led on a number of strategic projects in Europe and Canada. Damian is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET) and has more than 15 years experience of delivering major projects across a broad range of sectors. From transport and infrastructure, to commercial, retail, healthcare and industrial, Damian has experience of working with a variety of clients that include government and IFI funded work, investment funds, bluechip companies and individual private investors. With a background in engineering consultancy and design, build and operational contracting Damian has a good knowledge of all aspects of the project lifecycle from conception through to commissioning and operation.

A specialist in renewable energy development, Catherine brings a deep understanding of the complexion of the Australian market to her role with DP Energy. With more than 15 years of renewable energy experience, she has worked in the mining sector for BHP Billiton; with the South Australian Government’s RenewablesSA; and in the not for profit sector. She has Masters degrees in both Business Administration and Environmental Management, qualifications in company directorship and leadership, and is a current board member of Regional Development Australia. The depth of Catherine’s insight into the issues impacting the renewable energy sector in Australia means she is regularly called upon to represent DP Energy at Conferences and events. An advocate of sustainable development, Catherine works for outcomes that reflect a strong balance between the economic imperative and environmental and social sustainability.

A Chartered engineer who has worked in the power generation industry for both conventional and renewable plant for some 35 years: Blair Marnie spent 15 years in engineering and Project Management in new product development at the now Siemens Gas Turbine facility in Lincoln with a subsequent 20 years of renewable energy development experience with DP. Blair has significant experience in identifying, consenting and managing large scale renewable projects. He is currently leading on the origination of new sites and opportunities in Australia having supported the Australia development team for the past 10 years.

Niamh has been working with DP Energy for more than 7 years. She has significant experience in the renewable energy sector and is involved in all elements of business development with the company. Niamh has been working with DP Energy since 2012 on a consultancy basis when she secured an €8million grant for the development of a demonstration tidal project at Fair Head through the European Commission's FP7 Programme. Niamh has successfully operated her own consultancy business since 2004 and has supported clients including her previous employer to secure more than €60million through national and European funding programmes. Niamh is an experienced management consultant and has supported businesses in the Energy, IT, tourism and agri-food sectors through strategic planning, change management and organisational development processes.; Niamh is responsible for overseeing interaction with external bodies including funding agencies. She provides support for all new business development in the organisation, including emerging markets and new opportunities for DP Energy.

Marie joins from Nordex Acciona Windpower where she was Regional Head of Legal North Europe and North America. She is not new to development or DP Energy, as she was Head of Legal at Irish developer SWS Natural Resources between 2003 and 2010, where she first met Maureen and Simon De Pietro. She has extensive experience in all phases of project development, from the perspective of both developer and OEM, including investment and project finance and drafting and negotiating all project related agreements in various jurisdictions. Her time with Nordex Acciona Windpower has given her valuable insight into the design and engineering process, and various industry driven cost of energy initiatives. She originally trained and qualified as a Solicitor in the City, London before moving to Cork with her family in 2003. She is also qualified as an Irish Solicitor.

Marie qualified as an accountant with The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA) in 2005. On qualification Marie continued to work in practice for a further nine years until joining DP Energy in 2014. In practice Marie specialised in Auditing and Financial Reporting. Marie’s client base included a number of companies in the renewable energy sector. Working closely with these clients motivated Marie to make the move from practice to industry. Initially working in a financial accountant and controller role, Marie’s role has evolved to include all elements of the companies financial management and supporting project financing.

Sara joined DP Energy in January 2016 as part of the Science Foundation Ireland Industrial Fellowship Programme on a part-time basis. She joined the team on a full time basis in January 2018. She holds a BE in Electronic Engineering, and PhD in Photovoltaics from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Subsequent research roles included ocean energy power system modelling tools, power take off testing and design, and electrical design for combined offshore wind and wave platforms. Sara is the author of numerous research papers in peer-reviewed journals, European FP7 and Horizon 2020 technical reports and international conferences. Sara is responsible for leading on all grid studies for the various DP Energy renewable energy projects globally.

Jenny is DP Energy Australia’s Administration Officer who has a strong accounting and administrative background spanning over 20 years. During her varied international career Jenny has been involved in the banking, hospitality, construction, real estate, and retirement industries. Well-honed organizational skills, coupled with a meticulous attention to detail ensure the smooth operation of the Australian office. In addition to managing the full administration function of the Australian office, Jenny is also legal assistant to the Head of Legal providing support in relation to all legal agreements, managing landowner options and leases, reviewing land agreements and keeping databases of contracts etc.

Joseph’s remit is project manager of Irish onshore wind and energy storage. He joined DP Energy in September 2016. Before joining DP Energy, Joseph was part of the H2020 MARIBE project team, which looked at unlocking investment opportunities for the Blue Economy within the European Union. He is also undergoing a PhD within University College Cork (completion due June 2020), which looks at optimisation methods for sizing battery energy storage systems. He holds a Master of Science in Marine Renewable Energy from UCC which focused on the challenges faced by marine energy companies, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. His areas of expertise include: Deep Reinforcement Learning applied to optimisation tasks, Multi-Objective Optimisation, Stochastic Optimisation, Neural Network Training for Optimisation, Technical Economic Modelling for project appraisal, Business Model analysis and development, Real Option Analysis for incorporating flexibility in projects, Project Management. He has published papers on sizing of battery energy storage systems for microgrids and transmission grids. Within DP Energy, Joseph’s primary responsibility is Irish onshore wind and energy storage while also supporting other projects from a project development position..

Chartered Surveyor with an extensive background in Canada, the Caribbean and Ireland in the identification and management of property development opportunities, spanning a period of three decades, working with or consulting to PLC’s including Wimpey Taylor and Balfour Beatty.

John also holds a Property Services Licence issued by the Irish State to engage in real property appraisals, sales and lettings and has served as both Member and later Division Chairman of the Irish statutory body, the Valuation Tribunal for thirteen years.

With a formal business education taken at the University of Limerick and holder of both undergraduate and a Master’s degree, John is also an accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Fellow of both the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

John has a long association with the DP Energy Group and serves as the Commercial Director of the Group’s Canadian ventures.

An IT and Network technician who has worked in this field for the past 22 years. Frank has 5 years working experience in Cape Town, South Africa for Equation, 2 years’ experience running his own computer company and 15 years working for DP Energy.  Frank is responsible for ensuring that all elements of the company’s IT and communications infrastructure is world class and operating effectively. Frank is also responsible for wind modeling and supporting the development of the Company’s wind energy developments.

Agnieszka completed a MEngSc in Environmental Engineering from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Poland. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Energy and a Higher Diploma in Geographic Information Systems from the University College Cork. Agnieszka participated in Ad Valorem Property Tax Impact Analysis commissioned by the Department of Local Taxes and Cadastre of the Ministry of Finance in Poland. She has 9 years of experience in geodata analysis and is an experienced researcher with professional knowledge of renewable energy technologies and their environmental impacts. With DP Energy Agnieszka’s responsibility is to support applications for planning for various energy projects and to support site selection using advanced GIS analysis.

Sarah is the project manager for the Uisce Tapa Project in Canada. Prior to joining the renewable (tidal) energy sector, she worked in the marine sector, primarily in marine systems engineering and shipbuilding. With over a decade of experience overseeing technical and project management aspects of large scale, complex projects, Sarah has worked on some of the highest-profile projects for both the US and Canadian Navies.

Luke joined DP Energy Australia in January 2017 after graduating with a Mechanical Engineering degree (first class honours). With 3 years of experience with DP Energy Luke has honed his professional skills on DP Energy’s pipeline of renewable energy projects. Luke now supports the Project Manager for all of the Australian projects on the technical elements including site surveys, design, modelling, stakeholder engagement, GIS management, and IT services. Luke is able to dynamically switch between the office environment and intensive site surveys with ease to provide technical project support where needed.

Patricia qualified as an accountant with The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA) in 2008. On qualification Patricia worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a further nine years until joining DP Energy in 2017. Patricia provides support to the Finance team and maintains the day to day financial transactions within the Company.

Gabrielle began with DP Energy as a project officer and now manages project consenting for all of DP Energy’s Australian projects. As Consents Manager, she is the consenting lead for DP Energy Australia’s large-scale renewable energy projects. This role centers on development application coordination and preparation, including stakeholder and community engagement, and specialist consultant coordination. Gabrielle holds a Bachelor of Arts from James Cook University and was awarded both the Academic Medal (Bachelor Coursework) and the W.T. (Bill) Johnston memorial prize.

Yvonne holds a Degree in Computer Science and a Degree in Marine Biology and Oceanography. Yvonne also holds a Masters by Research in Environmental Science. As part of University College Cork’s multidisciplinary industry lead project EirWind, Yvonne undertook Ireland’s first national survey of public perception of offshore wind farms in Ireland. With a strong background in project management, technical sales and Marine Analysis Yvonne joins DP Energy as Community and Stakeholder Liaison Manager working on all aspects of public and community engagement for DP Energy’s Irish renewable projects.

After graduating with an MSc in Coastal and Marine Environments in 2017, Kimberley worked as a Research Assistant for the UCC Marine Geology Research Group. During this time, she provided administrative support to PIs for several projects, took part in offshore surveys and was a key part of developing novel ‘lander’ systems for deployment. Having completed courses in Research Integrity, Project Management and Assertive Communication Skills she went on to develop her experience further as a Project Officer in Cork Institute of Technology. This role focused on financial reporting, budgeting and audit preparation for projects. Kimberley joined DP Energy, to coordinate all of the administrative functions of the offshore wind programme and to provide administrative support to the Project Managers and team members of the offshore team.

Edwina White is the Consenting and Environment Manager for DP Energy’s Offshore Ireland portfolio. Edwina joined DP Energy in 2020 with more than 10 year’s global experience in the renewable energy industry. Edwina is a chartered Environmental Scientist (C.Env) with the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and is highly experienced in environmental appraisal having developed Environmental Impact Assessment Reports from both developer-side and consultant-side. Edwina is skilled in project management having led the development of wind and solar projects in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Chile, South Africa and in Asia. Her areas of expertise also encompass land contract negotiation and stakeholder management. Edwina has also specialised in the development and implementation of Project Controls aligned with Project Management Institute (PMI) principles as well as in the development and implementation of Environmental Management Systems aligning with ISO 14001.

Barry has recently joined the business as our Principal Land Manager. He will use his experience in land acquisition and landowner engagement to secure land for DP Energy’s portfolio of Irish offshore wind projects, including landfall, substation and cable route land. In his former role as Senior Development Manager Barry worked on the development of over 320MW of RESS 1 ready utility scale solar assets in the Republic of Ireland. Prior to this he was the property lead for one of the UK’s largest single phase wind developments and has also worked on the development of land banks for hyperscale data centres and aquaculture facilities. Barry’s 16 years experience is backed up by an honours degree from the University of West England in Valuation & Property Management. He is also a chartered member of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV).