People Spotlight: Meet Paul Julian
Our People Spotlight series gives you an inside look at our technical experts around the world. This week, we are highlighting an associate director from our Energy business in the United Kingdom, providing an insight into their inspiration and work.
Paul Julian has over 10 years of experience in the transmission and distribution of renewable energy. Originally from New Zealand, Paul has worked on projects around the world, focusing on high voltage substations and, more recently, battery energy storage systems (BESS). Paul is currently an associate director in the Transmission and Distribution team, leading Battery Energy Storage team and distribution workstream.
What inspired you to join the industry?
I grew up in Clyde, a small town in the South Island of New Zealand, which has a large hydroelectric dam capable of producing 432 megawatts of electricity. As a child, the dam left me in awe of its size and impact on our society. This sparked an interest in engineering, specifically electrical engineering, which was further fuelled by my interest in physics and mathematics. Fast forward to university, and I was lucky enough to work at that same dam for a summer as a student engineer, coming full circle. I helped with maintenance of the generators, electrical protection equipment, and electrical design work, gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the industry I was studying to enter.
Fast forward to university, and I was lucky enough to work at that same dam for a summer as a student engineer, coming full circle. I helped with maintenance of the generators, electrical protection equipment, and electrical design work, gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the industry I was studying to enter.
What is your favorite AECOM project that you’ve worked on and why?
My favourite AECOM project recently is the Monk Fryston BESS Owner’s Engineer project. SSE Renewables engaged AECOM for the owner’s engineer role for the design and construction period of a 320-megawatt/640-megawatt-hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). This includes review of all the key equipment, contractor designs and attendance of all the factory acceptance testing (FATs). I am the technical lead for the project, and it is fulfilling to coordinate and apply my own and the wider AECOM team’s technical expertise to help our client ensure a safe, reliable and compliant installation.
Challenges have included the fact that the project’s tight timeframes often lead to design review meetings being required at short notice, and multiple different documents, specifications and standards making tracking the compliance of the design difficult for the client. We implemented a comprehensive verification and validation register to ensure that everything could be captured in one location.
The site is currently under construction and scheduled to begin operation in 2025. When commissioned, this will likely be one of, if not the largest, BESS in the UK at the time.
I am the technical lead for the Monk Fryston BESS project, and it is fulfilling to coordinate and apply my own and the wider AECOM team’s technical expertise to help our client ensure a safe, reliable and compliant installation.
Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.
I am lucky enough that my everyday work directly contributes to sustainability. Grid-scale battery energy storage systems are a relatively new addition to the grid which positively impact both the community and the environment by enhancing the reliability of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. These systems store excess energy produced during peak generation times and release it when demand is high or generation is low, reducing the need for fossil fuel-based power plants. This helps lower greenhouse gas emissions, improves air quality, and supports a cleaner, more resilient energy grid. Additionally, by stabilizing energy prices and preventing outages, these systems benefit communities economically while contributing to long-term sustainability efforts.
I am lucky enough that my everyday work directly contributes to sustainability. Grid-scale battery energy storage systems are a relatively new addition to the grid which positively impact both the community and the environment by enhancing the reliability of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Share a piece of career advice.
As an engineer in a consultancy, one of the most valuable skills you can develop is effective communication — both with clients and within internal multidisciplinary teams. Our technical expertise is essential but being able to convey complex ideas in a clear, concise way to everyone is what sets apart successful projects from the rest.
Read Paul’s latest article: Ten things every developer needs to know about battery energy storage systems