Clean energy professionals, including figures from RWE Renewables, SSE, Sembcorp and bp, have been recognised for their contributions to the sector in this year’s New Year Honours List.
This includes Zoë Keeton, UK head of regulatory affairs at RWE Renewables, who received an OBE, as did Dr Catherine McClay, trading and optimisation director at Sembcorp Energy UK and former head of future markets at National Grid.
RWE Renewables said Keeton’s OBE recognises 20 years of service, with Keeton having worked with governments, industry bodies, national stakeholders and companies across the sector to help create key wind power policy.
Indeed, Keeton was involved in the successful negotiation of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, which brokered a collaboration between the UK government and offshore wind industry.
“The many achievements of the renewable energy industry have been a collaborative effort, and so I consider this as due recognition for the incredible work of the whole sector not just myself,” Keeton said.
Alongside Keeton and McClay, Syed Ahmed, founder and chair of Community Energy London was also awarded an OBE, with this for services to community energy, decarbonisation and community benefit in London.
Meanwhile, SSE’s head of customer relations, Jacqueline Maxwell, received an MBE for services to the energy supply industry, and Louise Kingham OBE, bp’s UK head of country and senior vice president for Europe, received a CBE. Kingham joined bp in 2021, having previously held the role of CEO of the Energy Institute for over 20 years.
Previous New Year Honours lists have included Swanbarton’s Anthony Price, a long-time energy storage advocate who received an OBE in 2021, Laura Sandys, chair of the Energy Data Taskforce and non-executive director of the Energy Systems Catapult, who was awarded a CBE in 2020, and National Grid’s Cordi O’Hara and Northern Powergrid’s Rod Gardner, who both received OBEs in 2019.
