Spotlight: Team Spotlight – Ryan McKenna
Meet Ryan Mckenna, an Electrical Engineer with over 6 years of experience in the energy generation sector. Since joining our team in Belfast, he has played a significant role in major construction projects as both an Owner’s Engineer and Technical Advisor, contributing to projects involving Open Cycle Gas Turbines, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and Synchronous Condensers.
With a background as a maintenance engineer and electrical design engineer on large-scale power sector projects, Ryan has extensive experience in designing and managing the electrical engineering components of power generation facilities. His expertise spans across various aspects of project development, from feasibility studies, detailed design and overhaul refurbishment programs.
Find out more about Ryan’s experience and career below in our next team spotlight session!
Q: What inspired your career path into electrical engineering?
There are a few factors that inspired me into a career in engineering. At school, maths and physics were two of my favourite subjects, as well as performing well in the exams. Coming from a farming background, being around machinery and problem-solving was something I grew up around. My parents were a big influence on me, my father, who is an electronic design engineer, helped me to get an insight into engineering. I even completed a short placement at his work and from that I got an insight into the teamwork aspect to engineering, which I liked. These were big factors in helping me decide to study engineering at university. When I was in the process of selecting my university degree, I reviewed the engineering courses available and attended the opening days, the Electrical and Electronic engineering course sparked my interest. I decided to pick this course and have never looked back since making that decision.
Q: Can you provide us with some insights into your role and the sectors/technologies you focus on as a key member of Fichtner’s electrical team?
Working in the Electrical team with Fichtner, I get the opportunity to work in the power industry and that means I am involved in the energy transition. Electrical engineers in the power industry have a big role to play in making net-zero possible. Since I joined Fichtner at the start of 2023, I’ve had the opportunity to work on energy storage, synchronous condenser and renewable technology projects. Some of these projects are dual technology sites and this creates interesting problems which need to be overcome. Some of my responsibilities I have had on these projects include construction monitoring, completing electrical design review and drafting of technical specifications. Fichtner supports me in my role and helps me to develop as an engineer so that I can be effective in contributing to these cutting edge projects.
Q: How does your project work contribute to a sustainable future for Ireland and the UK?
All engineers and companies working in the power industry will have net-zero at the forefront of their minds. Power generation, energy storage and transmission of clean green energy are all going to be key in moving towards a sustainable future in Ireland and the UK. The projects I’ve worked on so far in Fichtner have contributed to advancing these key aspects of the power system. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work on technologies with Fichtner which are going to be a key part of the net-zero system in the future.
Q: Can you tell us about a particular project/career highlight during your time at Fichtner?
I was very lucky to be involved in the successful energisation and synchronisation to the grid of an Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) in Northern Ireland. It’s been nearly 20 years since a gas turbine of similar size has been connected to the Northern Ireland transmission system, so this was a unique opportunity. This was a special achievement for me because I’m from Northern Ireland, so it feels like I’m contributing back to the area and local communities at home. OCGTs may not be a renewable technology, but they are currently a necessity in the mix of generation assets on the NI Grid as we transition to net-zero.
Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out in their engineering career?
Every day is a learning day, if you treat every day like an opportunity for further learning and increase your knowledge in some way each day, then I think you can have a successful and rewarding career in engineering. When you’re learning something new every day, it keeps the job interesting and I have found my role as an engineer very interesting and rewarding so far.
