Louise Waters

When did you join Natural Power? 

I joined Natural Power in 2020, a week before the first COVID-19 lockdown. Before that I worked in various other energy consultancy roles spanning industrial energy systems, international development and community energy in the UK. 

What does your role entail? 

I work on projects that try to reduce the use of fossil fuels for heating. That can be working out how to successfully switch from gas boilers to heat pumps in public and commercial buildings; it can be assessing where district heat networks could be developed in towns and cities; or it can be supporting operational systems to run safely and compliantly.  

What are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your role? 

The best reward comes from a job well done, that has the potential to change the world for the better. The challenge comes from the fact that renewable heat systems need to be deployed at such a pace for us to have a hope of achieving global net-zero targets, yet they take time to adopt. Often our clients want a quick fix, but we can show them that it’s less risky and more beneficial to see decarbonisation as a process that extends over several years. 

What is the most interesting project you have undertaken and why? 

District heating is often talked about as a solution for city centres and industrial sites, and the projects that make the headlines are multi-million-pound investments. One of the most interesting projects I’ve worked on tried to uncover opportunities for district heating and other types of heat networks in smaller towns and villages across the South of Scotland.