{"id":21409,"date":"2026-03-23T11:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/?p=21409"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:38:14","slug":"people-spotlight-meet-peter-oconnor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/people-spotlight-meet-peter-oconnor\/","title":{"rendered":"People Spotlight:\u00a0Meet\u00a0Peter O\u2019Connor\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our People Spotlight<\/em> series<\/a> gives you an inside look at our technical experts around the world. This week, we are highlighting our Environmental Impact Assessment Lead for Ireland and providing you insight into his inspiration and work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter O\u2019Connor has over two decades of experience spanning the energy, power, minerals and waste sectors, having worked on a diverse range of projects across Europe throughout his career. He combines technical expertise with a passion for mentoring early-career team members and delivering impactful projects that contribute to Ireland\u2019s energy transition and sustainability goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started off with passion and fascination with maps and geography. I wasn\u2019t sure what I wanted to do, but then I went to an open evening for a surveying course in Dublin. I always loved the idea of working outdoors rather than being stuck behind a desk. The course opened doors to travel across Europe, working on surveying different projects through Erasmus and similar summer schemes between third level institutes.

I started my career in a company that specialised in mineral surveying. From there, I began working on various projects, which gradually led me to focus on energy and power. I\u2019ve certainly had my share of experiences in the field \u2014 many of which include challenging site and weather conditions.

Initially, I was directly involved with mineral exploration, management and extraction projects. This progressed to managing mineral waste, which eventually transitioned into commercial and industrial waste projects and nudged my career into the world of the circular economy. I\u2019ve been directly involved in projects where we reduce waste, manage resources and harness energy, and now work on a range of thermal and renewable energy generation sector projects. It\u2019s interesting to witness how interconnected these elements are in our industry, a true circular economy and the challenges that the modern world brings with it. Joining AECOM was a perfect fit and the role allowed me to combine my expertise in energy and power sectors, with my ability to mentor early-career professionals while allowing me to become a trusted advisor for clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Joining AECOM was a perfect fit and the role allowed me to combine my expertise in energy and power sectors, with my ability to mentor early-career professionals while allowing me to become a trusted advisor for clients. <\/p>\n

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What is your favorite AECOM project that you\u2019ve worked on and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most rewarding projects I\u2019ve worked on is the Kilroot Power Station project in Northern Ireland. The project kicked off shortly before the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020 and involved transitioning a coal-fired power station to gas, which required pre-application work for a gas pipeline connection and integrating advanced technology. It wasn\u2019t without its challenges \u2014 lockdowns, social distance site visits and a challenging programme managing a large multi-disciplinary environmental team was part of the job \u2014 but seeing the project secure consent, constructed and go live was incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. The early-career team members were excited about the projects as well, because they knew that the client was invested, and they could see the full project lifecycle \u2014 design to consenting to construction through to implementation \u2014 be delivered in a relatively short period of time. Our team\u2019s environmental expertise and robust Environmental Statement and support to the planning process ensured the project itself contributed to cleaner energy solutions in the region and is a great example of how our work can make a real difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Our team\u2019s environmental expertise and robust Environmental Statement and support to the planning process ensured the project itself contributed to cleaner energy solutions in the region and is a great example of how our work can make a real difference. <\/p>\n

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Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the projects I work on are large\u2011scale in nature, and as a result, their impact is both far\u2011reaching and undeniable. Our clients are deeply committed to strengthening energy security during a critical transitional period on the journey toward net zero. Being part of this work \u2014 especially at a time when the industry is navigating such complex challenges and ambitious sustainability goals \u2014 feels genuinely meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that our contributions help keep essential services running, support long\u2011term resilience, and ultimately play a role in keeping the lights on is incredibly rewarding. There is also a strong sense of purpose in recognising how this work supports wider economic growth, both by enabling the energy sector to operate efficiently and by helping create the conditions for future investment and innovation. The scale and significance of these projects make the work both motivating and fulfilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n There is also a strong sense of purpose in recognising how this work supports wider economic growth, both by enabling the energy sector to operate efficiently and by helping create the conditions for future investment and innovation. <\/p>\n

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Share a piece of career advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My advice to anyone starting their career is to embrace opportunities and stay adaptable. It\u2019s okay not to know exactly what you want to do early on so expose yourself to as many different experiences as possible and don\u2019t pigeonhole yourself too soon. Never stop challenging yourself, always be open to adapt your skill set and keep your professional development forefront of your personal and professional goals. With that in mind, I encourage early-career team members to work towards relevant chartership and professional memberships early in their career. Listen to your peers, absorb as much knowledge as you can, and focus on building strong relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often encourage early\u2011career team members to talk to everyone. When you\u2019re on a site visit, take the time to chat with \u2014 and really listen to \u2014 the people on site or in the office. These conversations help you understand exactly what stakeholders and clients need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Impact Assessment team collaborates with a wide variety of clients and technical teams, and sometimes we\u2019re the face of those teams on projects. Remember: the early\u2011career professionals of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and the connections you build now will be invaluable throughout your career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter\u00a0is Environmental Impact Assessment Lead\u00a0for\u00a0Ireland and has\u00a0over two decades of experience spanning\u00a0the\u00a0energy, power,\u00a0minerals\u00a0and waste\u00a0sectors, having worked on a diverse range of projects across Europe throughout his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1126,"featured_media":21414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,172],"tags":[228,6491,1984,6482,6007,1926,6666,87],"yst_prominent_words":[458,5999,582,2374,3421,621,706,635,647,2345,623,452],"class_list":["post-21409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-environment","tag-energy","tag-energy-transition","tag-environment","tag-net-zero","tag-people-spotlight","tag-power","tag-renewable-energy","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21409"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21417,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21409\/revisions\/21417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21409"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=21409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}