From local roots to engineering global impact: Jochem’s story

Jochem, leading the research and development (R&D) activities at our subsidiary Parkwind, explains how new technologies can improve efficiencies on wind farms, why the size and scale of turbines is such an interesting engineering challenge, and why working in renewables is a ‘win-win’.

Jochem, can you start by introducing yourself?

I’d say I’m quite a regular Flemish guy, I grew up close to where I live now, a small town not too far from Brussels. Although, of course, being in Belgium, nothing is too far away from Brussels. Over my career I’ve spent time travelling all over the world for short durations, but I always came back and now I’m a husband and father of two boys, ten and five years’ old, raising my family where I grew up.

Why did you choose engineering as a career path?

It’s simple – I’ve always liked knowing how things work.

JERA Nex gives us the opportunity to really elevate what we’re doing. With being part of the team, we have worldwide coverage and it’s nice to be an integrated renewables business, now with onshore wind, solar and battery as part of our portfolio.

Why did you specialize in renewables and wind?

I wanted to do something to address global warming, and I chose to specialize my studies in wind energy because of the complex physics behind the technology. With the size and scale of the turbines and sites, wind modelling has to be very precise and technical. I focused my PhD on wind and turbine performance modelling with a primary focus on small and medium-sized wind turbines and after graduating joined the sector as a wind consultant.

Why Parkwind?

After working for a consultancy company across both onshore and offshore projects, I was keen to focus more on offshore and experience being on the side of the developer. As a consultant, we would be doing smaller engineering assignments on different projects all over the world. In any week I could be working on sites as far flung as Vietnam and Chile. It was fascinating but meant you were never that close to the project itself. Now on the developer side, I feel much more connected to the specific projects themselves.

What’s your current role?

I coordinate the R&D activities for Parkwind, which is a very broad role given the breadth of different opportunities we are exploring at Parkwind. As there are so many projects at any one time, my responsibility is to coordinate the people working on them across the different departments, whether that’s business development, engineering or operations. I help the teams find and develop new projects, follow up on innovations and report what we’re doing to our leaders.

What’s one example of an exciting project you’ve worked on recently?

One big project we’re working on involves advanced measuring techniques, data handling and analytics for performance, condition, and structural health monitoring to shift to more predictive maintenance. This enables us to forecast things like major component repairs and be more efficient in the way we are managing our wind farms, improving performance.

What excites you about JERA Nex?

JERA Nex gives us the opportunity to really elevate what we’re doing. With being part of the team, we have worldwide coverage and it’s nice to be an integrated renewables business, now with onshore wind, solar and battery as part of our portfolio.

JERA Nex has big ambitions to grow fast, and that’s something that really attracted to me. We can see that in play in the actions that have already been taken, in the Norwegian project SNII that we won, and our success in other auctions around the world. It’s a good time to be part of the business.

What makes Parkwind unique?

I’ve only been here a year and a half, but what stood out to me was the history. The wind farms started out being built with small teams and the support of consultants, meaning that there’s been a huge knowledge gathering process and with each site the team has solidified. Parkwind is also known for its entrepreneurial attitude, which has driven the company to innovate and adapt, making it a great example of how to scale sustainably.

What does it mean to you to work in the renewables sector?

I like being on the good side, I’d say! We can’t deny that we need to do something to address climate change, and working on a practical solution is very energizing. I’m not someone that wants to give up too much to my way of life, but we need to stop polluting, and our business helps us continue to live and do the things we want to, while cutting emissions. It’s a win win.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Everything will work out in the end, don’t worry too much.

Finally, describe JERA Nex in three words.

Ambitious, patient and open.

Find out more about careers at JERA Nex and Parkwind here.