Bilclough takes grid and operations director role at OnPath Energy

Leading renewable energy developer OnPath Energy has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Andy Bilclough as its new grid and operations director.

Andy brings almost 30 years’ energy industry experience to his new role, in which he is responsible for managing the firm’s health and safety, operational and grid teams and contributing to OnPath’s wider business growth strategy.

He began his career as an apprentice linesman with National Grid and spent 12 years working his way through different positions within the business before taking on a project manager role.

He then moved to Northern Powergrid to head up its £50m overhead powerline capital investment programme before becoming its head of connections delivery, a position which included managing the connection of new wind farms to the power grid.

Andy spent 16 years at Northern Powergrid, with his most recent role before his move to OnPath being director of field operations, where he was responsible for its fault response, new connections and infrastructure investment strategies and led a team of around 3,600 staff and contractors.

Andy Bilclough says: “Being responsible for the 24/7 operation of essential power infrastructure has given me a huge amount of experience, knowledge and insight that is directly relevant to the role I’m now playing at OnPath.

“Moving to the energy generation side of the power industry for the first time gives me a fantastic opportunity to continue learning while also using my knowledge and network help secure the best grid connections for OnPath’s growing project portfolio.

“When OnPath first approached me, I had a really positive gut feeling about the role that was on offer and it’s proved to be an accurate one.

“It’s a business with a real sense of purpose that’s full of very talented, dedicated people and there’s a great deal of ambition around what we can achieve in the coming years.”

Following its acquisition by Brookfield Asset Management in late 2023, Sunderland-headquartered OnPath Energy (formerly Banks Renewables) is building an enhanced portfolio of onshore wind, solar and energy storage projects as it works towards its ambition of becoming the UK’s leading onshore renewables developer.

It already owns and operates 12 onshore wind farms across Scotland and England, and expects to progress the construction of several more projects across the UK this year, including its first solar energy schemes, which are both in Yorkshire.

Richard Dunkley, CEO at OnPath Energy, adds: “OnPath has ambitious plans to amplify the difference we can make to a net zero future for the UK that will help to lower consumer bills in the long term, improve the UK’s energy security and deliver a just transition that is fair and inclusive for everyone.

“Andy’s experience and expertise will play a central role in helping us deliver on those objectives and it’s a real coup for us to be able to bring him on board.”

Brookfield Asset Management is is a leading global alternative asset manager with over $1 trillion of assets under management, over 35,000 megawatts of operating capacity worldwide, equivalent to the UK’s onshore wind, offshore wind and hydroelectricity capacity.