Company founder of Mainstream Renewable Power, Dr Eddie O’Connor, has passed away. He was a prominent and successful renewable energy entrepreneur who passed away at the age of 76 after a brief illness.Eddie O’Connor was a chemical engineer who initially worked for the ESB before being appointed chief executive of Bord Na Mona in 1987. In 1996, he left the semi-state company and the following year he went on to found renewable power firm, Airtricity, which he led until 2008 when the company was sold to SSE for €1.8bn. During his time at Airtricity, it built Ireland’s first offshore wind farm. Soon afterwards he set up wind and solar energy business, Mainstream Renewable Power, which developed into a global renewable energy company with projects spanning across five continents. In 2021, a 75% stake in it was sold to Norwegian company Aker Horizons. He was awarded the Poul la Cour award for his outstanding contribution to wind energy at the European Wind Energy Association’s annual conference in 2014. Eddie O’Connor will be remembered as one of Ireland’s greatest entrepreneurs, leading the development of the global wind industry as founder of Irish companies Airtricity, Mainstream Renewable Power and SuperNode.
