In March, the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) collaborated with ACCIONA Energía in hosting an event on the MacIntyre Wind Farm.
On the 22nd of March, year 10-12 female students from Stanthorpe State School and Killarney P-10 State School visited the MacIntyre Wind Farm to learn about renewable energy and careers in large scale renewable projects.
The day began with an introduction to the renewable energy industry by ACCIONA Energía's Community Liaison, Maria Baker, and a site induction by HSE Administrator, Lachlan Cooksey. The site induction helped the students understand some of the different elements of the project, including safety controls, cultural heritage management and environmental protection.
The students then boarded a bus for the site tour lead by Senior Civil Engineer, Victoria Stephenson. The students were first driven through the laydown area, where some turbine components are stored, and a substation is located. This was followed by a close-up viewing of the first turbine that was erected on site. At the turbine, Victoria taught the students about the technology and engineering behind wind turbines. The students were very engaged and there were plenty of great questions frim the students who were very curious about how it all worked.
The students were then taken back to the site compound to a panel discussion that included women from ACCIONA Energía, ACCIONA Construction and Powerlink. The panel members were:
- Maria Baker, Community Liaison - ACCIONA Energía
- Victoria Stephenson, Senior Civil Engineer - ACCIONA Energía
- Deorah Cargill, Safety and Environment Coordinator - ACCIONA Construction
- Irene San Andreas, Pour Coordinator - ACCIONA Construction
- Monan Higgs, Manager, Design Coordination - Powerlink
The women on the panel were asked questions about their careers and what lead them to working in the industry.
Overall, it was a great day for the students that live and study locally to the wind farm to experience the scale of the project and the site, and it was an opportunity for them to understand different career paths in STEM.
To find out more about the careers at ACCIONA and our current vacancies, visit our job offers page here.