County Roscommon native and energy supergrid promoter dies
The late Mr Eddie O'Connor who was a native of Elphin, County Roscommon. Pic. Jason Clarke
Businessman, renewable energy entrepreneur and County Roscommon native Eddie O’Connor, has died.
Mr O’Connor, a native of Elphin, was a former CEO of Bord na Móna, the founder of Airtricity and the co-founder of Mainstream Renewables and SuperNode.
A former purchasing manager with the ESB, he went on to become chief executive of Bord na Móna before a late career change.
Aged 76, Mr O’Connor, who was always proud of his County Roscommon roots, switched to the renewable energy sector in the late 1990s and went on to become one of its key business figures.
Mr O’Connor had a degree in chemical engineering and a master’s in industrial engineering, both from University College Dublin, as well as a doctorate in business administration.
He was appointed Chief Executive of Bord na Móna in 1987. In 1997 he became the founder and chief executive of the Irish wind farm development company, Airtricity.
After Airtricity, Mr O’Connor was involved in the establishment of Mainstream Renewable Power.
This evening Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, expressed his deep sadness at the death of the “businessman and renewable energy visionary”.
He said: “I am truly saddened to learn of Eddie O’Connor’s passing. He was, without doubt, a true pioneer when it came to the development of wind energy, both in Ireland and across the globe.
“From his time as chief executive of Bord na Móna to his establishment of Airtricity and the subsequent creation of Mainstream Renewable Power and SuperNode, he was always several years ahead of everyone else in his thinking.
“He was one of the first, not just to understand Ireland’s enormous potential for renewable energy, but to act upon it. More recently, he has been a passionate and articulate advocate for a European ‘supergrid’, which he understood would ensure people across the continent would enjoy clean, secure energy into the future.
“There are few people who will leave behind such a positive and long-lasting legacy as him. I wish to convey my deepest sympathies to his family and friends,” said Minister Ryan
