Her broad environmental science education led Caroline Daun to the energy sector. She now works with wind power, an industry she describes as challenging, fun and above all meaningful.
”I work as a project manager at SR Energy, an energy company that develops, builds and owns wind farms in southern Sweden. It’s rewarding being part of the whole process and following projects from the initial idea through to a finished wind farm that will operate for around thirty years. The energy sector feels exciting and socially important, and working with wind power is both challenging and a lot of fun. My responsibility involves driving a project through to having a permit granted. This includes procuring consultants for the necessary investigations, holding consultations, and engaging in dialogue with the municipality and authorities.
Setting up a new wind farm takes time. It’s not unusual for a project to take ten years. There are tough demands, and wind power has to coexist alongside many different stakeholders. As well as investigating shadows, noise levels and visibility, we need to take aspects such as species protection, the cultural environment and defence interests into account. The municipal veto also involves a great deal of uncertainty. Municipalities can currently say no without any justification, and can even change their minds late in the process after we’ve spent many years working on a project.
Sometimes things can feel a bit frustrating in the industry because there are so many obstacles, but it feels great when we reach our goal. I like problem-solving, and I enjoy the variation in the job. Working with something meaningful is extremely motivating, because we really need to develop more renewable energy.
I’ve benefited enormously from the broad environmental science knowledge that the programme provided, and it’s allowed me to work with many different things. All my fellow students who specialised in science found jobs. I think this shows that there’s a real need for expertise in environmental science.”
As told to: Ulrika Ernström
Photo: Malin Arnesson
