How does your work at Parkwind compare to your previous work?

I worked for a very large utility company before. I didn’t really feel the real impact of my job on a day-to-day basis and the overall goal of the company. I was active in the offshore wind industry and Parkwind was an established name, especially in Belgium. There was a function at Parkwind that spurred my interest so I applied.

I could immediately see Parkwind is different. We don’t need to go to another department somewhere on another floor or in another city to ask questions. We can just go to the coffee machine and ask, “Hey, what do you think about this?”, and then people just give an answer. We don’t need a business case for every small design choice that we need to make. It makes us very agile, which makes the process very efficient. You can just speak to each other and get things sorted. If you decide something, the next day it’s implemented. That’s one thing that keeps us on the edge.


How has your role evolved?

I started as a package lead in charge of the turbines for a specific project. The position evolved quite rapidly. I was given a chance to take over as a team lead of the turbine technology team. I make sure that the right people are staffed on the right project. I also safeguard the knowledge of how to build wind turbines, how to do the project management, and how to how to pick the best technology.

What is life like at Parkwind?

It’s a young company. It’s very active. It’s very dynamic. On the project side of things, it evolves very rapidly. You constantly have to interact with your colleagues and make things work quite quickly. At the end of the day, we’re building power plants and we’re doing that with a very young group of people. They’re smart people, they know what they’re doing, and we have the managers to talk to. But at the end of the day, I really feel that that we are given a lot of responsibility as a young group of engineers to build multimillion euro power plants just like that out in the sea. It’s quite empowering to realize the impact that you’re doing on the scale of the large infrastructure for a country.

I like my job. I don’t really think about standing still. It’s growing. It’s active. The projects move forward, we need to close projects, we need to solve some serious challenges on some projects. It gives me a lot of energy to be in that in that flow. The train is moving forward, you jump on it, and you need to make sure it keeps going.

How is your work rewarding?

Our projects are like our children. They take 2-3 years to build and it’s rewarding to go offshore and stand with your feet on a turbine that you have managed. When I was visiting Northwester 2 after the construction, I could stand on the turbines and see we did a good job.

We’re so proud of what we realize. What really gives me the energy to go to work every day is knowing that we’re working as hard as we can on being part of the future and, at the end of the day, decarbonizing the world.

Belgium as a country as an absolute forerunner in offshore wind. The first Belgian windfarms were some of the first worldwide, and today Belgium is the number four country in the world in terms of installed capacity with offshore wind. We are participating in global growth in offshore wind and offshore renewable energies. That is really what keeps me at Parkwind – knowing that we’re part of this bigger picture. We’re part of a long-term plan. The EU has plans until 2050. By then I’ll be retiring and happy to see that we realized hundreds of megawatts.

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Maarten van der Horst

Project Director Oriel

Maarten joined Parkwind and more specifically the Oriel project team in early 2021. He brings 17 years of experience in the energy industry having worked at Engie's renewables arm first as an engineer, later as offshore specialist.

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Wim Verrept

Risk, QHSSE, IT & Process Manager

He joined Parkwind in 2016 as risk manager, during the installation phase of Nobelwind. Since then his responsibilities have expanded to include IT and the QHSSE department. Before joining the company, he worked as a risk manager at large financial institution in Belgium.

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Ingrid Dony

HR Manager

Ingrid joined Parkwind in 2013 and manages the Human Resources department. Her expertise in corporate HR has created the foundations in Parkwind’s evolving and rapidly growing employee and consultant base. Her team manages everything from payroll to employee development and communications. She has been instrumental in preparing the organization for international expansion and the digitalization of numerous HR legal and administrative tools.

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Dirk Dewettinck

Head of R&D

At Parkwind since 2015 he manages the engineering resources involved in project development, design and construction. He was closely involved in the technical management of the Nobelwind and Northwester 2 projects. Prior to joining Parkwind, he was involved in other offshore wind projects, working for a major wind turbine supplier, and prior to that he worked for more than 15 years with major engineering contractors in projects around the world, mainly in the conventional power generation construction and services (steam, gas, nuclear).

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Clément Helbig de Balzac

Project Manager of Arcadis

Joining Parkwind in 2011 as a project finance specialist and he was heavily involved in the financing and construction of Northwind and Nobelwind. Thereafter, as project finance manager, he led the financing process of Northwester 2 and the refinancing of three operational offshore wind farms of the Parkwind portfolio. He is also involved in business development projects for his expertise lies in financing processes, construction contract negotiation, contracting strategy and development and construction management.

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Edward Van Melkebeek

Head of Technology

Since joining Parkwind in 2018, he has been leading the Technology team responsible for leveraging Parkwind’s know-how in civil, electrical and WTG packages to development of new projects. The team also performs a supply chain role, managing technical aspects of project contracts. Previously, he has built extensive practical and managerial experience in the offshore construction business for over 22 years at a global leading dredging and offshore contractor strongly active in the offshore wind industry.

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Mathias Van Steenwinkel

Business Development Manager

He joined Parkwind in 2012 working on financial modelling, PPA negotiations and the overall financial close processes. Since 2016, he is heading the growing business development department playing a key role in the identification of new projects, global partnerships and tender preparations.

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Kristof Verlinden

O&M Manager

With Parkwind since 2010, he is responsible for the asset management and production management of all of Parkwind’s offshore operational assets. The O&M organization plays a pivotal role in project development incorporating strategic insight to ensure frictionless O&M operations from the moment of first production. The team also supplies external support services, is involved in numerous R&D initiatives with universities and wind farm performance analysis using state of the art data systems. Kristof joined Parkwind with an engineering background in international service support business and wind turbine driveline design validation.

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Pieter Marinus

General Counsel and Investment Relations Director

As a former Parkwind board member, he has been involved in the financial close and follow-up of every Parkwind project as well as in their acquisition and divestment processes. Prior to joining Parkwind’s management in 2017, he was also in charge of multiple other renewable energy investments and financings around Europe, notably as Investment Director at Korys, Parkwind’s controlling shareholder.

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Peter Caluwaerts

Project Director

After years of building extensive experience in large construction works, he started his career in offshore wind in 2010 by taking up the role of CLO of Parkwind, responsible for regulatory, legal and contracting matters for Belwind and Northwind windfarms. Since then, as Project Director, he’s led the Northwester 2 project completed in 2020 and is now responsible for Parkwind’s Irish projects Oriel and Clogherhead. He plays an instrumental role in organizing Parkwind’s international expansion and growth.

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Eric Antoons

co-CEO

Before joining the company in 2013, he worked for one of the largest power and gas suppliers in Belgium, in both operational and executive functions. Joining Parkwind in 2013 as COO, he supervised the construction of three wind farm projects and the considerable growth of O&M activities. Since becoming co-CEO in 2016, he has also developed Parkwind’s R&D activities to the forefront partnering with universities and several technology start-ups.

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Francois Van Leeuw

co-CEO

He joined the nascent Parkwind as a CFO in 2009 and has been leading the financing and development of the four Belgian wind farms Belwind, Northwind, Nobelwind and Northwester 2. In his role he’s particularly involved in new business and partnership development for Parkwind globally. He is also serving as the chairman of the Belgian Offshore Platform, the non-profit association of investors and owners of Belgian wind farms.