Eddie O'Connor is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

businessman who is co-founder and chairman of Mainstream Renewable Power, a renewable energy group. O'Connor holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (1970) and a master's in industrial engineering (1976), both from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, and has a doctorate in business administration from the International Management Centres, Europe. After completing his bachelor's degree, he joined the

Electricity Supply Board The Electricity Supply Board (ESB; ga, Bord Soláthair an Leictreachais) is a state owned (95%; the rest are owned by employees) electricity company operating in the Republic of Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, where he held several managerial positions, until he left in 1987 to become chief executive officer at

Bord na Móna Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland ...

. He then became founder and chief executive of

Airtricity SSE Airtricity (previously Eirtricity) is an energy company founded in Ireland in 1997, and now a subsidiary SSE plc. SSE Airtricity supplies and distributes electricity and gas to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The co ...

, the Irish

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind tur ...

development company from 1997 until January 2008. When

was sold to E.ON and Scottish & Southern Energy in 2008 for approximately €2 billion, he left to set up Mainstream Renewable Power. He is reported to have earned €50 million from the transaction Mainstream Renewable Power's core business is to develop, build and operate renewable energy plants in collaboration with strategic partners. The company employs over 100 staff and has offices in Berlin, Cape Town, Singapore, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Santiago and Toronto. O'Connor is acknowledged as the driving force behind the European Offshore Supergrid. This vision and activity will, when built, guarantee European energy self-sufficiency as well as producing carbon free electricity. O'Connor, inspired by the idea of the European Supergrid, founded SuperNode Ltd. SuperNode is a global technology company that designs superconducting connection systems to better connect renewable generation and increase grid interconnection in mature markets. SuperNode was founded in 2018 by O'Connor and Mainstream Renewable Power. SuperNode is now co-owned by O'Connor and Norwegian investment group AKER Horizons. SuperNode's innovative new cable technology can transfer huge levels of renewable electricity long distances with reduced losses, costs and footprint. O'Connor is also the Chairman of SuperNode.

Honours

He is an honorary Director of the

European Wind Energy Association WindEurope is an association promoting the use of wind power in Europe. Based in Brussels it has over 600 members, which are active in over 50 countries, including manufacturers with a leading share of the world wind power market, component suppli ...

. In 2003, O'Connor was named World Energy Policy Leader by

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

magazine. In September 2009, he was presented with the first ever Leadership award at the annual

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Delo ...

Global Renewable Energy Awards. In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Science from

. In January 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Science from

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 millio ...

. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

's Energy Futures Lab. O'Connor was one of several high profile investors announced by

Plymouth Argyle F.C. Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in July 2010. In 2010, O'Connor was awarded the UCD Foundation Day Medal for his outstanding contribution to engineering.

External links

*Mainstream Renewable Power Biograph

*Eddie O'Connor's Blo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Eddie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Irish businesspeople Irish chief executives Irish engineers People associated with wind power