Patrick Doyle, Principal

Patrick Doyle joined Hudson Energy Development earlier in 2017 to manage Hudson Energy’s wind and solar energy development projects in New York State, including in particular the 100MW Flint Mine Solar plant in Greene County.

Mr. Doyle is an experienced electricity professional and renewable energy developer. His interest in electricity generation was first evidenced when he designed a hydro turbine in his final year studying engineering at University College Dublin. After graduation, Mr. Doyle joined Schenectady, NY-based General Electric as a field engineer, installing and commissioning power plants in South America, the Middle East and Asia. While at GE, Mr. Doyle gained deep knowledge of the operation of grid-connected electricity facilities.

After six years living out of a suitcase, Mr. Doyle settled in London to market plant efficiency and capacity upgrade products to GE’s European customers. Intrigued by the interface of industry and business, Mr. Doyle then attended London Business School (LBS) where he studied, among other things, the impact of competitive wholesale markets on electricity prices and valuation methodologies for mining operations. After LBS, Mr. Doyle worked for ABB in Eastern European, transforming utility and manufacturing joint ventures so they could thrive in privatized and restructured markets. Mr. Doyle continued working in developing and deregulating markets when he joined first Wartsila North American and later a new distributed generation department at GE, developing and selling reciprocating engine power plants in Central and South America and in Asia.

In 2001 Mr. Doyle moved into the US renewables business as Northeast Development Director for Horizon Wind Energy (earlier known as Zilkha Renewable Energy), where he joined forces with Hudson Energy co-founder Bill Moore in the development of what was then one of the largest wind energy projects in the world, the 195 turbine Maple Ridge Wind Farm. Mr. Doyle’s responsibilities included managing the 230kV transmission line and interconnection process, interfacing with NYSERDA, bidding for and securing an offtake contract with the New York Power Authority and supporting the land acquisition, environmental review and permitting processes.

After Maple Ridge, Mr. Doyle lead the development of New York’s second largest wind farm, Marble River, and two other New York wind projects that later received NYSERDA awards and are now under construction or in operation. In the process of developing large-scale wind projects in upstate New York, Mr. Doyle recognized that many of the Northeast’s high voltage lines were reaching capacity and that their ability to accommodate additional new renewable projects would be limited until major upgrades could be effected. He set up NorthWind and Power to assemble a portfolio of Community Scale projects in the US Northeast and, after two years of development, brought in a major utility subsidiary as an investor and owner of the portfolio. Mr. Doyle proceeded to take on the role of North America VP of Development for Ridgeline Energy, working on the final development of over 300MW of greenfield wind projects and the acquisition of utility-scale wind and solar projects.

Since 2013, Mr. Doyle has focused on the major regulatory changes in New York’s electricity industry, working to help meet the state’s target of 50% of its electricity from renewable resources:

• Member of Alliance for Clean Energy New York’s Large Scale Renewables Committee and Co-chair of the Interconnection Sub-committee, working to achieve reforms to the NYISO interconnection process and to develop procurement structures for renewable energy.
• Operated as a contract developer in acquiring land rights and initiating 500MW of projects.
• Acquired and advanced the development of over 100MW of Community Scale wind and solar projects in Eastern New York.
• Participated in Renewables on the Ground Roundtable, a collaboration among non-traditional partners – land use planners/conservationists, renewables developers, agricultural interests, utilities, regulators, and local and state government officials to develop principles and policy recommendations to reduce barriers to large-scale renewable energy siting while mitigating impacts on the ground.